Rusty Staub, An Original Astros Star, Dies At 73

Daniel Staub earned his nickname 'Rusty' shortly after he was born and before he even left the hospital. The nurses in New Orleans called the newborn boy that name because of the red pitch fuzz on his head. Rusty went on to become a baseball icon and beloved figure in the game. His career began with the Houston Colt 45s and transcended into the Astros.

Staub journeyed around the major leagues, twice and most notoriously with the New York Mets. The colorful and stellar former baseball player died Thursday morning in West Palm Beach. Stab died from multiple organ failures that initiated with pneumonia, dehydration and an infection. He spent the last eight weeks in the hospital. He would have turned 74 this Sunday (April 1).

"The Mets family suffered another loss earlier today when Daniel 'Rusty' Staub passed away in a West Palm Beach Hospital after an illness," the team said in a statement before taking the field in Flushing. "He was almost as well known for his philanthropic work as he was for his career as a baseball player, which spanned 23 seasons. There wasn't a cause he didn't champion. Rusty helped children, the poor, the elderly and then there was his pride and joy, The New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund.

"A six-time All-Star, he is the only player in major league history to have collected as least (sic) 500 hits with four different teams. The entire Mets organization sends its deepest sympathy to his brother, Chuck and sisters Sue Tully and Sally Johnson. He will be missed by everyone."

Staub was born in New Orleans and first began swinging a baseball bat his dad gave him when Rusty was only 3. He developed into a great high school player, leading Jesuit in new Orleans to the Class AAA state championship in 1961. After that, he signed with the Houston Colt 45s — an expansion team in the National League — for $100,000.

He played just one year of minor-league ball before getting the call-up to play for the big-league 45s in 1963, hitting from the cleanup spot on Opening Day. After a less-than-spectacular rookie campaign, he was sent back down to the minors.

Staub found his groove and made it back to the major league team. He accredits his 1967 breakout season to playing inside the Astrodome, which is when the team rebranded its name to the Astros. Stab was named an all-star in the 1967 and 1968 seasons with the Astros.

According to the New York Daily News, Staub had a .279 lifetime average with 2,716 hits, 292 homers, 499 doubles and a major league record-tying 25 pinch hit RBI in 2,951 games over 23 seasons with Houston, the Montreal Expos, Mets, Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers from 1963-85.

Staub is also only one of four players in Major League history to hit a home run before turning 20 and another after turning 40. The other three to accomplish that are Ty Cobb, Alex Rodriguez and Gary Sheffield.

He was also quite the humanitarian off the field. He established the Rusty Staub Foundation, which distributed over $11 million in the first 15 years of its existence to the families of New York area police and fire fighters killed in the line of duty. Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, they received more than $112 million in contributions. His foundation also served 9,043,741 meals to the hungry at food pantries throughout New York over last 10 years.

“For more than thirty years, Rusty dedicated his life to helping others," said Stephen Dannhauser, the foundation's chairman, in a statement. "He worked tirelessly on behalf of the widows, widowers, and children of New York City's fallen heroes."

Image: Founder, Daniel 'Rusty' Staub attends the 2nd Annual New York Police & Fire Widows' & Children's Benefit Fund 'Kick Off To Summer' Benefit at Empire Hotel Rooftop on May 13, 2014 in New York City. (Photo by Ilya S. Savenok/Getty Images)