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: January 16, 2025

Annual Updates 2017

So after a year where the Astros got themselves off the "franchises that have never won a World Series" list, we lost the last living major leaguer from the 1930s, and the Indians won an American League-record 22 consecutive games, all the major awards are now in the bag, effectively bringing the 2017 baseball season to its conclusion. A few pages have been updated to reflect the most recent information:

Rookie of the Year Facts
The Second Place Award Winners
The Run That Clinched It

Oldest Ringless Players & Playoff Predictions: 2017 Edition

Yes, it's that time of year again. We're here to look at the soon-to-start postseason and the players who've been waiting the longest for that elusive championship ring. Here we are with the postseason teams (including the stupid second Wild Card that nobody wanted) and their oldest bare-fingered roster occupant:

Arizona Diamondbacks: Fernando Rodney (March 18, 1977)
Boston Red Sox: Rajai Davis (October 19, 1980)
Chicago Cubs: Brian Duensing (February 22, 1983)
Cleveland Indians: Edwin Encarnacion (January 7, 1983)
Colorado Rockies: Ryan Hanigan (August 16, 1980)
Houston Astros: Carlos Beltran (April 24, 1977)
Los Angeles Dodgers: Rich Hill (March 11, 1980)
Minnesota Twins: Bartolo Colon (May 24, 1973)
New York Yankees: Chase Headley (May 9, 1984)
Washington Nationals: Ryan Raburn (April 17, 1981)

Not a bad list. Several names that have showed up here before. Bartolo Colon and Carlos Beltran are two of the three still-active 1990s players (Adrian Beltre is the third), and neither one has managed to add a World Series title to his resume in all that time. If you needed another reason to root against the Yankees (as if there were a shortage of those), there's the fact that their oldest ringless player is the youngest of the bunch.

Now let's shift gears and head to the prediction portion. How do I predict these playoffs will play out? Here you go:

Wild Card Round

Diamondbacks over Rockies
Yankees over Twins

Predicting the outcome of a single game is like predicting the outcome of a coin flip, but since I think both home teams are significantly better than the road teams, the odds would favor them. While it'd be funny to see an upset, since I don't particularly like either top Wild Card, it would also go against my anti-second Wild Card principles, so the fact that both second Wild Cards are more interesting and likable can't be allowed to sway my rooting interest too strongly.

Division Series

Dodgers over Diamondbacks
Cubs over Nationals
Indians over Yankees
Red Sox over Astros

The Dodgers have been up-and-down over the course of the season, so it's hard to know how much confidence to place in them. I'll say they get hot in October though, because they righted the ship at the end.

While I personally love both the Cubs and the Nationals, I feel like Washington is one of those franchises that's snakebitten in October, and it's hard for me to predict them winning a playoff series until I see it. I think the Cubs are confident after last year's run, so they'll take this series for a rematch of last year's NLCS.

I love the Indians too, so it makes me a little nervous to see them facing the up-and-coming Yankees. When October rolls around, there's always that fear that the more favorable media team will get the wind to its back and ride it to an undeserved deep playoff run. I think these Indians are legit though, so they're definitely capable of putting them back in their place. But on that note...

Both the Yankees AND the Red Sox losing in the first round? I won't push my luck that I could ever be so fortunate. Yes, it happened in 2005, but that was 12 years ago. As great a season as the Astros have had, and as great a narrative as it would be to win in the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, I think it's inevitable that some fanbase's heart is going to get broken big time. The Astros deserve so much better than this, but it is what it is.

League Championship Series

Dodgers over Cubs
Indians over Red Sox

I think the Dodgers and Indians are simply the best in their respective leagues this year, and they have what it takes to win their respective pennants, and the respective respect of their respective competition.

World Series

Indians over Dodgers

In 2004, the Red Sox exorcised the Curse of the Bambino. In 2005, it was the White Sox getting the 88-year monkey off their back. In 2010, the Giants won for the first time since Willie Mays was a youngster manning center field in the Big Apple. And perhaps most memorably, the Cubs in 2016 put to bed any talk of goats, black cats, inopportune fan interferences, or Merkle's Boners. That leaves one franchise with a drought going back to the pre-expansion era, namely the Cleveland Indians, whose fans have been waiting for another since 1948. Is this the year they finally get that one more run that Terry Pluto says they always need? Well, let's just say that they have as good a chance as any Indian club in the past 69 years, and personally, I'm hoping they get it. Good luck, Tribe. Let this be the year.

