Lawrence J. Favors 1914 - 1996

FAVORS, MARKS

Posted By: Connie Swearingen- Volunteer (email)
Date: 6/1/2017 at 00:33:49

Sioux City Journal
3 November 1996

L.J. Favors died at 82

Local and state softball hall of famer L.J. Favors died earlier this week at a Sioux City hospital, the family has reported.

Favors, 82, became well known for a softball career that began with the Sioux City Ghosts, an all-black touring team whose memorabilia are soon to be displayed at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C.

The son of Bert and Adel Favors, Lawrence J. Favors was born April 8, 1914, in St. Joseph, Mo., and moved to Sioux City in 1930 at the age of 16. He married Madelyn L. Marks on April 2, 1932 in Elk Point, S.D.

Favors, who died Wednesday, played softball for more than 30 years and even spent three years with the legendary House of David baseball team.

A catcher ad first baseman, he was nicknamed “Bambino,” reminiscent of Babe Ruth, by longtime teammate Frankie Williams, still a Sioux City resident.

Favors was inducted into Iowa’s Amateur Softball Association (ASA) Hall of Fame in 1975, the same year he suffered a stroke and was forced to take early retirement from Armour & Co.

Just over a year later, on December 30, 1976, Favors and his wife and family lost their home at 716 Myrtle St. to a fire that destroyed all their possessions, including his many trophies and awards.

Favors is survived by his wife, two sons, LeRoy of Kansas City and Lonnie of Sioux City, and two daughters, Madelyn of St. Paul, Minn., and Roxann of Sioux City,

Survivors also include 18 grandchildren.

Funeral services are scheduled for 1 p.m. Monday at Mt. Zion Baptist Church. Visitation will be Sunday from 3 to 8 p.m. at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, with the family present from 6 to 8.