POWER RANKING: MLB Top 5: Minnesota Twins Outfielders at each position

This is the fourth piece in a series examining the top five Minnesota Twins players at each position. The outfielders are featured in this edition.

Among the best outfielders in Minnesota Twins/Washington Senators history are some of the game’s greatest run producers. Six Hall of Famers, multiple MVP contenders, and other players from the franchise’s three championship teams are included in the group.

The Greatest Outfield Players in Twins History
Fielders on the left
Honourable Mentions: Jim Lemon spent ten seasons (1954–1963) with the team, and in 1960—the team’s last year in Washington—he was selected for both of his All-Star teams. In 1956, he hit 11 triples to lead the league. He had four seasons with at least 25 home runs, including two consecutive seasons with exactly 100 runs batted in and 30 home runs. Apart from reaching the triples milestone in 1956, he was also the first player from the Senators to hit three home runs at the massive Griffith Stadium (and just the second player overall, after the legendary Joe DiMaggio of the Yankees, who achieved the feat six years earlier).

In 915 games with the team, Lemon batted.265 with 425 runs, 855 hits, 159 home runs, and 509 RBIs. Before retiring from baseball due to a shoulder injury, he played seven games with the Twins in 1963 and also saw action with the Phillies and White Sox. In 1968, Lemon made the switch to coaching and took over as the “new” Senators’ manager. The powerful-armed outfielder, who was 78 years old when he passed away in 2006, served as a hitting instructor for the Twins in the early 1980s.

Although Larry Hisle began his career with the Phillies, he was a member of the Dodgers’ minor league organization in 1972. After being moved to the Cardinals and subsequently the Twins, he spent the following five seasons (1973–77) as a reliable outfield player. Hisle hit.302 with 28 home runs and a league-high 119 runs batted in during his final season with Minnesota, earning him an All-Star selection. With a.286 average, 369 runs, 697 hits, 87 home runs, and 409 RBIs in 662 games, he concluded his career with the Twins.

After joining the Brewers, he produced similarly in 1978, but the next season, he tore his rotator cuff during a game. Hisle chose to go to rehab before having Tommy John surgery in 1980. Before retiring in 1982, he appeared in just 79 games throughout his final four seasons. After playing, Hisle worked with the impoverished in the Milwaukee region and for more than 20 years as a coach and instructor.

Dan Gladden was a member of championship teams during his first and last seasons with the Twins, having played 644 games across his five years with the team (1987–91). “Dazzle,” who was well-known for his defence and grit, led the 1987 team to victory over the Cardinals with nine hits and seven RBIs. His most memorable moment, though, came in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series when he led out with a double in the tenth inning and scored the winning run on a bloop single by Gene Larkin. Before he retired in 1993, Gladden was a player with the Tigers for two seasons.

Marty Cordova stole 20 bases, finished first among all left fielders in putouts, assists, and double plays, and won the American League Rookie of the Year award in 1995. He recorded career highs the next year, hitting.309 with 97 runs, 176 hits, and 111 runs batted in. With the Twins for five years (1995–1999), Cordova batted.277 in 628 games with 336 runs, 643 hits, 79 home runs, and 385 RBIs. Before he retired in 2003, he was a player for three different teams.

Jacque Jones played for the Twins for seven years (1999–2005), starting at all three outfield positions. In 976 games with Minnesota, he finished with a.279 average, 492 runs, 974 hits, 189 doubles, 132 home runs, and 476 RBIs. He hit at least 20 home runs three times. After an offseason filled with rumours of the Twins being signed, Jones launched two home runs in the opening game of the 2002 season. Two years later, he earned the right field fielding title.

Eddie Rosario began his career in Minnesota and spent six years there from 2015 to 2020 before going on to become the Braves’ 2021 NLCS MVP and a champion. After leading the league with 15 triples and knocking in 50 runs, he was considered for Rookie of the Year. 2019 was Rosario’s best season ever, batting.276 and setting career highs with 32 home runs, 109 runs batted in, and 91 runs scored. With a.277 average, 400 runs, 738 hits, 119 home runs, and 388 RBIs in 697 games, he concluded his time with the Twins.

