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By Sam Garcia
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At the New York Yankees 78th annual Old-Timers' Day on Saturday, catcher Austin Wells paid tribute to former star Yankees catcher and captain Thurman Munson.
Wells wore special old-fashioned catching gear and shaved his mustache to resemble Munson's.
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At 32 years old, Munson died in a plane crash on Aug. 2, 1979 while practicing landings near his hometown in Akron, Ohio. The Yankees' Old-Timers' Day was six days after the 47th anniversary of Munson's death.
Munson's wife, Diana Munson, attended the Yankees' Old-Timers' Day on Saturday. She said Wells' tribute to her husband brought her to tears. Wells also walked Diana Munson onto the field during pregame introductions.
“It was perhaps the most beautiful tribute I’ve ever seen in baseball, period. But for my husband, after 47 years, it just knocked me out," Munson said, per YES Network.
"It's been so long. I thought probably we're long past the time where they would pay that kind of tribute, so I think it caught everyone off-guard," Munson added.
Munson thanked Wells with a card and said her one goal for Old-Timers' Day was just to give Wells a hug for honoring her husband.
Munson's Career With the Yankees
After the Yankees drafted him with the No. 4 overall pick in 1968, Munson went on to play his entire 11-season career in New York. He was named the AL Rookie of the Year in 1970 and the 1976 American League Most Valuable Player.
Munson helped lead the Yankees to back-to-back World Series championships in 1977 and 1978. He was also a seven-time AL All-Star and three-time AL Gold Glove winner.
The Yankees retired Munson's No. 15 in 1979, the same year as his death.
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