SAN DIEGO (AP) — Hall of Fame broadcaster Jerry Coleman has been remembered with a service at Petco Park that included an F-18 flyover, a 21-gun salute and a eulogy by former New York Yankees manager Joe Torre
Coleman, 89, died Jan. 5. He won four World Series titles with the Yankees and was the only major leaguer who saw combat in both World II and Korea, flying a combined 120 missions as a Marine Corps pilot.
Says Torre: “If you loved baseball and your country, you loved Jerry Coleman. What a life, what a man. God bless him.”
An F-18 flyover, including one jet peeling off in the missing-man formation, followed the national anthem played by a Marine band at Saturday’s service. The stage was set up near second base, a nod to Coleman’s position.
Coleman was buried Monday with full military honors.
