Jeoff Long, who spent two seasons in MLB as an infielder with the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago White Sox, died Friday, Sept. 25, in Elsmere, Kentucky. He was 84.
Long signed with the Cardinals as a pitcher out of Lloyd Memorial High School in his hometown of Erlanger, Kentucky, but converted to the infield as a minor leaguer.
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In a 2025 interview, Long said, “I did have a good arm. Basically, that was what the Cardinals signed me on out of high school in 1959. The end of my senior year, in 1959, I pitched a 13-inning game in the district championship game. From that point on, my arm was never the same. My first year was pretty much a failure.”
Long said he had offers from both the Cincinnati Reds and Cardinals to sign out of high school. He chose the Cardinals’ offer despite growing up in the Cincinnati area as a Reds fan. After he struggled on the mound early in his minor league career, Long claimed he offered to give his signing bonus back.
“I said, ‘the Cardinals gave me a couple dollars here, and if I can’t do anything better than what I’m doing, I ought to give it back.’ Chase [Riddle, his manager] gave me a chance to pinch-hit, play a few games,” he said. “I’d always been able to hit pretty good and things seemed to work out for me in that respect.”
Played with and against legends
Long pinch-hit for Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson in his major-league debut in July 1963. He later faced Sandy Koufax and got a hit against the left-hander—in what would be his only at-bat against the future Hall of Famer. That was one of 16 hits in Long’s career, which saw him play only 17 games on defense and another 39 as a pinch-hitter.
Long retired as a player after the 1969 season, his seventh year in the minors.
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An amateur golfer, Long qualified for the 1975 National Open Long Driving Championship at Butler National Golf Club in Oak Brook, Illinois—and won, beating several PGA Tour pros. He was the runner-up the following year and competed in the event until 1984.
Long worked in management for the Cincinnati Drum Company, which was founded by his parents, until he retired.
Long is survived by his wife, Kathy, and their daughter, Lindsay, a world-renowned diver.
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