5. Roy Sievers: In 1949, he became the first Rookie of the Year Award winner, having begun his career with the Browns. He spent five seasons in St. Louis before moving to Washington, where he spent six seasons (1954–1959) in the Nation’s Capital, making four All-Star teams and hitting 20 home runs per year. In 1957, Sievers had his best offensive season ever. He led the league in home runs (42, tied for most by any player in franchise history not named Killebrew), runs batted in (114), and set career highs with a.301 average, 99 runs, and 172 hits. With ten pinch-hit home runs and ten grand slams, “Squirrel” demonstrated his clutch hitting prowess and won two fielding crowns.

4. George Case: During his 11-year career, 10 of which he spent with Washington (1937–1946 and ’47), he was without a doubt the fastest player in the game. In four seasons, Case scored 100 runs or more, including a league-high 102 in 1943. He was a four-time All-Star. For five years in a row, he had more hits than 160 and led the league in stolen bases. In 1946, Case participated in a race against the renowned sprinter Jesse Owens when he was still an Indian, and the Olympic gold medallist defeated him by a mere tenth of a second.

With 321 steals, Case concluded his Nationals career ranked third in the team’s history. Additionally, in 1,108 games, he batted.288 with 739 runs, 1,306 hits, 210 doubles, 355 RBIs, and 1,654 total bases. After his playing career ended after the 1947 season, Case worked as a commentator, coach, and owner of a sporting goods business for 25 years before going on to become a duck hunting guide and coach the baseball team at Rutgers University in the 1950s. He died in 1989 at the age of 74 from complications brought on by his emphysema.

3. Harmon Killebrew: He played left field as the team’s starting player for three of his 21 seasons (1962–1964), making two All-Star selections and placing in the top ten MVP votes each of those three seasons. With 142 home runs in those seasons, “Killer” topped the league in that category. 1962 was his best year, finishing first in the A. L. despite only hitting.243, with 48 home runs and 126 RBIs. In 1984, after racking up 2,086 hits, 573 home runs, and 1,540 RBIs over his career, Killebrew was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

2. Henry “Heinie” Manush: Manush was traded in a deal involving the player listed above him, following a brilliant start to his career with the Tigers and Browns. After joining the Nationals, he batted.300 or higher five times during his six-year tenure (1930–1935). Manush hit at least 180 in four of his seasons with the Washington Senators, and in 1932, he recorded a career-high 116 RBIs. Twice, he had more than 200 hits, the most notable being a league-high 221 in 1933 (along with an A. L.-best 17 triples). He was expelled from the World Series that year after challenging a call and then pulling on the umpire’s bowtie, in addition to having two runs and two hits in the team’s five-game loss to the Giants.

The next season, Manush batted.349 with 194 hits, 42 doubles, 11 triples, 11 home runs, and 89 RBIs, and he was chosen for his only All-Star team. After 792 games, he concluded his time with the Nationals with a.328 average (second in team history), 576 runs, 1,078 hits, 215 doubles, 491 RBIs, and 1,574 total bases. After the 1935 season, Manush was moved to the Red Sox, and before retiring in 1939, he also played for the Dodgers and Pirates. After working for 20 years as a scout and coach, he was admitted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1964 by the Veteran’s Committee. Manush died of cancer in 1971, having lost his voice following a cancer operation later in life.

1. Leon “Goose” Goslin: Future Hall of Fame umpire Bill McGowan first noticed Goslin as a pitcher in an industrial league. During his 18-year career, Goslin made the switch to the outfield and developed into one of the best hitters in the game; 12 of those seasons were spent with Washington (1921–30, ’33, and ’38). He batted.300 or higher seven times, had 150 hits or more eight times, and led the league in triples twice, including 20 in 1925, which is tied for the most in team history.

In the pennant-winning 1924 season, Goslin batted.344 with 199 hits and a career-high 129 RBIs (tied for third in franchise history). This was the first of five consecutive seasons in which he drove in at least 100 runs. With the second-highest average in the team’s history, he won the batting title in 1928 with a.379 average. After two years, Goslin was “only” hitting.271 when he was transferred to the Browns for pitcher General Crowder and Manush, who was at odds with St. Louis management. When Goslin came back in 1933, he shifted to right field to make room for the player he had been traded for a few years before. Before playing 38 games with Washington in 1938, he returned to Detroit and lived there for the next few years.

