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Auburn great Joe Beckwith, 66, remembered as World Series champ, community hero
By Keith Farner
Published:
An Auburn legend passed away on Saturday following a battle with colon cancer.
A two-time World Series champion, who led Auburn to the College World Series, Joe Beckwith, who was born in Opelika and grew up in Auburn, is remembered as a community hero, the Opelika-Auburn News reported. He was 66.
Beckwith pitched for Auburn High School and then for Auburn University before he won two World Series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1981 and with the Kansas City Royals in 1985. Earlier, he helped lead Auburn University to its second-ever appearance at the College World Series in 1976.
Beckwith was inducted into Auburn University’s Tiger Trail walk of fame in 2006 and an engraved square honoring him rests in the sidewalk downtown.
Auburn High held a ceremony honoring him in April as his battle with cancer wore on, with the mayor declaring April 21, 2021, to be Joe Beckwith Day in the city of Auburn. Auburn University followed that weekend celebrating its own Joe Beckwith Day at Plainsman Park, where he was once the starting pitcher in the stadium’s first-ever night game under the lights in the 1970s.
After his retirement from playing, he coached youth baseball and softball in the area, and one of his teams won the Dixie Youth state championship in 2004.
He is survived by his wife Lee and children Allie Fuller Selman, Reynolds Fuller Tatum, Bailey Beckwith Divers, Tyler Beckwith and Merrill Beckwith Jordan.
The Community Foundation of East Alabama has announced that the family and friends of Joe Beckwith has created the “Joe Beckwith Memorial Scholarship Endowment” to celebrate his legacy and to continue to give back to the community in which he dedicated his heart and time.
To donate, visit cfeastalabama.org.
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
