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Ex-Cubs pitcher and fan Kevin Foster dies

CHICAGO, Oct. 14 (UPI) -- Former Chicago Cubs pitcher Kevin Foster died of cancer at the age of 39, his family said.

The Chicago Tribune reported Tuesday Foster's brother, Mark, announced Monday the five-year Major League veteran had died of renal cell carcinoma during the weekend at a hospital in Oklahoma.

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Foster, who grew up in the Chicago suburbs, broke into the big leagues with Philadelphia in 1993 and was traded to his beloved Cubbies the following year.

"It was like a dream for him when he got to play for the Cubs," Mark Foster told the Trib. "We used to come down on the L (elevated train) to watch games at Wrigley Field as kids, and now he's pitching there."

Foster compiled a 32-28 record for the Cubs from 1994 to 1998. A highlight was getting a win that snapped Chicago's 14-game losing streak that opened the 1997 season.

An arm injury ended Foster's career and he moved to Oklahoma where he became a truck driver following a brief comeback attempt in the Texas Rangers farm system.

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