With 125 triples, a.323 average, and 289 doubles, “Goose” is tied for third place in franchise history. In 1,361 games, he has 2,579 total bases, 854 runs, 1,659 hits, 127 home runs, 932 RBIs, and 117 stolen bases. In his 19 games, Goslin amassed 12 runs, 24 hits, seven home runs, and 15 RBIs while playing in all three of Washington’s World Series appearances. He also participated in two more Fall Classics with Detroit. Following his final season with the Nationals, he retired. In addition to earning the league fielding title in 1925, he also led the league in double plays, putouts, and assists three times apiece. He managed his farm and boating company until his death in 1971, and in 1968 the Veteran’s Committee inducted him into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Fielders in the Centre
Honourable Mentions: Jimmie Hall hit 20 or more home runs a year, won two All-Star selections, yet lasted just four seasons (1963–1966) in Minnesota. He also finished third in the Rookie of the Year voting. But in his last season with the Twins, his numbers began to suffer, and they got worse during the course of his remaining four seasons, which he shared between five teams. Following his playing career’s conclusion in 1970, Hall worked as a truck driver and woodworker. He went just 1-for-7 in the Dodgers’ 1965 World Series defeat.

Lyman Bostock, who spent three seasons (1975–1977) with the Twins, improved every year. In 1977, he achieved a career high batting average of.336 with 104 runs, 199 hits, 36 doubles, 12 triples, 14 home runs, 90 RBIs, and 16 steals. Though Bostock struggled with hamstring, ankle, and hand problems during his Minnesota career, he was a terrific contact hitter with a lot of potential. 1978 saw him sign a contract with the Angles following direct talks with owner Calvin Griffith.

Tragically, Bostock’s life and his gifted young career were cut short on September 23, 1978. He was shot in the side of the head by the friend’s estranged husband while riding in the car with his uncle and two other family friends. He passed away the next morning. Leonard Smith, the gunman, was admitted to a mental health facility for less than a year before being found not guilty of any of the accusations due to his insanity.

Byron Buxton’s nine-year career (from 2015 to the present) has seen him show a lot of promise, but a long line of ailments has prevented him from realizing it. Only once, in 2017 did he participate in more than 100 games in a season. In 2022, he hit a career-high 28 home runs in just 92 games, earning him an All-Star selection. In 670 games, Buxton has amassed 540 hits, 115 home runs, and 297 RBIs overall, but his true strength is defence. He was awarded Wilson Defensive Player and Overall Defensive Player Awards in 2017, and he received gold and platinum gloves. Along with multiple highlight-reel catches, Buxton’s.992 fielding percentage ranks him eighth among active outfielders.

5. Sam West was a player for the Nationals for ten seasons (1927–1932 and 1938–41), split into two stints. One of the best pitchers in baseball history, Walter Johnson, was impressed by West’s ability to hold his own at the plate and show off speed and a powerful arm in the field. Johnson went on to become Washington’s manager. In the trade that sent Goslin to Washington, he was sent to St. Louis. In his six seasons with the Browns, he was selected for four All-Star teams before being traded back to the Nationals.

Although West did not play in Washington’s final World Series in 1933, he did lead the league in double plays by a centre fielder twice and in assists. In 993 games, he batted.297 with 481 runs, 984 hits, 187 doubles, 485 RBIs, and 1,391 total bases before ending his career with the White Sox in 1942. Before he went away in 1985 at the age of 81, West managed a prosperous sporting goods company in West Texas, served in the Army Air Force during World War II, and coached the Nationals for two years after finishing his playing career.

4. Stan Spence: He founded the Red Sox in the early 1940s, but he was unfortunate enough to arrive in Boston at the same time as Ted Williams and Dom DiMaggio. After being moved to the Senators, Spence was selected for four All-Star teams in five seasons (1942–1944 and 1946–1947; he served in the Army during World War II in 1945). with his debut season with Washington, he led the league with 15 triples and finished with 203 hits. In 1944, he had a career-best season with a.316 average, 18 home runs, and 100 RBIs. He cracked 50 doubles in 1946, the second-most in the history of the team.

In 1948, Spence was traded back to the Red Sox, and the following year, he concluded his major league career with the Browns. He batted.296 with 394 runs, 852 hits, 153 doubles, 427 RBIs, and 1,301 total bases in 750 games with the Nationals. Spence demonstrated his ability as a centre fielder by leading the American League in double plays, assists, and putouts twice apiece. He had multiple enterprises following his career until succumbing to emphysema in 1983.

