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Started By
Message
Wally Pontiff, Jr. passed away 21 years ago on this date
Posted on 7/24/23 at 4:51 am
Posted on 7/24/23 at 4:51 am
He has been gone for as long as he was with us…
Forever #31.
WDSU.com (Edited to add photo and quote)
Forever #31.
quote:
Wally Pontiff Jr. was an all-SEC talent at LSU from 2000 to 2002.
Legendary LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman called Pontiff Jr. "Everybody's All-American."
"He told me one day prior to his passing that, you know, 'I never had a bad day at LSU,' Wally Pontiff Sr. said. "I said, 'When you struck out twice?' He said it was still good, so we have those memories."
Known for his athletic and academic success, Pontiff Jr. helped LSU win the 2000 College World Series and national championship.
WDSU.com (Edited to add photo and quote)
This post was edited on 7/24/23 at 8:04 am
16
Posted on 7/24/23 at 6:00 am to LSURussian
Dude hit a ball off of me at a tournament at East Ascension that may still be in orbit. I swear it crossed the wall and was still going up. Young man was a hell of a player.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 6:37 am to LSURussian
LSU has had more than its share of tragedies regarding athletes, but this one stands out.
Prime of his life/career. Gone in a flash.
Prime of his life/career. Gone in a flash.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 6:39 am to LSURussian
RIP
Posted on 7/24/23 at 6:58 am to LSURussian
What happened to him? Was it a car crash?
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:01 am to 225Tyga
Died in his sleep from cardiac arrest
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:01 am to 225Tyga
Died in his sleep, it was a heart issue.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:22 am to LSURussian
Can remember everything exactly that morning when I got the call.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:23 am to LSURussian
AMDG Forever
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:52 am to The Hurricane
quote:
Can remember everything exactly that morning when I got the call.
Me too. I was working as a student at shaw Sunland fabricators, between spreadsheets I was dicking around on tigerroar.com and someone posted it. I can remember reading it in disbelief.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 7:58 am to 225Tyga
quote:
What happened to him? Was it a car crash?
Cardiomyopathy, an enlargement of the heart muscle that sometimes causes sudden cardiac arrest. I was diagnosed with the same thing in fall of 2020 and the first thing I thought of was Wally Pontiff Jr when I got the diagnosis. 300,000 people die of it each year, many of them in their sleep once their heart rate decreases, and sometimes it’s slow enough to the point of no return while sleeping. It’s kind of terrifying to be honest.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 8:00 am to LSURussian
Remember like it was yesterday. a coworker said " you hear about Pontiff?" I said " don't tell me he's going pro?".
also, almost upvoted until i noticed the upvote number.
also, almost upvoted until i noticed the upvote number.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 8:04 am to MorbidTheClown
No shite, nobody should upvote this post anymore. If Chicken can lock it somehow, it should be done.
Edit: Nevermind, some jack hole just ruined it.
Edit: Nevermind, some jack hole just ruined it.
This post was edited on 7/24/23 at 8:05 am
Posted on 7/24/23 at 9:21 am to TDsngumbo
still remember watching the old man grounds crew guy write 31 in the dirt when he was finished every game. he too has passed on. 21 years seems like yesterday.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 9:35 am to LSURussian
That just makes me want to cry. Life is really cruel sometimes.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 9:40 am to LSURussian
There's a cool park in Old Metairie named after him
Posted on 7/24/23 at 9:56 am to LSURussian
I guarantee his parents feel it like the day he died. Time heals nothing.
Posted on 7/24/23 at 10:17 am to LSURussian
RiP to this fellow Blue Jay
Hard to believe it’s been that long
Hope he is looking down and enjoying the current baseball success and smiling
Hard to believe it’s been that long
Hope he is looking down and enjoying the current baseball success and smiling
Posted on 7/24/23 at 2:16 pm to LSURussian
I was sitting on my couch when I got the call from a close family friend of theirs!
Still remember the funeral...so blessed my gift to them was watched for so many years at the Wally Pontiff Classic....
Always 31
Still remember the funeral...so blessed my gift to them was watched for so many years at the Wally Pontiff Classic....
Always 31
Posted on 7/24/23 at 2:44 pm to LSURussian
I worked at Ninfas that summer while I was in summer classes. He had come in the week before and was in my section. Nice dude.
I was going to run on the levee the day he died and hopped in my truck, turned on the radio, and was immediately curious why Eagle 98.1 was having an emergency announcement.
RIP.
I was going to run on the levee the day he died and hopped in my truck, turned on the radio, and was immediately curious why Eagle 98.1 was having an emergency announcement.
RIP.
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