John Strohmayer | Pitcher For 1973 New York Mets NLCS Championship Team, Dies at 73

John Strohmayer, a pitcher for the 1973 New York Mets National League pennant-winning team, died November 28, 2019, in Redding, California. He was 73.

John Strohmayer "Missing 1974 Topps Card" / Giovanni Balistreri

The South Dakota native made his major league debut in 1970 with the Montreal Expos. He pitched parts of four seasons with the Canadian club, compiling an 11-9 record before the Mets signed him off waivers midway through the 1973 season. It was a move that delighted the entire household.

“We are both so happy,” his wife Connie said to the Montreal Gazette in 1973. “He pitched so well against New York earlier this year and he had two good starts against them in ’71. I guess they remember.”

Unfortunately, Strohmayer could not recapture his Flushing magic in a Mets uniform. He pitched in only seven games with an 8.10 ERA and was left off the postseason roster. He spent most of the 1974 season in the minor leagues, making one final appearance as a September call-up with New York. Citing a sore shoulder, Strohmayer hung up his cleats and embarked on a 34-year career in education.

He returned to his alma mater, Central Valley High School, where he was once a standout multi-sport athlete. Working as a teacher and a coach, he led Central Valley’s boys’ basketball team to the CIF championship in 1989. The district dedicated the current basketball court in his honor.

“His attention to detail and getting kids to believe in themselves was the difference,” his son Kevin said to Shasta County Sports.

Strohmayer eventually moved up the administration ladder, working as an assistant principal and principal before becoming the district’s superintendent in 2005. Current Central Valley principal Kyle Turner found Strohmayer’s athletic and coaching experience enhanced his ability to relate to students and staff.

"I firmly believe that some of the best coaches can make fantastic administrators, and I know that a lot of the things that he's learned in his athletic past obviously helped him relate to students and keep the connections with students,” Turner said to ABC-affiliate KRCR. “And that's something that is an integral part of any educator, and he was able to do that very, very well, from everything that I've experienced with John."

In 2009 luck found Strohmayer, when he was one of 15 Gateway Unified School District employees who shared a $76 million lottery jackpot. He retired at the end of the 2009 school year after 32 years in education.