Bob Boone, the steady catcher on the Philadelphia Phillies’ first World Series championship team, died Monday at 78.

His son Bret announced the news on social media, remembering his father as a man of great integrity, a devoted husband, father, and patriarch.

No cause of death was given.

The Phillies called Boone “an incredible player, teammate and family man” who “embodied everything we believe exemplary athletes should represent, both on and off the field,” adding that they were proud to have him during one of the franchise’s most historic runs.

Boone spent the first decade of his 19-year major-league career in Philadelphia after the Phillies selected him in the sixth round of the 1969 draft out of Stanford.

A third baseman in college, he was converted to catcher in the minors—a move that ultimately opened the hot corner for Mike Schmidt.

He reached the majors in 1972 and quickly became the everyday catcher, holding the job through 1981.

A three-time National League All-Star (1976, 1978, 1979) with the Phillies, Boone was the first catcher in franchise history to win a Gold Glove, taking the award in 1978 and 1979.

He caught 1,095 games for Philadelphia, second only to Red Dooin on the club’s all-time list, and finished his Phillies career with a .259 average.

More importantly, he was the defensive anchor and quiet leader for teams that won three straight division titles from 1976-78 and finally broke through for the franchise’s first World Series title in 1980.

In that championship series against the Kansas City Royals, Boone batted .412 (7-for-17) with two doubles and four RBIs.

He caught the final pitch of the series—Tug McGraw’s strikeout of Willie Wilson in Game 6 at Veterans Stadium—securing the title. He was later inducted into the Phillies Wall of Fame in 2005.

Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt, Boone’s longtime teammate, said it was “a sorrowful day” and called him a close friend for 50 years. “Our lives and careers were intertwined, we pursued our Christian faith together, worked out together, and became world champions together.”

Boone later played for the California Angels and Kansas City Royals, winning five more Gold Gloves and finishing with 2,225 games caught, third in major-league history at the time of his retirement.

He managed both the Royals and Reds and remained part of baseball as an executive. To Phillies fans, though, he will always be the sturdy, reliable backstop who helped end decades of frustration and delivered the city’s first World Series championship.