I have covered the Minnesota Twins from Day 1 of their arrival in the Twin Cities, and I can still see it now in Met Stadium: The two lockers closest to the shower belonged to Harmon Killebrew and his closest friend on the team, Bob Allison.
The two were inseparable, on and off the baseball field.
They were the two big stars that came with Calvin Griffith and company when the Washington Senators moved here in 1961.
It is sad to see Killebrew come down with a terrible disease years after he lost his friend to illness. Allison, a three-time All-Star who hit 256 career home runs, died at age 60 after becoming ill when he was 53. He suffered from a neurological disease called olivopontocerebellar atrophy (OPCA).
Allison battled this terrible disease for eight years, eventually losing his ability to walk, talk and feed himself. He died of complications from the disease in April 1995 at his Arizona home.
Killebrew, who made his league debut six days short of his 18th birthday, is now suffering a similar fate, having been struck with another terrible disease, esophageal cancer. He announced he had the disease in December; it caused him to miss a good portion of spring training, and he couldn't come to Target Field for Opening Day, either.
Killebrew, 74, announced Friday that he no longer will be treated for the cancer and is entering a hospice.
Killebrew and Allison had many memorable moments during their great years with the Twins. I remember in particular one moment from each one: Killebrew's 1965 home run against the New York Yankees at Met Stadium that helped the Twins clinch the pennant, and Allison's sensational catch in left field against the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 2 of that 1965 World Series.
Julio Becquer, who played with Killebrew and Allison with both the Senators and Twins, can't understand what happened to both.
"It's almost unbelievable. I mean the way you look at this, especially Allison," said Becquer, now 79. "I just couldn't believe it. It was so clear to see a specimen of man, I mean Bob was ... I mean, just so much power. They were really alive.
"It's hard to describe these guys. They were the prototype of an athlete. Harmon was not quite as big as Bob, was but he was really, really put together. Both were really well put together."
The minute that Becquer heard of Killebrew's condition, he headed to the Phoenix area to visit his ailing friend.
Becquer, a pinch hitter, outfielder and first baseman, made his major league debut with the Senators in 1955, one year after Killebrew's rookie year. They played together until the team moved to Minnesota. Becquer was taken in the expansion draft by the Angels in December 1960 but returned to the Twins in June 1961.
While Becquer assumes every baseball fan knows of Killebrew's legendary power, his teammates and friends had the opportunity to be familiar with one great person on and off the field.
"Everybody liked Harmon. Even when he became Numero Uno, it still was Harmon," said Becquer.
"He still was approachable. He never changed. He was always the same individual, never tried to outdo anybody or anything like that. I love the guy. The guy's a great, great human being. The guy is a great guy."
Becquer said 400-foot home runs were the norm for Killebrew, who finished his career with 573 homers.
"He hit them all over the place," Becquer said. "There's not one you remember because he hit so many, you can't really concentrate on just one. ... He hit quite a few that were just tape-measures."
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