Bob Allison - Retirement

Retirement

During his baseball career, he worked during the off season in sales for Coca-Cola Bottling Midwest Co. in suburban Minneapolis and after retirement, he continued with that business, becoming a plant manager and a sales manager Coca Cola's Twin Cities Marketing Division. Thirteen years after his retirement, Allison began noticing problems with his coordination during a 1987 old-timers game at the Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Running was and even catching the ball became difficult. Following two years of doctor visits to learn what was wrong, the diagnosis was finally made — Allison was suffering from a progressive sporadic ataxia known as Olivo-Ponto cerebellar atrophy (OPCA). In 1990, Allison helped found the Bob Allison Ataxia Research Center at the University of Minnesota along with his wife Betty, sons Mark, Kirk, and Kyle, and former Twins' teammates Jim Kaat and Frank Quilici. He continued to battle this rare degenerative neurological disease for eight years, eventually losing his ability to walk, talk, write, and feed himself. Allison died of complications from ataxia on April 9, 1995 at the age of 60 in his Rio Verde, Arizona home.

Following his death, the Minnesota Twins created the Bob Allison Award for the Twins player who exemplifies determination, hustle, tenacity, competitive spirit and leadership both on and off the field. Right Fielder Michael Cuddyer was the 2009 winner.