3. Torii Hunter: During his 12-year tenure in Minnesota (1997–2007 and 2015), Hunter—who was regarded as a defensive wizard from the beginning—developed his attacking skills. Hunter was inconsistent over the next two years, with only brief stints in his first two years. After being assigned to the minor leagues in 2000, his career took off, and he was selected for two All-Star teams and won seven consecutive gold gloves. Hunter hit a season high of 20 home runs and 80 RBIs seven times at the plate. When he batted.287 with 28 home runs and a career-high 107 runs batted in during his final season of his first tenure with the Twins in 2007, it was his best season to date.

Hunter returned to Minnesota for his final season as a right fielder, carrying on with his strong career with the Angels and Tigers. With 214 home runs, he is sixth in team history. In 1,373 games with the Twins, he batted.268 with 739 runs, 1,343 hits, 281 doubles, 792 RBIs, 128 steals, and 2.318 total bases. In 21 postseason games, Hunter contributed 15 runs, 24 hits, 8 doubles, 3 home runs, and 8 RBIs to help the Twins advance to the ALCS.

The player known as “Spider-Man” received the Branch Rickey Award in 2009 and three times led the league in assists. Hunter’s career was filled with on-field heroics, but the most memorable event occurred during the controversial 2002 All-Star Game in Milwaukee (which finished in a tie). In the first inning, he sprang over the wall to deny Barry Bonds a home run with two outs. Through his educational effort, Hunter offers students college scholarships.

2. Clyde Milan: His quickness allowed him to play shallow and still be able to chase down any ball that was hit in his vicinity, while also throwing opposing pitchers off balance. With 88 team records in 1912 and a franchise second-best 75 the following year, Milan twice topped the league in steals. During his 16-year career, which he played with Washington exclusively, he also hit.300 or higher four times (1907–22).

“Deerfoot” leads the team in stolen bases (495) all-time and owns the top two slots on the chart most steals in a single season. In addition, he batted.285 with 240 doubles and 617 runs batted in, ranking fifth in hits (2,100), sixth in triples (105), seventh in runs (1,004), and tenth in total bases (2,601). Milan also has three league-leading assists and one league-leading putout total. In his last season as manager, the Nationals finished with a 69-85 record. Milan served as a major league coach with Washington from 1938 to 1952 in addition to being a minor league player and manager. The next year, at the age of 65, he passed away from a heart attack.

1. Kirby Puckett: During his 12-year career (1984–1995), he was a member of two Twins championship teams and was one of the team’s most likeable players since the organization relocated to Minnesota. For the rest of his career, Puckett garnered honours and honours, placing third in the 1984 Rookie of the Year voting. Ten All-Star selections, six gold gloves, six silver sluggers, eight over.300 batting averages, and five at-bats of 200 hits (four of which were league-high totals) were among his accomplishments.

Since Puckett placed seven times in the Top 10 in the MVP voting, it is challenging to choose just one season as the best overall. He hit.328 in 1986 with 223 hits, 96 RBIs, and career highs of 31 home runs and 119 runs scored. After two years, he achieved career bests with a league-high 358 total bases, a.356 average, and 234 hits—second in franchise history—along with 121 RBIs. Puckett led the league in hits (215) and captured his lone batting title (.339) in 1989.

In terms of hits (2,304), RBIs (1,085), total bases (3,453), runs (1,071), doubles (414), average (.318), home runs (207), games (1,783), and stolen bases (134), “Puck” is tied for fifth place in the franchise’s history. He led all American League centre fielders in double plays four times, and in assists and putouts three times apiece, proving he was no slouch in the field.

Throughout his remarkable career, Puckett won numerous honours, such as the Roberto Clemente Award three years later, the All-Star MVP and Branch Rickey Awards in 1993. With 24 postseason games played, he amassed 16 runs, 30 hits, five home runs, and 16 RBIs, making him very difficult to remove from the field. In 1991, Puckett’s two home runs and six RBIs during Minnesota’s victory over Toronto earned him the ALCS MVP Award. Puckett’s leaping grab in Game 6 of the Twins’ World Series victory over the Braves earned him the nickname “The Catch” from Twins supporters. Puckett had just denied Atlanta’s Ron Gant an extra-base hit. In the eleventh inning, he hit a game-winning home run to end the game.

