Spokane's Last Survivor

No doubt you've heard about the passing of former Spokane Indian Gus Hallbourg. Here are some news stories dealing with his death, including a fine piece by SABR's Jim Price, who was radio's voice of the Indians when I met him in 1979.
You can read contemporary stories about the bus crash on this site. Click on the label 'bus crash' at the end of this post.

Pitcher from ill-fated 1946 Spokane Indians team dies
The Associated Press
SPOKANE, Wash., Oct. 17 — Darwin "Gus" Hallbourg, a survivor of a fatal bus crash that devastated the 1946 Spokane Indians baseball team, died Saturday of a heart attack at a California care center, according to his brother Don. He was 87.
Nine of the Western International League team's 15 players died when their Bremerton-bound bus tumbled off the Snoqualmie Pass highway and burst into flames on June 24, 1946.
Hallbourg, who played professionally for six years as a pitcher and outfielder, crawled through a window frame. After helping others to safety, he was treated for burns on his arms and hands. He returned to action later in the season.
In 1940, his second season, the right-hander won 21 games for Pampa, Texas, of the West Texas-New Mexico League. After being sold to San Diego, Hallbourg won 15 games for Anaheim of the California League in 1941 and appeared in four games for the Padres.
After service in the U.S. Navy in World War II, Hallbourg played for Spokane, finishing with a 7-6 record. He played two more seasons with Lancaster of the Inter-State League.
He settled in Manteca, Calif., and was employed for 32 years by Pacific Telephone Co.
Hallbourg is survived by Roberta, his wife of 61 years; a brother; two sisters; three sons and a daughter. There are five grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Survivor of ill-fated bus crash dies at 87
Staff reports of the Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin [Oct. 18]
The last survivor of what is considered to be the worst accident in American professional sports passed away Saturday.
Darwin "Gus" Hallbourg, a longtime Manteca resident, died of a heart attack at the age of 87. He was set to turn 88 on Halloween.
Hallbourg was stricken with pneumonia after suffering a stroke in September.
Hallbourg was a part of a tragic bus crash June 24, 1946 while he and his Spokane Indians minor league baseball team, of the Western International League, were traveling across Washington state to Bremerton.
The bus tumbled off the Snoqualmie Pass highway and was engulfed in flames.
Nine of the 15 players, including player-manager Mel Cole, died as a result. Hallbourg helped get his surviving teammates to safety and was later treated for burns on his arms and hands.
"I was able to get out of there without serious injuries, and I've been lucky to live a wonderful life," Hallbourg once told the Spokesman Review. "I am one of the great lucky guys alive."
Hallbourg was a Minor League pitcher and outfielder for six years and served four years in World War II with the U.S. Navy.
After his final two professional seasons with Lancaster of the Inner-State League, he settled in Manteca and went on to work for Pacific Telephone Company for 32 years.
Hallbourg was a member of Spring Creek Golf Club in Ripon and was considered an excellent amateur golfer.
He is survived by Roberta, his wife of 61 years; two sisters and a brother; three sons and a daughter; five grand children and one great grandchild.
Information from: The Spokesman-Review

