Bill Buckner, a veteran of 22 Major League Baseball seasons who debuted with the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1969 and persevered after a calamitous fielding error in the 1986 World Series for the Boston Red Sox, died Monday. He was 69.

Buckner had been battling Lewy body dementia, according to a statement his wife, Jody Buckner, issued to ESPN.

Buckner’s career touched four decades. He had more than 2,700 career hits and won the National League batting title in 1980. But his legacy remains locked inside one moment, the 10th inning of the sixth game of the World Series against the New York Mets.

On Oct. 25, 1986, the Mets’ Mookie Wilson chopped a ground ball down the first-base line. The ball rolled past Buckner’s glove and between his legs. The Mets scored the winning run and went on to win the World Series.

Buckner weathered discontent in Boston and a series of death threats.

“Life is a lot of hard knocks,” Buckner told USA Today in 2016. “There are a lot worse things happening than losing a baseball game or making an error, so it puts things in perspective. You learn forgiveness, patience — all the things you have to do to survive.”

— Los Angeles Times