When Mark Freeman died Feb. 22 in Rancho Mirage, Calif., a personal view into a prominent chapter of Denver’s sports history was closed.
Freeman, 75, died from complications of viral pneumonia. A private memorial reception is scheduled March 12 at the Denver Country Club.
Freeman entered the Denver sports scene in 1956 as a member of the Denver Bears’ pitching staff. The Bears were the New York Yankees’ Triple-A affiliate, and he was one of the Yankees’ top prospects.
During his three seasons with the Bears, some of his teammates were Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek, Woodie Held and Norm Siebern. They all played for manager Ralph Houk, who went on to manage the Yankees to World Series titles in 1961 and 1962. Freeman had a vivid memory of his baseball days and was a great storyteller.
“I have fond memories of the stories he told all of us,” said Freeman’s son, Mark Price Freeman III. “He was in the Yankees’ organization at the same time with Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, all of them.”
Freeman holds a few pitching records from Denver’s minor- league days. He was a power pitcher and holds the career record for strikeouts at 438, single-season record for strikeouts with 175 in 1958 and shutouts with seven, five in the 1958 season. He also holds the record for hit batsmen at 26.
Freeman made it to the major leagues with the Yankees and Kansas City Athletics in 1959 and with the Chicago Cubs in 1960. After retiring in 1960, Freeman made Denver his home and entered the mutual funds business.
He is survived by his wife, Martha, sons Mark, Dal and David and daughter Wynne Freeman.
Irv Moss can be reached at 303-820-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
