Happy Birthday to the Last? Living Link?
 

Whitey Ford turned 89 today!


Just think of all the great teammates he has said goodbye to.

Is he the last link to the Yankees true Glory Days?

A Very Happy Birthday Wish to The Chairman of the Board!
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Charlie Silvera is 93. Nobody remembers the backup catcher behind Yogi Berra.

Still "won" six World Series.

Even more remarkable when you consider that he played in only one
World Series game (1949) and batted twice without a hit.

How many 1952 Topps players are still alive

Jake-- Bob Lemke used to keep a list on his blog. Someone here on 54 updated that list earlier this year in a thread, maybe April or May. It was 37 then, I think.

so around 37 out of 407. Life is short.

What's amazing is that there is still a player alive from the 1938 Goudey set, and he's a Hall of Famer to boot!

I assume nobody is still alive who played against Ruth but I am sure Doerr played against Gehrig.

Closest you'll come I think is Eddie Robinson, but his association was handing Ruth a bat to use as a cane for Ruth's last appearance at the Stadium.

Yes, he did, Peter. In fact, Bobby faced off against Lou Gehrig in the second game he ever played in the Majors, on April 24, 1937 when the Sox hosted the Bronx Bombers at Fenway.

He also played in another game, one where the box score absolutely blows my mind. I've often wondered what Major League game saw the most Hall of Famers? While there may be a game with more players inducted into Cooperstown, I can't see the overall talent level topping the men on the field this day:

April 20, 1939. The Boston Red Sox opened the season at Yankees Stadium taking on the Bronx Bombers. The Hall of Famers that were on the field that day:

Jimmie Foxx
Joe Cronin
Bobby Doerr
Lefty Grove on the mound.
Joe DiMaggio
Lou Gehrig
Bill Dickey
Red Ruffing
Oh yeah, and making his Major League debut, Ted Williams

If I had a DeLorean, I'd go back in time to watch that game. Imagine seeing Foxx, DiMaggio, Gehrig, Williams et all in nine frames.

I think the last living MLB player to play against Babe Ruth was Phil Cavaretta, who passed away in 2010.