Washington, D.C. (March 9, 2010) -- Charles “Old Hoss” Radbourn, the Hall of Fame pitcher who had the greatest season in major-league history, died of a sexually transmitted disease, according to the new book, Fifty-nine in ’84.

Radbourn succumbed at age 43 to the agonies of untreated syphilis, a scourge of 19^th century men who consorted with prostitutes.

It is not clear how the baseball great caught the deadly STD, though Fifty Nine in '84 author Edward Achorn discovered in his research that Radbourn’s wife, Carrie Stanhope, was first married to a man who eventually died of the disease himself.

Carrie, who ran a dubious boarding house in a neighborhood of brothels, later died of ailments that could be related to the disease.

Fifty-Nine in '84, the groundbreaking biography of 'Old Hoss' Radbourn, will be available in bookstores on March 16.

You can Pre-Order Fifty-Nine in '84 below for Amazon's special price of $17.15.

Fifty-nine in '84- Old Hoss Radbourn, Barehanded Baseball, and the Greatest Season a Pitcher Ever Had

For more information, please go to EdwardAchorn.com.