Windsor, Former Indians Pitching Star, Dies

George “Duke” Windsor, a former pitcher for the Spokane Indians baseball team, died Tuesday in Spokane following a long illness.

Ace of Spokane’s 1940 Western International League champions, Windsor is best remembered for pitching the league’s longest game.

Windsor, 79, a native of Canada, grew up in Vancouver, Wash. He attended Willamette University, where his teammates included future Indians star Dwight Aden.

In 1938, his only season of college ball, Windsor pitched three nohitters. That summer, he starred for the semipro Silverton (Ore.) Red Sox and became a National Baseball Congress All-American.

Windsor turned pro with Spokane in 1939. In 1940, he went 20-6 and led the WIL in win percentage.

On July 6, at Salem, with Salem infielder Al Lightner and Alma Hanson scheduled to marry between games of a doubleheader, Windsor battled the Senators for 18 innings before the Indians won.

Lightner, later longtime sports editor of The Salem Statesman, and his fiancee were wed at 11:55 p.m., 5 minutes before their license expired.

After retiring from baseball, Windsor owned a Hillyard tavern, a restaurant and other businesses, and, for several years in the 1970s, operated a gold mine near Salem.

He is survived by two daughters, a son and four step-children, including Gonzaga trainer Steve DeLong.