Bobby Doerr Becomes the Last Surviving Red Sox Player From Two Decades

Iconic Red Sox second baseman Bobby Doerr had a shorter career than you might expect from a Hall of Famer, but when it comes to being alive, he's outlasted most of his contemporaries.

Doerr is already the last living MLB player from the 1930s, but with the passing of Tom Wright on September 5, he also became the last living Red Sox player from the 1940s. Doerr was a 31-year-old veteran in 1949, but none of Boston's youngsters managed to outlive him. In addition to Wright, the last calendar year has seen 1940s BoSox Dave Ferriss and Sam Mele go to the great beyond.

With his 100th birthday less than a year away, Doerr has only three teammates who are still living, all from his final two seasons in the early 1950s: Paul Hinrichs, Charlie Maxwell, and Al Richter. The odds of Doerr being the last surviving 1950s Red Sox player are pretty slim, but how often does a player have a substantial career and survive until he has only three living teammates? Has any player with a decade-plus career ever outlived every single one of his teammates? Further digging may be needed to answer that question.

Keep on going, Mr. Doerr. Only seven months needed to reach the century mark!

PTWSW #80: The 1983 Baltimore Orioles

Manager: Joe Altobelli
Record: 98-64
Ballpark: Memorial Stadium
Owner: Edward Bennett Williams
GM: Hank Peters
Coaches: Elrod Hendricks, Ray Miller, Cal Ripken, Ralph Rowe, Jimmy Williams

Future Hall of Famers: Eddie Murray, Jim Palmer, Cal Ripken Jr.

All-Stars: Tippy Martinez, Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken Jr.

Team Leaders, Batting

BA: Cal Ripken, .318
OBP: Eddie Murray, Ken Singleton, .393
SLG: Eddie Murray, .538
OPS: Eddie Murray, .930
2B: Cal Ripken, 47 (AL leader)
3B: Al Bumbry, Dan Ford, 4
HR: Eddie Murray, 33
RBI: Eddie Murray, 111
BB: Ken Singleton, 99
SB: John Shelby, 15

Team Leaders, Pitching

W: Scott McGregor, 18
SO: Storm Davis, 125
ERA: Mike Boddicker, 2.77
IP: Scott McGregor, 260.0
CG: Scott McGregor, 12
SHO: Mike Boddicker, 5 (AL leader)
K/BB: Mike Boddicker, 2.31
SV: Tippy Martinez, 21

Tidbits

Oldest Player: Jim Palmer (b. October 15, 1945)

Youngest Player: Storm Davis (b. December 26, 1961)

First to Leave Us: Aurelio Rodriguez (d. September 23, 2000). While a pedestrian walking the streets of Detroit, Rodriguez was struck by a vehicle that veered off the road.

Last Survivor: Most are still living as of the date of this post.

First in Majors: Jim Palmer (debut April 17, 1965)

Last in Majors: Cal Ripken (final game October 6, 2001)

First to Play For the Franchise: Jim Palmer (April 17, 1965)

Last to Play For the Franchise: Cal Ripken (October 6, 2001)

Pre-union Team: No team had more than two.

Reunion Team: The 1986 Yankees (Leo Hernandez, Gary Roenicke and Tim Stoddard) and 1989-90 Dodgers (Rick Dempsey, Eddie Murray and John Shelby) each had three.

Accomplishments

Cal Ripken, AL MVP
Eddie Murray, AL First Base Gold Glove
Eddie Murray, AL First Base Silver Slugger
Cal Ripken, AL Shortstop Silver Slugger


Season Summary

The 1982 AL East division race was a classic. The Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers were scheduled for a four-game set to close out the season, with Milwaukee needing only one win to clinch the title. The Orioles, however, weren't going to roll over, as longtime manager Earl Weaver was set to retire, and they won the first three games to force a winner-take-all showdown on the last day of the season. Unfortunatley for Baltimore, the magic ran out there, as the Brewers romped to their first-ever division title.

Despite coming up a game short in '82, the Orioles' late-season momentum gave them optimism heading into the next season. Their core of players remained intact, and the general consensus on the club was that 1983 was going to be their year. Taking Weaver's spot in the dugout was Yankee third base coach Joe Altobelli, who was familiar with several players on the roster due to having previously managed the Orioles' top farm club in Rochester. Altobelli lacked Weaver's large personality, but he was a good man to keep the ship on the course it had begun.

