Jeoff Long, a former infielder for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, died Friday, Sept. 25 in Elsmere, Kentucky. He was 84.
Long’s path to the majors started on the mound. The Cardinals signed him out of Lloyd Memorial High School in Erlanger, Kentucky, as a pitcher, but he later shifted to the infield while working his way through the minors.
In a 2025 interview, Long said “I did have a good arm. Basically that was what the Cardinals signed me on out of high school in 1959.
The end of my senior year, in 1959, I pitched a 13-inning game in the district championship game. From that point on my arm was never the same.
My first year was pretty much a failure.”
He said he had offers from both the Cincinnati Reds and Cardinals coming out of high school, and he picked St. Louis even though he grew up rooting for the Reds in the Cincinnati area. When his early work as a pitcher in the minors went badly, Long said he even considered returning his signing bonus.
“I said, ‘the Cardinals gave me a couple dollars here and if I can’t do anything better than what I’m doing, I ought to give it back.’ Chase (Riddle, his manager) gave me a chance to pinch hit, play a few games,” he said. “I’d always been able to hit pretty good and things seem to work out for me in that respect.”
Long’s big-league debut came in July 1963, when he pinch hit for Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson. He later picked up a hit against Sandy Koufax, his only at-bat against the future Hall of Famer.
That hit was one of 16 in his career. Long appeared in 17 games on defense and added 39 games as a pinch-hitter.
He finished his playing career after the 1969 season, which was his seventh year in the minors.
Long also made a mark away from baseball. As an amateur golfer, he qualified for the 1975 National Open Long Driving contest at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Illinois, and won it by beating several PGA Tour pros. He finished second the next year and kept competing in the event through 1984.
After baseball, Long worked in management for the Cincinnati Drum Company, which was founded by his parents, until he retired.
He is survived by his wife, Kathy, and their daughter, Lindsay, a world-renowned diver.
In Other News...
Guardians Just Made This White Sox Division Race Personal
With two games left in the regular season, the AL Central race has turned into something more than a simple standings watch for the White Sox. Chicago has stayed alive by winning its recent games and, importantly, it still owns the head-to-head tiebreaker over Cleveland, which means the path to the division title is still there even with the Guardians holding a one-game edge.
Cleveland helped create the latest layer of tension by finishing off Kansas City with a five-run ninth inning built mostly on walks and a two-run double from Angel Martnez. Martnez then added fuel during the clubhouse celebration when he was caught on camera making a disparaging comment about the White Sox, a moment that only sharpened the edge of a race already tight enough to make every out feel personal. [Read more 🡒]
Colson Montgomerys Breakout Now Comes With A Brutal White Sox Concern
Colson Montgomerys season has become one of the more fascinating power-and-miss stories in the league, a reminder that a breakout can still come with a glaring flaw attached. The White Sox infielder has piled up 31 home runs, giving the lineup a legit middle-of-the-order threat, but he also set the American League single-season strikeout record and matched the all-time MLB mark with his 223rd punchout.
For Chicago, the power is real enough to matter, and so is the concern that comes with it. Both Montgomery and the White Sox have acknowledged the strikeouts as an issue, with his swing and hitting approach now part of the discussion as the season winds on and the organization tries to figure out how much of this profile can be sharpened without dulling the pop. [Read more 🡒]
White Sox Prospect Rikuu Nishida Is Forcing A Tough Future Debate
Rikuu Nishida has kept climbing fast enough to make the White Sox think seriously about what he is, and what he can be. After reaching Triple-A and even getting a brief look in the majors in 2026, the prospect has continued to earn attention for the parts of his game that play well in any lineup, especially his ability to get on base and make contact.
The conversation gets trickier when the discussion turns to power, or the lack of it. Nishida has only two career home runs, and that low-end pop is the part that clouds his path to being an everyday player. Even with strong minor league production, the long-term question is whether he becomes more of a regular bat than a regular starter, with the kind of utility profile that brings names like Ozzie Smith and Myles Straw to mind. [Read more 🡒]