Mickey Vernon, ballplayer

A viewing for legendary baseball player James B. "Mickey" Vernon will be from 2 to 7 p.m. today and 2 to 4 p.m. tomorrow at Nolan-Fidale Funeral Home, 5980 Chichester Ave., Aston.

A life celebration will be scheduled for a later date. Mr. Vernon, 90, of Media, died of a stroke Wednesday at Riddle Memorial Hospital.

For 20 seasons, Mr. Vernon played in the major leagues with the Washington Senators, Cleveland Indians, Boston Red Sox, Milwaukee Braves and Pittsburgh Pirates. He was named to seven all-star teams, and won two American League batting titles. After his playing career ended in 1960, he remained in baseball as a manager, coach and scout, retiring as a scout for the New York Yankees in 1988.

Last month, the baseball Hall of Fame's veterans committee chose Mr. Vernon as one of 10 finalists, whose playing careers started before 1942, for induction into the Hall this year.

For most of his career, Mr. Vernon played for Washington. Unlike the baseball player for a fictional team inspired by the Senators in

Damn Yankees

, Mr. Vernon never sold his soul to the devil and never got to go to the World Series as a player.

In 2002, Strath Haven High School in Wallingford, where Mr. Vernon lived for more than 50 years, dedicated a production of

Damn Yankees

to him. He told a reporter at the time, "The joke used to be that Washington was first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." Though he was a first-base coach when the Pirates won the World Series in 1960, Mr. Vernon said that not playing for a World Series team was the only regret he had.

Mr. Vernon left the Pirates to manage the Senators for two-plus seasons. In his 70s, he was still fielding balls at old-timers' games, and played in golf tournaments this summer, said his daughter, Gay.

A native of Marcus Hook, Mr. Vernon was a frequent guest at sports banquets, signed autographs for fund-raising events, and participated in Delaware County parades. He felt lucky to spend his whole life doing something he loved, his daughter said, and would do anything to encourage children's interest in the game.

In a Daily News article in 2002, broadcaster Harry Kalas recalled how he came to love the Washington Senators and baseball. When he was 10, in 1946, he attended his first major-league game in Chicago, where Washington was playing the White Sox. He and his father sat behind the Washington dugout. "Mickey Vernon popped his head out of the dugout and saw this wide-eyed kid, me. He picked me up, took me into the dugout, introduced me to some of his teammates, and gave me a baseball," Kalas said.

Mr. Vernon grew up playing sandlot baseball. He graduated from Eddystone High School. In 1937, he dropped out in his first year at Villanova University after he was recruited by the St. Louis Browns.

He played for Washington from 1939 to 1943, and then served in the Navy in the South Pacific during World War II. He returned to the team in 1946.

Mr. Vernon married his high school sweetheart, Anne Firth, in 1941. She died in 2004.

In addition to his daughter, Mr. Vernon is survived by nieces and nephews.

Memorial donations may be made to Mickey Vernon Little League, P.O. Box 914, Linwood, Pa., 19061, or to Baseball Assistance Team, 245 Park Ave., New York, N.Y. 10167, to benefit retired players in need.