Cardinals World Series Champion, Rookie Sensation With Career Cut Short, Dies

Hughes earned MVP Award votes for that campaign and came in second to eventual Hall of Famer Tom Seaver in the National League Rookie of the Year Award votes.

FORBES | By Peter Chawaga
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Former St. Louis Cardinals World Series Champion Saw Promising Career Cut Short By Injury

Unfortunately, after that sensational rookie season, Hughes injured his throwing shoulder in Spring Training 1968 and, with no available surgery to repair a rotator cuff, that injury cut his promising career short.

“‘Something happened’ at the end of the warm-ups, throwing at game speed. ‘My shoulder ached,’ remembered Hughes, and ‘I was given a (cortisone) shot,’” according to Thomas Van Hyning of the Society for American Baseball Research. “Hughes pitched five innings after alerting trainer Bob Bauman that something was wrong. X-rays later showed he had a torn rotator cuff, an injury doctors could not properly repair in those days. Hughes said it would have been ‘best in hindsight to shut it down and give it time to heal.’”

Instead, Hughes appeared in 25 games for the Cardinals in that season before being put on the disabled list and eventually ending his career.

Hughes stuck on with the Cardinals in a few different roles before leaving baseball altogether and focusing on his family.

“His playing career in baseball ended in 1968 although he served various roles in the Cardinals organization … until 1975,” a local obituary noted. “At this point, he chose to spend more quality time with his family… His love of music, playing the guitar, and outdoor pursuits like hunting and fishing also influenced his children and eventually his grandchildren.”

This article was originally published on Forbes.com