MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Ronnie Retton, whose steal and driving layup helped West Virginia defeat St. Joseph's in a 1959 NCAA Tournament second-round game in Charlotte, North Carolina, died earlier today, according to his son Ronnie Retton Jr.
 
A native of Fairview, West Virginia, Retton Sr. was a two-sport standout in men's basketball and baseball for the Mountaineers from 1957-59.
 
Retton came to WVU after leading Fairview High to the 1955 boys basketball Class B title. He was from a well-known Northern West Virginia sports family that included his uncle, Joe Retton, Fairmont State's highly successful men's basketball coach.
 
Ronnie played 82 career games at WVU and was part of coach Fred Schaus' "zone press" defense in 1959 that enabled the Mountaineers to win 29 games and reach the NCAA championship game in Louisville where it lost by one point to California in the finals. 
 
Retton and Bob Smith were the team's co-captains that season, while forward Jerry West earned All-America honors.
 
Retton was once dubbed the "Little Champ" by Bluefield sportswriter Stubby Currence for his outstanding play in West Virginia's 1957 victory over VMI. Retton was credited with handcuffing North Carolina's Tommy Kearns in the Mountaineers' nine-point victory over the top-ranked Tar Heels in the 1957 Kentucky Invitational, and his impressive ball-hawking also showed up in a noteworthy 101-63 blowout win over Duke at the old Field House during the 1959 season.
 
The 5-foot-7, 160-pounder scored a career-high 11 points twice in wins over Washington and Lee and Florida State in 1958.
 
He was also a two-time All-Southern Conference performer in baseball, leading the league with a .417 batting average during his sophomore season in 1957.
 
The shortstop batted .301 in 23 games in 1958 before signing a professional contract to play in the New York Yankees minor league system. He advanced to Double-A Columbus before retiring in 1964 and returning to his native Marion County to devote more time to his family and operate R&W Cable in Rivesville.
 
He was inducted into the West Virginia University Sports Hall of Fame in 2010.
  
A 1959 graduate of WVU, Retton is survived by his wife, Lois, son Ronnie Jr., a former Mountaineer baseball player, daughter Shari, an All-American and WVU Sports Hall of Fame gymnast, Donnie, Jerry, Mary Lou and numerous grandchildren.
 
Of course, daughter Mary Lou won a Gold, two silvers and two bronze medals at the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles. Her performance that summer made her a nationally known celebrity.

WVU assistant men's basketball coach Ron Everhart is also related to Retton through marriage.
 
Retton and his daughter Shari (2001) became the first father-daughter combination to be inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame.
 
There are now just eight surviving members of West Virginia's 1959 NCAA runner-up team: Jerry West, Willie Akers, Lee Patrone, Paul Miller, Jim Ritchie, Howie Schertzinger, Jim Warren and Jay Jacobs, an analyst on the Mountaineer Sports Network radio basketball broadcasts.