SEATTLE — Former Seattle University basketball and baseball star Ed O’Brien has passed away at age 83.
The school announced O’Brien’s death Friday afternoon. He passed away earlier in the day. The school did not reveal a cause of death, but O’Brien recently had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
O’Brien played basketball at Seattle from 1950-53, along with his twin brother, Johnny, and helped the school reach the NCAA tournament in 1953. He also played baseball at the school and eventually had a six-year Major League Baseball career with the Pittsburgh Pirates. O’Brien played for the Pirates from 1953-58, appearing in 231 career games and batting .236.
Once his baseball career ended, O’Brien returned to Seattle and served as athletic director at Seattle University from 1958-80. He also was Seattle’s baseball coach for 14 seasons, compiling a 276-135 record.
“Eddie O’Brien has been an inspiration to all of us here at Seattle U,” the school’s athletic director, Bill Hogan, said in a press release. “He was a gentleman first but also a fierce competitor who loved to win. There will never be another like him, he was our treasure.”
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