Stark, actually: Who left a bat at Thurman Munson's Jackson Township gravesite?
![](jpg/252c5ccb-c33c-4b1f-b0aa-287cbfd06306-botos_tim3850.jpg?crop=299,299,x0,y74&width=48&height=48&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
![A baseball bat, hand-delivered from a Thurman Munson fan in New Jersey in 2021, still lies at Munson's gravesite.](jpg/6a279ca9-4ced-4ee0-a5cc-f5471138bf67-munson5b75.jpg?width=300&height=436&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
WHAT: A now-weathered wooden baseball bat is among mementoes left at the gravesite of Thurman Munson .
WHERE: Sunset Hills Burial Park on Everhard Road NW in Jackson Township.
WHEN: This photo was taken the morning of Feb. 10, 2023.
THE STORY: A wooden baseball bat, engraved with "Bill Carr, Marlins" lies at the foot of Thurman Munson's monument.
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One of the Canton area's greatest, Munson played for the New York Yankees until his death in a plane crash on Aug. 2, 1979. The bat was placed there in June 2021 by Bill Carr, of Bayonne, N.J. The 60-year-old Carr grew up a Munson fan. He still plays in adult baseball leagues and tournaments — he's always worn number 15 (same as Munson) since his Little League days.
During Carr's first visit to Canton, he stopped at the cemetery; grabbed a box of rags and window cleaner from his vehicle and cleaned Munson's monument; then he took the bat from his trunk and placed it at the site.
"When I was a kid, I'd wanted to go to his funeral," he said "... I was crying; my parents had to explain we couldn't. 'Billy, it's a nine-hour ride.'"
Reach Tim at 330-580-8333 ortim.botos@cantonrep.com.On Twitter: @tbotosREP