List of centenarians (Major League Baseball players)

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The following contains a list of Major League Baseball players who lived to the age of 100. For other baseball players and others associated with baseball who were centenarians, see List of centenarians (sportspeople). For other lists of centenarians, see lists of centenarians.

Contents

Actuarial data

A study by the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company that assessed the vital statistics of more than 10,000 baseball players and general mortality rates in the United States concluded that players whose careers began between 1876 and 1900 experienced only 97% expected mortality, those who debuted between 1901 and 1930 had only 64% expected mortality, and those who debuted between 1931 and 1973 experienced only 55% of expected deaths. As early as the 1930s, big league players were exhibiting either a healthy worker effect or the health benefits of the rigorous fitness regimens of professional athletes, or both. However, in this study, vital data on baseball players were limited to those available in the 1974 Baseball Encyclopedia. [1] Other smaller studies have shown similar results for players who debuted between 1911 and 1915 [2] and between 1900 and 1939. [3]

One large study examining major league ballplayers with debuts from 1902 and 2004 found that their expected lifespan was almost five years longer than average 20-year-old American males, and that career length was inversely associated with the risk of death, probably because those who play ball longer gained additional income, physical fitness, and training. [4]

The ballplayers

NameBornDiedAgeTeam(s)Ref.
Ralph Miller March 15, 1873
Cincinnati, Ohio 		May 7, 1973
Cincinnati, Ohio 		100 years, 53 days [5] [6]
Charlie Emig April 5, 1875
Cincinnati, Ohio 		October 2, 1975
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 		100 years, 180 days Louisville Colonels (1896) [7]
John Daley May 25, 1887
Du Bois, Pennsylvania 		August 31, 1988
Mansfield, Ohio 		101 years, 98 days St. Louis Browns (1912) [8]
Bill Otis December 24, 1889
Scituate, Massachusetts 		December 15, 1990
Duluth, Minnesota 		100 years, 356 days New York Highlanders (1912) [9] [10]
Bob Wright December 13, 1891
Decatur County, Indiana 		July 30, 1993
Carmichael, California 		101 years, 229 days Chicago Cubs (1915) [11]
Ed Gill August 7, 1895
Somerville, Massachusetts 		October 10, 1995
Brockton, Massachusetts 		100 years, 64 days Washington Senators (1919) [12]
Milt Gaston January 27, 1896
Ridgefield Park, New Jersey 		April 26, 1996
Barnstable, Massachusetts 		100 years, 90 days
 [13] [14] [15]
Red Hoff May 8, 1891
Ossining, New York 		September 17, 1998
Daytona Beach, Florida 		107 years, 132 days [16] [17] [18]
Karl Swanson December 17, 1900
North Henderson, Illinois 		April 3, 2002
Rock Island, Illinois 		101 years, 107 days Chicago White Sox (1928–1929) [19]
Ralph Erickson June 25, 1902
Dubois, Idaho 		June 27, 2002
Chandler, Arizona 		100 years, 2 days Pittsburgh Pirates (1929–1930) [20]
Ray Cunningham January 17, 1905
Mesquite, Texas 		July 30, 2005
Pearland, Texas 		100 years, 194 days St. Louis Cardinals (1931–1932) [21]
Howdy Groskloss April 10, 1906
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 		July 15, 2006
Vero Beach, Florida 		100 years, 96 days Pittsburgh Pirates (1930–1932) [22] [23]
Silas Simmons October 14, 1895
Middletown, Delaware 		October 29, 2006
St. Petersburg, Florida 		111 years, 15 days Lincoln Giants (1926) [24] [25]
Rollie Stiles November 17, 1906
Ratcliff, Arkansas 		July 22, 2007
St. Louis, Missouri 		100 years, 247 days St. Louis Browns (1930–1931, 1933) [26]
Billy Werber June 20, 1908
Berwyn Heights, Maryland 		January 22, 2009
Charlotte, North Carolina 		100 years, 216 days
 [27] [28] [29]
Tony Malinosky October 7, 1909
Collinsville, Illinois 		February 8, 2011
Oxnard, California 		101 years, 124 days Brooklyn Dodgers (1937) [30]
Millito Navarro September 26, 1905
Patillas, Puerto Rico 		April 30, 2011
Ponce, Puerto Rico 		105 years, 216 days Cuban Stars (East) (1928–1929) [31]
Ace Parker May 17, 1912
Portsmouth, Virginia 		November 6, 2013
Portsmouth, Virginia 		101 years, 173 days Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938) [32] [33]
Connie Marrero April 25, 1911
Sagua La Grande, Cuba 		April 23, 2014
Havana, Cuba 		102 years, 363 days Washington Senators (1950–1954) [34] [35]
Mike Sandlock October 17, 1915
Old Greenwich, Connecticut 		April 4, 2016
Cos Cob, Connecticut 		100 years, 170 days
 [36] [37]
Eddie Carnett October 21, 1916
Springfield, Missouri 		November 4, 2016
Ringling, Oklahoma 		100 years, 14 days [38] [39]
Fred Caligiuri October 22, 1918
West Hickory, Pennsylvania 		November 30, 2018
Charlotte, North Carolina 		100 years, 39 days Philadelphia Athletics (1941–1942) [40] [41]
Eddie Robinson December 15, 1920
Paris, Texas 		October 4, 2021
Bastrop, Texas 		100 years, 293 days
 [42] [43] [44]
George Elder March 10, 1921
Lebanon, Kentucky 		July 7, 2022
Fruita, Colorado 		101 years, 119 days St. Louis Browns (1949) [45] [46] [47]
Art Schallock April 25, 1924
Mill Valley, California 		Living100 years, 33 days
 [48] [49] [50]

