Former Atlanta Braves Pitcher, Bartow Resident Dies

Former Atlanta Braves pitcher Rick Camp, a Bartow County resident, died Thursday at the age of 60.

Deputy Coroner Joel Guyton said Camp passed away at his Rydal home, possibly from natural causes, although an autopsy will be performed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

Born Rickey Lamar Camp, the Trion native pitched for the Braves from 1976 to 1985 and may be best remembered for his tying 18th-inning home run in a 1985 game the Braves finally lost to the New York Mets about 4 a.m., after 19 innings, according to the Associated Press.

Ten years later, Camp, who would become a lobbyist, made headlines of a different kind.

He was sentenced in 2005 to three years in federal prison for his part in a conspiracy to steal more than $2 million from an Augusta mental health agency, according to the AP.

Released in 2008, Camp returned to his Rydal home. After another brush with the law, he made headlines again two years later.

Camp, who had been to a party for a gubernatorial candidate in Adairsville, crashed his Tahoe in Cartersville, allegedly so intoxicated he couldn't stand up, The Daily Tribune News reported in 2010. He was charged with DUI and having an open container of some type of whiskey or bourbon in the vehicle.

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