The Last Living Players From the 1940s

Since we said goodbye to Bobby Doerr in 2017, it's only fitting that we now start keeping track of the last living players from the 1940s. At this point, there are still quite a few out there, and it'll probably be another ten years or so before we get to the last of the last. Before we do though, let's review who the last known survivors were of previous decades:

1870s: Charles Witherow (d. July 3, 1948)
1880s: Dummy Hoy (d. December 15, 1961)
1890s: Charlie Emig (d. October 2, 1975)
1900s: Smoky Joe Wood (d. July 27, 1985)
1910s: Red Hoff (d. September 17, 1998)
1920s: Al Lopez (d. October 30, 2005)
1930s: Bobby Doerr (d. November 13, 2017)

Now the list of the still-living 1940s MLBers:

Chuck Stevens (b. July 10, 1918)
Fred Caligiuri (b. October 22, 1918)
Tom Jordan (b. September 5, 1919)
Bill Mills (b. November 2, 1919)
Val Heim (b. November 4, 1920)
Wally Westlake (b. November 8, 1920)
Eddie Robinson (b. December 15, 1920)
George Elder (b. March 10, 1921)
Clint Conatser (b. July 24, 1921)
Marv Rackley (b. July 25, 1921)
Johnny Hetki (b. May 12, 1922)
Gil Coan (b. May 18, 1922)
Eddie Basinski (b. November 4, 1922)
George Yankowski (b. November 19, 1922)
Red Schoendienst (b. February 2, 1923)
Len Okrie (b. July 16, 1923)
Lee Howard (b. November 11, 1923)
Ed Fitz Gerald (b. May 21, 1924)
Milt Welch (b. July 26, 1924)
Charlie Silvera (b. October 13, 1924)
Bobby Brown (b. October 25, 1924)
Wayne Terwilliger (b. June 27, 1925)
Larry Miggins (b. August 20, 1925)
Billy DeMars (b. August 26, 1925)
Bobby Shantz (b. September 26, 1925)
Chris Haughey (b. October 3, 1925)
Howie Judson (b. February 16, 1926)
Dick Koecher (b. March 30, 1926)
Don Newcombe (b. June 14, 1926)
Bob Miller (b. June 16, 1926)
Johnny Groth (b. July 23, 1926)
Al Naples (b. August 29, 1926)
Carl Erskine (b. December 13, 1926)
Carl Scheib (b. January 1, 1927)
Don Hasenmayer (b. April 4, 1927)
Dick Lane (b. June 28, 1927)
Rocky Krsnich (b. August 5, 1927)
Cloyd Boyer (b. September 1, 1927)
Tommy Brown (b. December 6, 1927)
Curt Simmons (b. May 19, 1929)
Del Crandall (b. March 5, 1930)
Johnny Antonelli (b. April 12, 1930)

Like the 1930s list, we'll keep track of who's still living here. Hopefully these guys have several more years left in them, so we can appreciate the link they provide to a bygone era.

Also, on behalf of all of us at Baseball Junk Drawer, have yourself a Merry Christmas!

Last Updated: April 16, 2024