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Chet Lemon, White Sox All-Star and World Series hero with the Tigers, dies at 70
Lemon played in the majors from 1975 to 1990, making his debut with the White Sox at 20. He spent the last nine years of his career, beginning in 1982, with the Tigers.
By USA Today Network
May 8, 2025, 2:52pm CDT




Former White Sox and Tigers outfielder Chet Lemon has died at age 70.

Former major-league center fielder Chet Lemon, a member of the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers and and All-Star while with the White Sox, died May 8 at his home in Apopka, Florida.

He was 70 years old.

“He was sleeping on his reclining sofa,” Gigi Lemon, his wife, said. “He just wasn’t responsive.”

Since Chet Lemon retired from the Tigers in 1990, he suffered a series of clots and at least 13 strokes, leaving him unable to walk or talk.

He was diagnosed with polycythemia vera, a rare blood disease that causes bone marrow to make too many red blood cells. Over the past 30 years, he had been to the hospital more than 300 times.

In September 2024, Lemon returned to Detroit for the Tigers celebration of the 1984 World Series champions. That year, he hit .287 with 20 home runs in 141 games, leading the Tigers alongside Alan Trammell and Kirk Gibson. During the celebration, Lemon and Trammell shared a personal moment in a suite at Comerica Park, surrounded by their teammates.

“You know how much you were a part of us,” Trammell said to a giddy Chet. “We wouldn’t have won it without you. You know that.”