List of centenarians (Major League Baseball players)
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 .
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
Name
Born
Died
Age
Team(s)
Ref.
Ralph Miller
March 15, 1873Cincinnati, Ohio
May 7, 1973Cincinnati, Ohio
100 years, 53 days
[ 5] [ 6]
Charlie Emig
April 5, 1875Cincinnati, Ohio
October 2, 1975Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
100 years, 180 days
Louisville Colonels (1896)
[ 7]
John Daley
May 25, 1887Du Bois, Pennsylvania
August 31, 1988Mansfield, Ohio
101 years, 98 days
St. Louis Browns (1912)
[ 8]
Bill Otis
December 24, 1889Scituate, Massachusetts
December 15, 1990Duluth, Minnesota
100 years, 356 days
New York Highlanders (1912)
[ 9] [ 10]
Bob Wright
December 13, 1891Decatur County, Indiana
July 30, 1993Carmichael, California
101 years, 229 days
Chicago Cubs (1915)
[ 11]
Ed Gill
August 7, 1895Somerville, Massachusetts
October 10, 1995Brockton, Massachusetts
100 years, 64 days
Washington Senators (1919)
[ 12]
Milt Gaston
January 27, 1896Ridgefield Park, New Jersey
April 26, 1996Barnstable, Massachusetts
100 years, 90 days
[ 13] [ 14] [ 15]
Red Hoff
May 8, 1891Ossining, New York
September 17, 1998Daytona Beach, Florida
107 years, 132 days
[ 16] [ 17] [ 18]
Karl Swanson
December 17, 1900North Henderson, Illinois
April 3, 2002Rock Island, Illinois
101 years, 107 days
Chicago White Sox (1928–1929)
[ 19]
Ralph Erickson
June 25, 1902Dubois, Idaho
June 27, 2002Chandler, Arizona
100 years, 2 days
Pittsburgh Pirates (1929–1930)
[ 20]
Ray Cunningham
January 17, 1905Mesquite, Texas
July 30, 2005Pearland, Texas
100 years, 194 days
St. Louis Cardinals (1931–1932)
[ 21]
Howdy Groskloss
April 10, 1906Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
July 15, 2006Vero Beach, Florida
100 years, 96 days
Pittsburgh Pirates (1930–1932)
[ 22] [ 23]
Silas Simmons
October 14, 1895Middletown, Delaware
October 29, 2006St. Petersburg, Florida
111 years, 15 days
Lincoln Giants (1926)
[ 24] [ 25]
Rollie Stiles
November 17, 1906Ratcliff, Arkansas
July 22, 2007St. Louis, Missouri
100 years, 247 days
St. Louis Browns (1930–1931, 1933)
[ 26]
Billy Werber
June 20, 1908Berwyn Heights, Maryland
January 22, 2009Charlotte, North Carolina
100 years, 216 days
[ 27] [ 28] [ 29]
Tony Malinosky
October 7, 1909Collinsville, Illinois
February 8, 2011Oxnard, California
101 years, 124 days
Brooklyn Dodgers (1937)
[ 30]
Millito Navarro
September 26, 1905Patillas, Puerto Rico
April 30, 2011Ponce, Puerto Rico
105 years, 216 days
Cuban Stars (East) (1928–1929)
[ 31]
Ace Parker
May 17, 1912Portsmouth, Virginia
November 6, 2013Portsmouth, Virginia
101 years, 173 days
Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938)
[ 32] [ 33]
Connie Marrero
April 25, 1911Sagua La Grande , Cuba
April 23, 2014Havana, Cuba
102 years, 363 days
Washington Senators (1950–1954)
[ 34] [ 35]
Mike Sandlock
October 17, 1915Old Greenwich, Connecticut
April 4, 2016Cos Cob, Connecticut
100 years, 170 days
[ 36] [ 37]
Eddie Carnett
October 21, 1916Springfield, Missouri
November 4, 2016Ringling, Oklahoma
100 years, 14 days
[ 38] [ 39]
Fred Caligiuri
October 22, 1918West Hickory, Pennsylvania
November 30, 2018Charlotte, North Carolina
100 years, 39 days
Philadelphia Athletics (1941–1942)
[ 40] [ 41]
Eddie Robinson
December 15, 1920Paris, Texas
October 4, 2021Bastrop, Texas
100 years, 293 days
[ 42] [ 43] [ 44]
George Elder
March 10, 1921Lebanon, Kentucky
July 7, 2022Fruita, Colorado
101 years, 119 days
St. Louis Browns (1949)
[ 45] [ 46] [ 47]
Art Schallock
April 25, 1924Mill Valley, California
Living
100 years, 247 days
[ 48] [ 49] [ 50]
Bill Greason
September 3, 1924Atlanta, Georgia
Living
100 years, 116 days
[ 51] [ 52]
References
^ "Longevity of Major League Baseball Players". Statistical Bulletin, Metropolitan Life Insurance Company . 56 : 2– 4. 1975. PMID 1129825 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ "Ralph Miller" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Ralph Miller, 100, Is Dead" . The New York Times . The Associated Press . May 9, 1973. p. 50. Retrieved 1 May 2016 .