Darwin F. (Gus) Hallbourg
Retired
Darwin F. (Gus) Hallbourg, 87, died Saturday, Oct. 13, in Hughson, after a long, happy life. He was born on Oct. 31, 1919 in Huntington, Mass.
Gus grew up in Pepperill, Mass. where he lived until high school graduation in 1939. He played professional baseball from 1939 until 1948, with time out to serve as a Chief Boatswain's Mate in the Navy during World War II. During this time he married Roberta Harney on Jan. 5, 1946 in Newport, Rhode Island. In 1948 they moved to Stockton, where he began a 33 year career with Pacific Telephone. He moved to Manteca with his family in 1959 where he lived until his death at 87 years old. He enjoyed many happy years playing golf and was well known for his beautiful tomato garden.
Gus is survived by and will so be missed by his wife of 61 years, Roberta; brother, Donald Hallbourg and wife Jean of Stockton; sisters, Alice Duce of Middletown, Rhode Island, and Shirley Jones of Oakville, Ontario, Canada; daughter, Marsha Beever and husband Dan of Atwater; sons, Robert Hallbourg and wife Flora, and Peter Hallbourg of Manteca, Mark Hallbourg of Auburn; grandchildren, Dan and Crystal Beever, Tony and Jessica Hallbourg, Laura Beever, Matthew and Melissa Hallbourg, Kendall Hallbourg; and great-grandchildren, Janessa and Isaac Hallbourg.
Please join the family in a celebration of Gus's life at Spring Creek Golf & Country Club, (1580 Spring Creek Dr., Ripon, CA 95366), on Sunday, Oct. 21, at 2 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Community Hospice, Inc., 2201 Euclid Ave., Hughson, CA 95326.
Manteca (Calif.) Bulletin - Thursday, Oct. 18, 2007

Last survivor of bus crash dies at 87
Heart attack claims Hallbourg
Jim Price
Correspondent
Spokane Spokesman-Review, October 16, 2007
The passage of time has concluded the living history of the ill-fated 1946 Spokane Indians baseball team.
Former pitcher Darwin "Gus" Hallbourg died of a heart attack Saturday night in a care center near Modesto, Calif. Hallbourg, 87, developed pneumonia after a minor stroke in late September. A resident of nearby Manteca, he was the last survivor of the worst accident in American professional sports history.
On June 24, 1946, a bus carrying the Spokane Indians across the state to Bremerton, tumbled off the Snoqualmie Pass highway and plunged into the canyon, where it exploded in flames. Nine of the Western International League team's 15 players died as a result.
Hallbourg escaped by squirming through a window frame. After helping other survivors reach safety, he was treated for burns on his arms and hands. He returned to action later in the season, playing in the outfield when he wasn't pitching.
Moments before the accident, Hallbourg turned to star pitcher Bob Kinnaman, who shared his love of fishing, and said "Wouldn't this be one helluva place to go over the edge?"
Hallbourg had begun the trip sharing a seat with third baseman Jack Lohrke. However, Lohrke, Spokane's best major-league prospect, left his teammates after dinner in Ellensburg, where he learned he had been recalled by the San Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League.
A native of Huntington, Mass., Hallbourg played professionally for six seasons, half before his four years of World War II service with the U.S. Navy.
In 1940, his second season, the gregarious right-hander won 21 games for Pampa (Texas) of the West Texas-New Mexico League. After being sold to San Diego, Hallbourg won 15 games for Anaheim of the California League in 1941 and appeared in four late- season games for the Padres.
Spokane was his first stop following the war. He finished with a 7-6 record. After two seasons with Lancaster of the Inter-State League, he accepted a full-time job in Central California with Pacific Telephone Company. He settled in Manteca and retired from the phone company 32 years later.
Hallbourg was admired for his cheerful outlook.
In a 1986 interview, Spokane teammate Milt Cadinha remembered him as "a very, very, very nice person." Monday, Hallbourg's brother, Don, a Stockton, Calif., resident, agreed. "He always had a nice attitude. Nothing ever bothered him too much."
Indeed, last June, asked about his health, Hallbourg chirped, "I'm bright-eyed and bushy-tailed."
More than once, he told The Spokesman-Review how fortunate he felt to have been spared in the bus wreck.
"I was able to get out of there without serious injuries, and I've been lucky to live a wonderful life," he said. "I am one of the great lucky guys alive."
For years, Hallbourg was among the Modesto area's best amateur golfers, and he was an avid gardener who raised tomatoes. He and wife Roberta had been married 61 years. The 1946 baseball season in Spokane served as their honeymoon.
Hallbourg would have turned 88 on the last day of this month.
His remains will be cremated, according to family members. In lieu of services, there will be a family gathering later this month. In addition to his wife and brother, he is survived by two sisters, three sons and a daughter. There are five grandchildren and one great grandchild.