ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) — Joe Macko, who hit 306 home runs in nearly 2,000 minor league games before a long career as a clubhouse manager with the Texas Rangers, has died. He was 86.
The Rangers said Macko died Friday at an assisted living center in Fort Worth.
Macko was manager of the Texas League’s Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs when the Washington Senators moved to Texas after the 1971 season. He joined them as business manager, became home clubhouse manager the following year and moved to the visiting clubhouse in 1995.
After his retirement from that role in 2000, Macko was the club’s goodwill ambassador for 12 years.
Macko played in the farm systems of Cleveland and the Chicago Cubs from 1948-64 and was a coach for the Cubs briefly in the big leagues.