Sal Bando

Sal Bando, three-time World Series champion and former Brewers general manager, dies at 78

Sal Bando, who spent the final five seasons of a decorated playing career with the Milwaukee Brewers and then held the role of general manager with the franchise for another eight seasons, died Friday at age 78 in Oconomowoc, Wisconsin. A statement from his family said Bando had been battling cancer for five years. The three-time World Series champion as a player with the Oakland Athletics made four All-Star teams during his playing days with the A’s and signed a five-year contract worth $1.5 million with the Brewers after the 1976 season, the first premier free-agency additions in Brewers history. Bando hit .254 with 242 homers and 1,039 RBI in 16 seasons with the Athletics and Brewers. He won three consecutive titles with the A’s from 1972-74. “It can never be overstated the role Sal had in Brewers’ history, both on and off the field,” said former Brewers owner and baseball commissioner Allan H. “Bud” Selig. “I cannot emphasize that enough. When he joined us as a player, that was a big day in our history. He helped us turn the corner and was everything we hoped for and played an important role in helping develop our younger players such as Robin Yount and Paul Molitor, into stars. He was truly our captain.