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Puckett, 44, in fight for his life
Twins' Hall of Famer undergoes surgery after suffering stroke

By David Haugh, Tribune staff reporter. Tribune staff reporter Paul Sullivan contributed to this report
Published March 6, 2006

Includes quotes from Andy MacPhail, Jacque Jones and Bob Symonds.

A week from his 45th birthday, Puckett underwent several hours of brain surgery at Scottsdale Healthcare Osborn, sources told the Star-Tribune of Minneapolis, to relieve bleeding. He was later transferred to St. Joseph's Hospital and Medical Center in Phoenix.

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Bob Symonds, the retired baseball coach at Triton College in River Grove who coached Puckett, considered Puckett's authenticity one of his greatest strengths. He last spoke to Puckett about a month ago.

"One time he told me he had to lose some weight, but to have a stroke at that age is really shocking," Symonds said from his home in Buffalo Grove. "But he hasn't changed his personality. He could come right out of this stroke and immediately want to know how you're doing. That's just the way he is."

The baseball world knew what Symonds meant.

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Puckett graduated from Calumet High, where he was the last player cut from the basketball team and he wasn't allowed to play football by his mother. That left baseball, a natural for his hand-eye coordination.

He decided to play in college at Bradley but transferred closer to home to Triton, where he developed a strong rapport with Symonds the two still enjoy. When Puckett was inducted into the Hall of Fame in August 2001, he invited his old college coach to Cooperstown, N.Y.

"He's one of kind," Symonds said.

Read entire article at:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/bas...

I took three of Coach Symonds' classes, including the Baseball Theory class. Always hoped that the Cubs would hire Coach Symonds.

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