a memorial patch for mike darr

mike darr was 25 years old, when he died in a high-speed rollover crash on february 15, 2002.  he was in arizona where the padres were about to open spring training.  darr had been the pads' opening day center fielder in 2001, and i would imagine that the team was hoping for him to be a big part of the 2002 squad.

in his memory, the padres wore a '26' patch on their right sleeves during the 2002 season.  you can see it on ryan klesko's 2003 upper deck 40 man card.

there were two other passenger's in darr's vehicle when the accident occurred - a friend who also died, and teammate ben howard who survived.  howard was the only one wearing a seatbelt.  as a result, i find howard's 2003 donruss team heroes card to be pretty powerful.

it also looks like the patch was worn on the left sleeve, perhaps in spring training?

all three cards are in my memorial patch binder.

don't drive drunk, kids.