Correct Fielders
Honourable Mention: Michael Cuddyer played 11 seasons (2001–11) for the Twins after being selected in the first round in 1997. His two greatest seasons were in 2011, when he was selected for his first All-Star team, and in 2006, when he batted.284 with 24 home runs and a career-high 109 runs batted in. The following season, he moved to Colorado, where he made his final All-Star squad and earned his only Silver Slugger by leading the league in batting average in 2013 (.331). After playing in 22 postseason games in 1999, the MLB Futures Game player went on to manage the U.S. S. the 2023 national under-18 squad.

5. Tom Brunansky: The Angels traded him to the Twins in 1982 after he spent his first season there due to the team’s abundance of skilled outfielders. For the following six seasons, Brunansky hit at least twenty home runs annually. After hitting 32 home runs and 85 RBIs in 1984, he was selected for his only All-Star team the following year after finishing with a.242-27-90 mark in the stats. In 1987, he helped the Twins defeat the Cardinals in the World Series, matching his totals from three years prior.

Before retiring in 1994, “Bruno” was transferred to St. Louis 14 games into the 1988 season. He also played for Boston and Milwaukee. In 916 games with the Twins, he finished with 450 runs, 829 hits, 163 home runs, 469 RBIs, and 1,498 total bases. In 16 postseason games, Brunansky amassed 10 runs, 13 hits, two home runs, and 12 RBIs. In his post-playing career, he has worked as a coach and teacher.

4. John “Buddy” Lewis: He worked in Washington for three stints (1935–1941; 1945–1947; and 1949) for his whole 11-year tenure. Lewis was a reliable contact hitter who batted over.300, recorded at least 160 hits in seven seasons, and scored at least 100 runs four times apiece. With 16 triples in 1939, the two-time All-Star also topped the league.

Lewis served in the Army’s Air Transport Command for more than three years during World War II. Despite his desire to become a fighter pilot, he completed some of the most deadly missions of the conflict while flying his aircraft, “The Old Fox,” (named after Washington owner Clark Griffith), over the Himalayas in Southeast Asia to deliver supplies and evacuate the injured. Lewis ran a car dealership after taking a year-long retirement, and he attempted a failed comeback in 1949 before launching many businesses.

Lewis has 93 triples, which places him seventh in team history. In 751 games, he had a batting average of.292, 414 runs, 810 hits, 293 RBIs, and 1,145 total bases. Twice, he was the league leader in double plays and four times in assists. Lewis was a commissioner for North Carolina Legion baseball in addition to running several auto companies. At the age of 94, he succumbed to cancer in 2011.

3. Bob Allison, a four-sport athlete in high school, attended the University of Kansas on a football scholarship but finally decided to play baseball. During his 13 big league seasons (1958–1970), all with the Senators/Twins team, he grew into a deadly power hitter. He was an All-Star who led the league in triple plays and blasted 30 home runs in 1959, earning him the Rookie of the Year Award.

With roommate Harmon Killebrew, Allison created one of the greatest power combos in baseball history. Throughout his career, Allison hit 20 home runs or more eight times and pulled in at least 80 runs five times. In 1963–64, he was selected to two more All-Star teams. In the first of those seasons, he set a league record with 99 runs scored and a career high of 35 home runs.

With 256 home runs, the gifted outfielder (who also occasionally plays first base) is third in team history. In 1,541 games, he has amassed 811 runs, 1,281 hits, 216 doubles, 53 triples, 796 RBIs, 84 steals, and 2,371 total bases. In his ten career postseason games, Allison finished with two hits, three runs, one home run, and three RBIs. He played in both the 1965 World Series and the first two seasons of the ALCS.

Until his retirement in 1989, Allison was employed by Coca-Cola as a general manager. He was identified as having ataxia, a rare condition that damages brain nerve cells and hinders motor coordination. At age sixty, he passed away in 1995 due to the illness.

2. Tony Oliva was born Pedro, but he entered the United States using his brother Tony’s passport to flee Fidel Castro’s dictatorship in Cuba. Tony signed with the freshly relocated Twins in early 1961 and went by Tony for the remainder of his life. During his three years in the minor levels, he started to turn things around after some issues with language and on the field.