The Orioles were a typical team built in the mold of Earl Weaver: Baltimore led the league in home runs and on-base percentage, while stealing few bases, employing platoons, and playing solid defense behind a sturdy pitching staff. They had two big stars in Eddie Murray, a consistently productive slugger and steady presence at first base, and Cal Ripken Jr., the 1982 Rookie of the Year and son of third base coach Cal Ripken Sr. The young Ripken played every inning at shortstop for the '83 Birds, and was a powerful force on both offense and defense who would be named league MVP for his work that season. Beyond that, the Orioles' strength was their depth of talent.

After getting off to slow starts the previous few years, the Orioles finished April a half-game in first place and stayed above .500 for the rest of the season. The American League East was a strong division in 1983, with five of the seven teams finishing with winning records, and all but the last-place Indians coming within a game of first place at some point after May. The Orioles fell behind different rivals at various points of the season: The Red Sox in May, the Blue Jays in June and July, and the Brewers and Tigers in August. However, an eight-game winning streak at the end of August catapulted them into first place for good. They paid back the Brewers for clinching on their turf the previous season by going to Milwaukee and wrapping up the divison title in County Stadium behind young fireballer Storm Davis.

The Orioles didn't make any huge transactions that season, but there were two worth noting: The trade for reserve outfielder Tito Landrum from the Cardinals and the purchase of infielder Todd Cruz from the Mariners. The Orioles had been weak at third base all year, between young Leo Hernandez, a weak defender whose bat hadn't delivered on the promise of his minor league numbers, and veteran Aurelio Rodriguez, who could still play strong defense but couldn't hit a lick. Cruz plugged the hole at third, and while he wasn't the glove man Rodriguez was, or even the hitter Hernandez was, he proved to be a better all-around option. As for Landrum, he would provide a significant moment in October.

The ALCS pitted the Orioles against the Chicago White Sox, who'd had a strong second half to run away with a weak AL West division. The Sox won Game 1 when their ace, Cy Young winner LaMarr Hoyt, outdueled Baltimore ace Scott McGregor 2-1. Undeterred, the Orioles bounced back in Game 2 with a shutout from rookie Mike Boddicker. Boddicker had begun the season in the minors, but he joined the big club in May to give the rotation a boost, and he didn't disappoint. Shutouts were something of a specialty of his; he threw one in his first start of the season, and led the league with five scoreless outings. Now he'd thrown another to get his team back on track. When the series shifted to Chicago, the O's spoiled things for the hometown fans by drubbing the Sox 11-1 in Game 3.

With one win still needed for a pennant, the Orioles sent Storm Davis to the mound, while the Pale Hose sent lefty Britt Burns. It was a tight battle, with a scoreless game and both starters still duking it out in the seventh inning. When White Sox first baseman Greg Walker led off the bottom of the inning with a single, Altobelli pulled Davis in favor of relief ace Tippy Martinez. The Sox got runners on first and second with one out, and Julio Cruz singled to left. Sox runner Jerry Dybzinski, who didn't realize that lead runner Vance Law was being held at third, got caught between the bases, and when the Oriole defense threw to second, Law broke for home attempting to score on the play, where he was thrown out. The Orioles escaped the inning unscathed, and the game remained scoreless till the end of regulation.

In the tenth inning, with Burns still chugging along for the White Sox, Tito Landrum came up to bat with one out. Landrum, not known for his power, finally put a run on the board with a solo homer to left. The Orioles would score two more against the White Sox bullpen to take a 3-0 lead into the bottom of the tenth, where Martinez closed it out with little incident. For the first time in four years, the Orioles were American League champions. Baltimore's run prevention had carried them, as they allowed only three White Sox runs in the four games. For his masterful effort in Game 2, Mike Boddicker was named ALCS MVP.

The World Series with the veteran-laden Philadelphia Phillies bore some resemblance to the LCS; in Game 1 the Orioles faced a Cy Young winner at Memorial Stadium, this time John Denny, and lost 2-1. Game 2 was once again started by young Boddicker, and while he didn't throw a shutout, he allowed only one run in a complete game victory. Going on the road for Games 3 through 5, the Orioles were unfazed by the crowd in Philly; they won Games 3 and 4 by one run each, then handed the ball to McGregor for Game 5, where he pitched a shutout to clinch the title. It was Baltimore's first World Series championship since 1970. Catcher Rick Dempsey was named World Series MVP for his .385 batting average, two RBI, and five extra-base hits.


Acknowledgements:

Baseball Reference
Retrosheet
Baseball Almanac
Google News Archives
Cal Ripken Jr, The Only Way I Know