Steve Stone announced his retirement from baseball on June 2, 1982, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. The former Orioles right-hander, who won the American League Cy Young Award in 1980, had been hampered by tendinitis in his elbow and shoulder. In the news conference, an emotional Stone lamented that his age, then 34, and the low success rate of surgery made the decision for him.
Afterward, a team secretary approached him with two phone messages. One was from David Hartman, the host of ABC’s “Good Morning America,” who wanted Stone to appear on the show. The other was from Chuck Howard, an executive at ABC Sports.
