By John McMullen
The Phanatic Magazine
The longest tenured coach in Phillies history, John Vukovich, will be inducted posthumously into the Phillies Wall of Fame on Friday August 10.
Vukovich, who spent 30 of his 41 years in baseball as a member of the Phillies organization, died in March.
Vukovich was originally drafted by Philadelphia in 1966 out of American River Junior College and he played parts of 10 seasons with the Phillies (1970-71, 76-77, 79-81).
He also spent time with the Milwaukee Brewers (1973-74) and Cincinnati Reds (1975) and was a member of two World Championship clubs, the '75 Reds and 1980 Phillies.
Vokovich returned to the Phillies organization as a major league coach in 1988 and spent the next 17 years as a first base, third base and bench coach under six different managers. Following the 2004 season, he was named a special assistant to the general manager, working under both Ed Wade and Pat Gillick.
His wife, Bonnie, daughter Nicole Stolarik and son Vince will accept the honor on his behalf.
"I started crying when David [Montgomery] called me," Bonnie said. "I called John’s brothers right away and they started crying. I'm so thrilled for John that he'll be on that wall forever. When the granddaughters are grown, I can take them there and show them their grandfather. That will be so special."
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