I tried to do a little research on this one, but I didn't get very far. But I'll tell you anyway. Ran across an Associated Press article about a 97-year-old man who played baseball. Now, I've been reporting that the Tucson Old Timers (TOTS) at Udall Park in Tucson, of which I'm a member, is the oldest baseball club around (men ranging in age from 60 to 89). So when I read about this old fella from Spring Valley, New York, the story definitely got my attention.
Spring Valley, from what I understand is a Jewish community, 22 miles north of Manhattan. The man's name was Tobias Wildstein and in 1941 he was an inmate and a catcher in a pick-up game at the Sons and Daughters of Israel Institution. The game pitted the officers of the institution against the inmates. As the story goes, Wildstein, in front of a cheering crowd, flipped off his mask and tagged out a 92-year-old runner by the name of Max Render. The play saved the day for the inmates who battled to a 0-0 tie with the officers of the institution. The average age of the inmates' team was 94.
Baseball players never die, they're just institutionalized. I have a lot to look forward to.
Note: Mr. Wildstein passed away in 1943. He was born in 1844. There seems to be some question about his age, one article I found on him reports that he lived to be 109 years old! I'll probably never know the whole story regarding Mr. Wildstein.
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