MLB All-Star, Wine Collector Rusty Staub Dies At 73

Montreal's first Major League Baseball hero and New York Mets All-Star Rusty Mets passed away March 29 in West Palm Beach, Florida, at the age of 73. According to the Mets, Staub was reportedly being treated for a blood infection that led to kidney failure.

When he wasn't hitting home runs, Staub was a food world all-star. The 6-foot-2 fan favorite opened two successful restaurants in Manhattan in the late '70s and '80s, though both have since closed. The Washington Post reports that the restaurateur was also a skilled cook and often made meals for his team with the wild game he liked to hunt in rural Canada. The outlet reported that one of his specialties was "duck Le Grand Orange," a twist on "Le Grand Orange," a moniker that fans applied to the carrot-topped Staub himself during his time in Montreal.

He was also a wine collector and philanthropist and was able to blend the two spectacularly. Staub held a yearly wine auction dinner benefitting participating charities of the Rusty Staub Foundation, at which he auctioned off bottles of from his own wine collection to combat child hunger. Staub also established the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. He was also a prominent supporter of charities like the Emeril Lagasse Foundation.

"Rusty was a friend and generous supporter of the Emeril Lagasse Foundation and so many other charitable causes," chef Emeril Lagasse revealed to Wine Spectator. "He was dedicated to those less fortunate and his philanthropic efforts will always be remembered. He will be missed dearly."

Staub is survived by a brother and two sisters and his legacy lives on through the Rusty Staub Foundation.