Paul William Splittorff Jr. 1946-2011

SPLITTORFF RECKNER LITTERICK

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 6/20/2011 at 22:32:30

Sioux City Journal
27 May 2011

SIOUX CITY -- Paul William Splittorff Jr., 64, of Blue Springs, Mo., formerly of Sioux City, died Wednesday, May 25, 2011, at home after a long hard-fought battle with melanoma.

Services will be 11 a.m. Tuesday at St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Blue Springs. Visitation will be 5 to 8 p.m. Monday at First United Methodist Church in Blue Springs. Arrangements are under the direction of Speaks Suburban Chapel in Independence, Mo. Online condolences may be posted at www.speakschapel.com.

Paul was born Oct. 8, 1946, in Evansville, Ind., to Paul William Splittorff Sr. and Bettye (Reckner) Splittorff. He was raised in Arlington Heights, Ill. He later attended and graduated from Morningside College in Sioux City, where he met and married Lynn Litterick.

He played basketball and baseball at Morningside and was a member of Delta Sigma Phi. In 1968 he was drafted by the Kansas City Royals and moved to Blue Springs in 1971, which became their permanent home. He played for the Royals for 15 years, was a member of four Divisional Championship teams, pitched in the 1980 World Series and was inducted into the Royals Hall of Fame in 1987. At the time of his death, he held the record for most career wins in Royals history.

Upon his retirement from baseball in 1984, he immediately pursued his second career in broadcasting, getting his start by doing high school football and UMKC basketball. He joined the Royals broadcast booth in 1987 as a color analyst, and soon after started working as a commentator for Big 8 and later Big 12 basketball. He was a member of the NAIA Hall of Fame, Missouri Sports Hall of Fame (2002), Greater Siouxland Athletic Association Hall of Fame and Morningside College Hall of Fame. He was on the gold medal Team USA in the 1967 Pan American games.

Paul was a member of St. Robert Bellarmine Catholic Church in Blue Springs and Knights of Columbus Council 6506.

Paul is survived by his wife Lynn; his daughter, Jennifer; his son, Jamie and wife Erin; two granddaughters, Shea and Devin; his mother, Bettye; a brother, Lou; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins.

The family suggests memorials in Paul's name to St. Mary's Medical Center Foundation, 201 N.W. R D Mize Road, Blue Springs, MO 64014-2513 or a charity of choice.