Former Baltimore Orioles Pitcher Is MLB's Oldest Living Player
A former Baltimore Orioles pitcher celebrated his 100th birthday on Thursday.
Much of the recent news around the Baltimore Orioles has focused on their youth, specifically their star rookies and young prospects. For one day, however, an older former player briefly stole the spotlight.
Art Schallock, who briefly pitched for the Orioles in 1955, celebrated his 100th birthday on April 25, making him the oldest living MLB player.
Schallock was born on April 25, 1924, in Mill Valley, California. He grew up in California and attended school there, graduating from Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley before moving on to the College of Marin in Kentfield, CA.
At the age of 22, Schallock went east, signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent before the 1947 season. Schallock spent the next four seasons in the Dodgers' farm system, but he never got to play with Jackie Robinson or the Boys of Summer at Ebbetts Field.
That's because Brooklyn traded him across town to the New York Yankees in the middle of the 1951 season for Bob Landeck, Eddie Malone and cash.
With the Yankees in the middle of a pennant race, they immediately put Schallock to work, sending him to the mound for his MLB debut four days after the trade. He struggled in his first taste of the big leagues, getting shelled by the Detroit Tigers for four earned runs on seven hits and three walks in just 2 2/3 innings.
It was an inauspicious debut, but Schallock quickly adjusted and provided quality innings for New York down the stretch, finishing the year with a 3.88 ERA in 46 1/3 innings across 11 appearances (six starts). The Yankees won their third consecutive pennant and beat the crosstown New York Giants in the Fall Classic, but Schallock didn't make an appearance.
Schallock went back to the minors for most of 1952 and 1953, appearing in just nine MLB games during those two seasons combined. He did get to face his former organization in the 1953 Fall Classic, however, tossing two innings against the Dodgers in his lone career World Series appearance in Game 4 at Ebbetts Field.
Schallock made just six appearances for New York in 1954 and two in 1955 before Baltimore claimed him off waivers in May. The Orioles used him regularly, and he went 3-5 with a 4.15 ERA in 30 appearances (six starts) for Baltimore, including a complete game.
The veteran southpaw returned to the minors for the 1956 campaign with the Cincinnati Reds before calling it a career at age 32, finishing at 6-7 with a 4.02 ERA in 170 1/3 MLB innings.
It wasn't a long career, but it was still a memorable one. Schallock got to be part of the Yankees' 1950s dynasty, playing alongside Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford. He also got to pitch under the bright lights of October, even if it was only for a day.
It's been almost 70 years since Schallock's last MLB pitch, but he deserves to be remembered and celebrated on his special day. After all, you only turn 100 once.