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References

  1. ↑ "Longevity of Major League Baseball Players". Statistical Bulletin, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company. 56: 2–4. 1975. PMID   1129825.
  2. ↑ Waterbor, John; Cole, Philip; Delzell, Elizabeth; Andjelkovitz, Dragana (1988). "The Mortality Experience of Major League Baseball Players". New England Journal of Medicine . 318 (19): 1278–1280. doi:10.1056/nejm198805123181917. PMID   3362185.
  3. ↑ Abel, E.L.; Kruger, M.L. (2006). "The Healthy Worker Effect in Major League Baseball Revisited". Research in Sports Medicine. 14 (1): 83–87. doi:10.1080/15438620500528406. PMID   16700406. S2CID   25757007.
  4. ↑ Saint Onge, Jarron M.; Rogers, Richard G.; Krueger, Patrick M. (July 17, 2008). "Major League Baseball Players' Life Expectancies". Social Science Quarterly . 89 (3): 817–830. doi:10.1111/j.1540-6237.2008.00562.x. PMC   2743321 . PMID   19756205.
  5. ↑ "Ralph Miller". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  6. ↑ "Ralph Miller, 100, Is Dead". The New York Times . The Associated Press. May 9, 1973. p. 50. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Charlie Emig". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  8. ↑ "John Daley". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  9. ↑ "Bill Otis". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  10. ↑ Costello, Rory. "Bill Otis biography at the Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research . Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  11. ↑ "Bob Wright". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  12. ↑ "Ed Gill". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  13. ↑ "Milt Gaston". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  14. ↑ Nowlin, Bill. "Milt Gaston biography at the Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  15. ↑ "Sports People: Baseball - Hitting 100-Year Mark". The New York Times. The Associated Press. January 27, 1996. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  16. ↑ "Red Hoff". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "Sidelines: Et Cetera - From Contest to Final Test". The New York Times. May 27, 1991. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  18. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (September 24, 1998). "Chet Hoff, 107, Oldest Former Major Leaguer". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  19. ↑ "Karl Swanson". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  20. ↑ "Ralph Erickson". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  21. ↑ "Ray Cunningham". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  22. ↑ "Howdy Groskloss". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  23. ↑ Chass, Murray (April 9, 2006). "Oldest Ex-Player Nears 100". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  24. ↑ "Silas Simmons" . Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  25. ↑ Schwarz, Alan (November 1, 2006). "Silas Simmons, 111, Veteran of Baseball's Negro Leagues, Is Dead". The New York Times . Retrieved May 11, 2024.
  26. ↑ "Rollie Stiles". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  27. ↑ "Bill Werber". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  28. ↑ Rogers III, C. Paul. "Billy Werber biography at the Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  29. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (January 24, 2009). "Bill Werber, Infielder Who Played With Ruth, Is Dead at 100". The New York Times. p. A14. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  30. ↑ "Tony Malinosky". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  31. ↑ "Emilio Navarro" . Retrieved 29 November 2021.
  32. ↑ "Ace Parker". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  33. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (November 7, 2013). "Ace Parker, Pro Football Hall of Famer From Leather-Helmet Days, Dies at 101". The New York Times. p. B18. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  34. ↑ "Connie Marrero". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  35. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (April 24, 2014). "Connie Marrero, 102, Dies; Pitcher Starred in Cuba and the Majors". The New York Times. p. A29. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  36. ↑ "Mike Sandlock". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  37. ↑ Weber, Bruce (April 6, 2016). "Mike Sandlock Dies at 100; Was Oldest Living Big Leaguer". The New York Times. p. B17. Retrieved 1 May 2016.
  38. ↑ "Eddie Carnett". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
  39. ↑ Adler, David (November 4, 2016). "Oldest Ex-MLB Player Carnett Dies at 100". MLB.com. Retrieved November 7, 2016.
  40. ↑ "Fred Caligiuri". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  41. ↑ "Fred J. Calgiiuri". The Derrick and The News Herald (Oil City, Pa.). December 3, 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018.
  42. ↑ "Eddie Robinson". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  43. ↑ Bailey, Analis (December 15, 2020). "Eddie Robinson, MLB's oldest living player, turns 100 years old". USA Today. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  44. ↑ Goldstein, Richard (October 6, 2021). "Eddie Robinson, Baseball Lifer Who Outlived His Peers, Dies at 100". The New York Times. p. B10. Retrieved November 25, 2022.
  45. ↑ "George Elder". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 16 December 2020.
  46. ↑ Ryan, Monica (March 10, 2021). "Happy 100th birthday to former St. Louis Brown George Elder". Fox2Now. Retrieved 11 March 2021.
  47. ↑ "Obituaries – George R. Elder". The Daily Sentinetl. Grand Junction, Colo. July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022.
  48. ↑ "Art Schallock". baseball-reference.com. Baseball-reference.com. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
  49. ↑ McCauley, Janie (April 25, 2024). "He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now Art Schallock, baseball's oldest living major leaguer, is turning 100". The Associated Press. Retrieved April 25, 2024.
  50. ↑ Brown, Daniel (April 19, 2024). "Oldest MLB player turns 100: Roomed with Yogi Berra, stymied Ted Williams". The Athletic .
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