Phil Garner, MLB All-Star, World Series manager, Tennessee baseball great, dies at 76
Phil 'Scrap Iron' Garner, a former MLB All-Star and 1979 World Series champion, has died after battling pancreatic cancer.
Phil Garner, who played 16 years in Major League Baseball and later became a successful manager, died on April 11. He was 76. Garner was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in February 2024 and underwent radiation and chemotherapy for more than two years.
"Phil Garner passed away peacefully last night, April 11, surrounded by family and love after a two-plus-year battle with pancreatic cancer," his family said in a statement. "Phil never lost his signature spark of life he was so well known for or his love for baseball which was with him until the end. Special thanks to the Houston Medical Center, MD Anderson, Baylor St.
Lukes and all the Doctors and Nurses for their excellent care and support. " The 5-foot-10 Garner earned the nickname "Scrap Iron" because of his hard-nosed play as a second baseman. Garner was born in Jefferson City and raised in Rutledge, Tennessee, and moved to Knoxville after for his final two years of high school at Bearden.
He earned a scholarship at Tennessee and became one of the best players ever for the Vols . He played for the Oakland Athletics , Pittsburgh Pirates , Houston Astros , Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants . He later became the manager of Astros, Milwaukee Brewers and Detroit Tigers .