Sal Bando, longtime third baseman for the Athletics and Brewers, passed away Friday January 20 after a five-year battle with cancer. Bando, a Cleveland native, was a four-sport star at Warrensville High School on the city’s east side. He played baseball for legendary coach Bobby Winkles at Arizona State and was part of their 1965 World Series Championship team, in which he was named Most Outstanding Player. Also on that team was future Athletics teammate Rick Monday and Met’s catcher Duffy Dyer.
The Kansas City Athletics took Bando in the sixth round of the 1965 draft, which just happened to be the first draft for professional baseball.