SAN FRANCISCO — When the oldest living former major leaguer turned 100 earlier this season, several current New York Yankees sent Art Schallock their well wishes via recorded videos.
After all, Schallock joined the Yankees family in 1951 when the rookie was a teammate of Joe DiMaggio (in his final season) and Mickey Mantle (in his first).
“Turning 100 years old? That’s amazing. Just want to wish you the best,’’ Aaron Judge told him.
“Absolutely magnificent. I bet you could still throw a strike,’’ Gerrit Cole said.
“Would love to meet you someday,” Anthony Rizzo said.
On Sunday, they got the chance to say so in person.
Today, Yankees players and Manager Aaron Boone had the opportunity to meet with former Yankees pitcher Art Schallock!
Art, who celebrated his 100th birthday this past April, is the oldest living @MLB player 💙 pic.twitter.com/Mx1AkyHA72
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) June 2, 2024
Shallock spent time in the dugout before the Yankees played the San Francisco Giants at Oracle Park as a belated birthday gift. Rizzo, true to his word, stopped and spoke with the centenarian for several minutes. Manager Aaron Boone also sat down for a spirited conversation about batting practice and fielding drills.
Schallock, who played for the Yankees from 1951-55, hadn’t been to a big-league game in decades. But he was so invigorated by those birthday messages and the other hoopla surrounding his milestone moment that the World War II Navy veteran decided to catch the Yankees in person for the first time since he used to visit his old teammate, Billy Martin, while he was managing the Oakland A’s.
“It’s a great thrill to be here,” he told reporters who gathered around him in the Yankees dugout Sunday.
Schallock, born April 25, 1924, made the 45-mile trek from Sonoma, Calif., to San Francisco with the assistance of staffers from the senior living community where Schallock is now the resident celebrity. His new team navigated his wheelchair through the corridors of Oracle Park and back into the warm embrace of the dugout, where he wore a Yankees jersey, of course.
He was also welcome on the other side: Schallock grew up in nearby Mill Valley, Calif., and the Giants situated him in the owners’ section near the home dugout.
Art Schallock was part of three World Series championship teams during his four seasons with the Yankees. (Courtesy: National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum)
So continued the VIP treatment for a previously obscure pitcher who went 6-7 with a 4.02 ERA over a career that included the end of the 1955 season with the Baltimore Orioles.
For his big 100th birthday bash at his senior living community in April, attendees included Dusty Baker, the future Hall of Fame manager. Baker had never met Schallock but came to pay tribute to a bit of walking baseball history.
“The interaction between Artie and Dusty was truly phenomenal,’’ said Wendy Cornejo, the executive director at Cogir on Napa Road. “Witnessing two legends shake hands, look each other in the eye, smile, and exchange congratulatory wishes was incredibly inspiring.”
During that exchange, Baker toasted Schallock for turning 100. Schallock told Baker how happy he was to see him win a World Series in 2022. The conversation ended with them exchanging autographed baseballs.
Schallock’s knack for rubbing elbows with the game’s greats goes back to his playing days. His first roommate was Yogi Berra, who tasked the kid with fetching his daily reading material.
“Yeah, when I roomed with him, the first thing in the morning, I had to run down to the lobby to get funny papers for him,’’ Schallock told The Athletic when he was just 99. “He’d say, ‘Go down and pick up a half-a-dozen comic books.’”
Anthony Rizzo was the most enthusiastic player when meeting Art Schallock, the oldest living ex-MLB player. (Photo courtesy of Wendy Cornejo)
But these days Schallock gets to feel like royalty. He has been the oldest MLB player since the aptly named George Elder died on July 7, 2022. When he hit the century mark in spring, Schallock found himself in national headlines, with profiles of his life and times in The Athletic, MLB.com, The Associated Press and the “CBS Evening News.”
Suddenly, Cornejo said, Schallock started getting fan mail and autographed requests. Letters arrived from places like New York, New Mexico, Japan and Poland.
“I guess I’m still famous,’’ he has said more than once, Cornejo said.
The coverage was nice, but Schallock’s favorite place will forever be the ballpark, which made Sunday feel so special.
Getting to be a Yankee again?
That never gets old.
— The Athletic’s Brendan Kuty contributed to this report.
(Top photo of Art Schallock with Luke Weaver, left, and Clay Holmes: Courtesy of Wendy Cornejo)