After signing a full-time contract with the Twins in 1964, Oliva won the Rookie of the Year Award and placed fourth in the MVP voting. He led the league with a.323 average, 109 runs, 217 hits, and 43 doubles, drove in 94 runs, hit a career-high 32 home runs, and set a record for most total bases for a first-year player with 374. Throughout his first eight seasons as an All-Star, he won three batting titles, five times led the American League in hits, and four times in doubles. He was the runner-up for MVP in 1970.

During his 15-year tenure with Minnesota (1962–1976), the career Twin batted over.300 six times and recorded eight seasons with 150 hits and 80 RBIs. With 220 home runs, Oliva is ranked fifth on the team’s all-time list. He is ranked sixth with 329 doubles, third in RBIs (947), and ninth with 1,917) in total bases. In 1,676 games, he batted.304 and scored 870 runs.

During his three postseason trips—which included the 1965 World Series defeat to the Dodgers—Oliva collected seven runs, sixteen hits, five doubles, three home runs, and five RBIs over the course of 13 games. Playing the game he loved was unpleasant for him due to a hereditary abnormality in his knees, which grew worse after he dove for a ball during a game in 1971. But the 1966 gold glove winner’s career was prolonged when the American League adopted the designated hitter in 1973.

After retiring in 1976, Oliva worked for the Twins for 15 years as a coach and instructor, assisting Kirby Puckett in his growth. After the Castro era fell, he returned to his native country and continued managing in the Mexican League. When he and fellow Twins player Jim Kaat were chosen by the Golden Days Era Committee in 2022, he became the first player to join his protégé Puckett in the Hall of Fame.

1. Edgar “Sam” Rice: One of the best contact batters of his day, Rice overcame severe personal sorrow. In 1912, when 22-year-old Rice was enjoying a vacation from farming with his family to play Class D ball, a tornado ripped through the Midwest, destroying the farm and taking the lives of Rice’s mother, two sisters, and wife. A week after his injuries, his father passed away, but he made it back in time for the funeral.

Before enlisting in the Navy, Rice went through a depression and worked odd jobs while travelling around the Midwest. He joined the baseball squad and rose to prominence as a pitcher while based at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Because of his extraordinary abilities, Rice was bought out by the Navy and sold to the Nationals to settle a debt owed to owner Clark Griffith. He began his big-league career as a reliever, but his uneven play led to a 1916 shift to the outfield, where he played right most of the time and centre field for three years.

“Sam” became the model of consistency, playing with Washington for 19 of his 20 seasons (1915–33) and leading the team in runs (1,466), hits (2,889), doubles (479), and triples (183). In addition, he is tied for third place in average (.323), fourth in RBIs (1,044), and second in games (2,307), thefts (346), and total bases (3,833). With 2,271 singles in his career, Rice was just 13 hits away from 3,000 hits (not counting his final year in Cleveland).

Rice scored 100 runs in a season five times, hit over.300 and reached 175 hits 13 times (six times with 200 or more and twice leading the league), and led the league in stolen bases in 1920 (tied for third in franchise history) and triples in 1923. His 19 playoff hits were all singles, and he finished with seven runs and four RBIs in 15 games. He participated in all three World Series the team played while it was in Washington.

Though the call was eventually challenged, his greatest moment may have occurred in the 1925 World Series when he stumbled into the temporary bleachers at Griffith Stadium and denied Pittsburgh’s Earl Smith a home run. Winning the series, the Pirates lost the game. Rice even instructed that the act not be opened until after his passing in a letter he wrote to the Hall of Fame, describing the play as he saw it. When the details were revealed, his final statement—”At no point did I lose possession of the ball”—was the most significant.

“Sam” had a reputation for being a tough out, striking out just 266 times in his 19 seasons with the Nationals. Throughout his career, he also had three hitting streaks of at least 28 games. In the field, Rice was equally effective, leading the league in double plays, assists, and putouts four times. After retiring in 1934, he reared chickens, raced pigeons, and got involved in real estate. Despite all of his achievements, Rice did not get the Baseball Hall of Fame induction until 1963—nearly 30 years after his playing career came to an end—at the hands of the Veteran’s Committee. At the age of 84, he succumbed of cancer in 1974.