Ray Boone, head of three-generation baseball family, dies at 81

SAN DIEGO -- Two-time All-Star Ray Boone, patriarch of a three-generation baseball family, died early Sunday following a long illness. He was 81.

Boone's wife, Pat, said he had been hospitalized for six months following complications from surgery.

"It's a blessing," she said. "He had a great life."

Boone played from 1948-60 with six teams and was followed into the big leagues by son Bob and grandsons Bret and Aaron.

"We were the first three-generation family," Pat Boone said. "We're not the only one, but we were the first."