Washington University in St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame member Vaughan “Bing” Devine died Saturday at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis. He was 90.
A member of the Bears’ baseball and basketball teams, Devine graduated from Washington University in 1938 with a degree in liberal arts. He was part of the inaugural class in the WU Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.
Devine, who served in the United States Navy from 1943-46, began a professional sports administration career which spanned more than 50 years following one year of minor league baseball. He worked with the St. Louis Baseball Cardinals from 1939-64 serving in a number of capacities — director of public relations, minor league manager, vice president and general manager.
Devine returned to the Cardinals in 1968 where he spent the next 10 years as vice president/general manager. He helped build Cardinal teams that won three National League pennants and World Series championships in 1964 and 1967. Devine also served as president of the Football Cardinals (1981-86) following a one-year stint as vice president for player development with the Montreal Expos.
He is survived by his wife, Mary.