seems the earliest this could be was 1963, as Baseball Reference says 20-year old Bill McCool was first signed before the 1963 season. Harry Anderson, if that is him, was coming off a fairly decent 1962 AAA season in San Diego, and may have been invited to Spring Training by the Reds in '63. Since he never played professionally after 1962, perhaps the 31-year old gave it up if/after he was released by the Reds.
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If we are to have another contest in the near future of our national existence, I predict that the dividing line will not be Mason and Dixon's but between patriotism and intelligence on the one side, and superstition, ambition and ignorance on the other. - Ulysses S. Grant, military commander, 18th US President.
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