^ "Charlie Emig" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "John Daley" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Bill Otis" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ Costello, Rory. "Bill Otis biography at the Society for American Baseball Research" . sabr.org . Society for American Baseball Research . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Bob Wright" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Ed Gill" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Milt Gaston" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ Nowlin, Bill. "Milt Gaston biography at the Society for American Baseball Research" . sabr.org . Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Sports People: Baseball - Hitting 100-Year Mark" . The New York Times . The Associated Press. January 27, 1996. Retrieved 1 May 2016 .
^ "Red Hoff" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Sidelines: Et Cetera - From Contest to Final Test" . The New York Times . May 27, 1991. Retrieved 1 May 2016 .
^ Goldstein, Richard (September 24, 1998). "Chet Hoff, 107, Oldest Former Major Leaguer" . The New York Times . Retrieved 1 May 2016 .
^ "Karl Swanson" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Ralph Erickson" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Ray Cunningham" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Howdy Groskloss" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ Chass, Murray (April 9, 2006). "Oldest Ex-Player Nears 100" . The New York Times . Retrieved 1 May 2016 .
^ "Silas Simmons" . Retrieved 28 November 2021 .
^ Schwarz, Alan (November 1, 2006). "Silas Simmons, 111, Veteran of Baseball's Negro Leagues, Is Dead" . The New York Times . Retrieved May 11, 2024 .
^ "Rollie Stiles" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Bill Werber" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ 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 .
^ 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 .
^ "Tony Malinosky" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ "Emilio Navarro" . Retrieved 29 November 2021 .
^ "Ace Parker" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ 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 .
^ "Connie Marrero" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ 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 .
^ "Mike Sandlock" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 8 April 2016 .
^ 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 .
^ "Eddie Carnett" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 7 November 2016 .
^ Adler, David (November 4, 2016). "Oldest Ex-MLB Player Carnett Dies at 100" . MLB.com . Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 7, 2016 .
^ "Fred Caligiuri" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 22 October 2018 .
^ "Fred J. Calgiiuri" . The Derrick and The News Herald (Oil City, Pa.) . December 3, 2018. Retrieved 4 December 2018 .
^ "Eddie Robinson" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 16 December 2020 .
^ Bailey, Analis (December 15, 2020). "Eddie Robinson, MLB's oldest living player, turns 100 years old" . USA Today . Retrieved 16 December 2020 .
^ 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 .
^ "George Elder" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 16 December 2020 .
^ Ryan, Monica (March 10, 2021). "Happy 100th birthday to former St. Louis Brown George Elder" . Fox2Now . Retrieved 11 March 2021 .
^ "Obituaries – George R. Elder" . The Daily Sentinetl . Grand Junction, Colo. July 10, 2022. Retrieved July 10, 2022 .
^ "Art Schallock" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 25 April 2024 .
^ 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 .
^ Brown, Daniel (April 19, 2024). "Oldest MLB player turns 100: Roomed with Yogi Berra, stymied Ted Williams" . The Athletic .
^ "Bill Greason" . baseball-reference.com . Retrieved 4 September 2024 .
^ Ritchie, Matthew (3 September 2024). "At 100, former Negro Leaguer Greason reflects on incredible life" . mlb.com . Retrieved 4 September 2024 .