Bob Tufts
Robert Tufts | |
|---|---|
| Born | 2 November 1955 Medford, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | 4 October 2019 (aged 63) |
| Occupation(s) | Professional baseball pitcher, financial trader, professor |
| Years active | 1981–1983 (MLB) |
Robert Malcolm Tufts (November 2, 1955 – October 4, 2019) was a professional American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher who played for the San Francisco Giants and Kansas City Royals between 1981 and 1983.
Early life
Born in Medford, Massachusetts and raised in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, Tufts completed his secondary education at Lynnfield High School. He graduated with a degree in Economics from Princeton University in 1977. During the summer of 1975, he competed in collegiate baseball with the Harwich Mariners of the Cape Cod Baseball League.
Baseball career
Selected by the Giants in the 12th round of the 1977 Major League Baseball Draft, Tufts led the Texas League in wins and complete games during the 1979 season, achieving a 14-10 record and a 2.45 ERA while pitching for the Shreveport Captains. His MLB debut came in 1981 with the Giants, where he appeared in 11 games. Notably, he was the last Princeton alumnus to play in MLB until Chris Young entered the league in 2004.
In spring 1982, Tufts was traded to the Royals alongside Vida Blue. Over two seasons, he took part in 16 major league games. That same year, while with the Omaha Royals, he ranked second in appearances (59) and third in saves (12) within the American Association, posting a remarkable 1.60 ERA. Midway through 1983, Tufts was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Charlie Leibrandt, though he did not make another MLB appearance thereafter.
During his playing career, Tufts converted to Judaism, becoming one of only six MLB players to do so. He contributed to a 2005 seminar at the Baseball Hall of Fame focusing on Jewish players and baseball history and led baseball clinics conducted in Israel.
Personal life
Tufts obtained an MBA specializing in finance from Columbia University in 1986. Residing in Forest Hills, New York, he pursued a career in futures and foreign exchange sales and trading at notable institutions such as Bear Stearns, Credit Agricole, Lehman Brothers, Thomson McKinnon, and Jefferies Financial Group.
His academic involvement included serving as an adjunct professor at New York University, where he taught business development. Additionally, he instructed courses on sports marketing, management, and entrepreneurship at Yeshiva University’s Sy Syms School of Business, as well as organizational behavior related to sports at Manhattanville College.
Tufts was married to Suzanne Israel Tufts, who held the position of Assistant Secretary of Administration at the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2018. Together, they had a daughter named Abigail Tufts.
After being diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2009, Tufts underwent chemotherapy followed by an autologous stem cell transplant, achieving near remission by 2010. He became an advocate for patients’ rights and founded My Life Is Worth It, an organization dedicated to encouraging active patient participation in healthcare decisions.
Tufts passed away on October 4, 2019, due to complications stemming from his stem cell transplant. He was aged 63 and was laid to rest at Beth Israel Cemetery located in Woodbridge Township, New Jersey.