Ruhled Out

Vern Ruhle, whose fraudulent claim of having caught a Garry Maddox line drive turned into a double play during the 1980 NLCS while he was pitching for the Astros killed a Phillies rally and nearly cost the team their only world championship, has died of cancer at the age of 55. His penance came in 2001, when while serving as the team’s pitching coach, he had to watch Dave Coggin make 17 starts as the Phillies 4th starter in 2001 .