PORT ST. LUCIE – He gave you every reason to believe, right up until the end. Of course, you always knew Tug McGraw would never go down without a fight.

McGraw, the former Met hero who coined the famed “Ya Gotta Believe” battle cry in 1973, finally lost his 10-month fight with brain cancer in Nashville last night. He was 59.

The animated reliever leaves behind scores of devastated family members, former teammates and baseball fans – all of whom were inspired by his heart even more than his arm.

“He was my hero,” said distraught Mets reliever John Franco. “To me, he was everything what baseball is about.

“I took his number [45] to honor him. When I was growing up, he was the one who gave me the impetus to become a reliever. When I had my day at Shea [in honor of my 400th save], I remember he came riding in on the motorcycle. There’s never going to be another one like him.”

“He just had a joy for life and living,” former teammate Tom Seaver said. “But what people sometimes overlook because he was always happy go-lucky, was what kind of competitor he was on the mound. No one competed with more intensity that he did.”

Even when Frank Edwin McGraw Jr. learned he had cancer last March, he bucked the odds. Doctors told him at the time that he had only three weeks to live. They must have forgotten who they were dealing with. At a press conference last May, McGraw was still strong.

“I’m alive, so the three weeks thing didn’t work,” he crowed. “And I’m supposed to be alive for a long time.”

As recently as last month, McGraw seemed to be recovering miraculously, saying “the tumor is shrinking” and “everything should be in good shape.” In fact, McGraw was so optimistic about his health that he was planning on coming to Phillies’ spring training next month. His memoirs, appropriately entitled “Ya Gotta Believe,” are due to be published in March.

“He was the life of the party,” former teammate Buddy Harrelson said. “He was full of life, love and spirit. His death is a reality check for us, just like when Tommie [Agee] died a couple of years ago.”

“We lost a valued member of our history,” Mets owner Fred Wilpon said.

During his 19-year career, McGraw won World Series rings with the Mets in 1969 and the Phillies in 1980. But he’s best known for issuing the most famous slogan in Mets history.

In the summer of 1973, the Mets were in last place, 12½ games out of first. But the fiery McGraw inspired his teammates to believe and proceeded to back up his words with his pitching. In September of ’73, he recorded 11 saves and four wins, screaming out his rallying cry, slapping his thigh with his glove and leading the Mets to the pennant.

TUG AT THE HEART

“He was the life of the party. He was full of life, love and spirit. His death is a reality check for us.”

BUD HARRELSON

“Ohmigod, he’s got this little boy too, he must be five or six. Oh, he’s a beautiful kid. . . I’m just not ready to hear this.”

RON SWOBODA

“There was nothing negative about Tug … It’s sad that we lost him at such a young age.”

JERRY KOOSMAN

“Tug McGraw was one of the great characters of the game of baseball. He just had a joy for life and living.”

TOM SEAVER

PERSONAL INFO

Full name: Frank Edwin McGraw Jr.

Birthdate:Aug. 30, 1944 in Martinez, CA

Spent first 9 seasons with Mets (65-74), then was traded to Phillies where he spent 10 years (75-84).

MET LIFE

-Coined rally cry for ’73 Mets, “You gotta believe.”

-Recorded 11 saves and 4 wins in last month of season to help ’73 Mets overcome Cubs for NL East title.

-Best season was 1972, when he went 11-4 with 27 saves and a 1.70 ERA.

PHILLY FANATIC-As a Phillie in 1980 World Series, he struck out Royals’ Amos Otis with bases loaded in bottom of ninth of Game 5 to preserve 4-3 win.

-In sixth and final game, in Philly, struck out batters with bases loaded in eighth and ninth innings to give Phillies first World Championship.

SAY WHAT?

“I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf.” – Response when asked if he had preference of grass or Astroturf.

FAMILY MAN

Son, Tim, is Grammy-winning country singer and married to Faith Hill.

EPILOGUE

Tug’s memoirs are due out in March.