Signed Baseball Cards - Oldest MLB Players Alive

[Rikki Gins]

I remember him as Elroy.  Didn't he have a special pitch?  Maybe a forkball?

That's right. A forkball.  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forkball (Roy is actually mentioned in this Wiki article.)

[Rikki Gins]

Not only after retirement but during the offseason as well.  Richie Hebner dug graves in the off season.

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LOL! That's right, WAN. Thanks, I forgot to mention that Roy did his carpentry work during the offseason as well.

[Rikki Gins]

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Floyd Robert Ross is currently our fifth oldest ex-Major League Baseball player. Robert (or Floyd, take your pick) was born on November 2, 1928, making him 96 years, 11 months, and 9 days old at the time of this posting.

Bob was a high school teacher during both the offseason and his retirement from baseball, then he became a principal and finally a school administrator. After his retirement from the educational field, he owned and operated an avocado orchard for awhile.

Statistically, Bob, or Robert, or Floyd, had a less than stellar career in Major League Baseball, but the fact remains that he played in it for awhile, and thus his presence in this baseball card thread is secure. After all, most of the MLB players weren't a Ruth, a Cobb, a Gehrig or a Mantle, anyway. 

There is an interesting article about Bob that is called He’s Made The List! Enter his name in search and you can find it. It is from 2017 when Bob was currently number 94 on the oldest living MLB players list. 

[Walks_At_Night]

Seems like those baseball card vandals skipped Bob Ross and went after Ross Jones.

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[Rikki Gins]

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Al Worthington is currently our sixth oldest ex-Major League Baseball player. He was born on February 5, 1929, making him 96 years, 8 months, and 13 days old, at the time of this posting. Al, or Allan, take your pick, was yet another MLB pitcher. I say 'yet another' because even a cursory glance at this fledgling baseball card thread shows that most of the players are pitchers.

Al was called Red by his fellow players. (Nice, I love nicknames.) He was a sinkerball pitcher, meaning that the thrown ball would sink by the time it passed over home plate. After his days of playing MLB baseball ended in 1961, he started a new career in...well... baseball. He returned to playing MLB and continued to do so for another eight years. When he really did stop playing, he sold insurance for several years. Then he started another new career in...well... baseball. Not playing though, he was a coach in college baseball. He then returned to MLB as a pitching coach, a manager and a scout. Al also found the time to write a book about his years in baseball called, I Played and I Won.

Allan Fulton Worthington is now retired and enjoying life in Birmingham, Alabama. 

 

[Rikki Gins]

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Joe Margoneri was born on January 13, 1930, thus making him 95 years old and the seventh oldest living ex-Major League Baseball player in the world. Joe was a pitcher by trade, (big surprise, huh?) and he played for the New York Giants in 1950, but his career was cut short when he was drafted into the United States Army. After his stint in the army, he did some minor league pitching for about four years before hooking back up with the Giants. Joe was a Giant during the 1956 and 1957 seasons. He pitched and batted left handed and during his second year he was used almost exclusively as a relief pitcher.

In the small world department, Joe was part of a pitching roster that included the player portrayed above, Al Worthington.

After his brief two year baseball career, Joe became a supervisor in the corrugated paper department of the International Paper Company. He is currently spending his retirement years in West Newton, Pennsylvania.

Joseph Emanuel Margoneri at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Margoneri

[Walks_At_Night]

The two recent Giants players would have played at the Polo Grounds in Manhattan.  Perhaps the weirdest MLB ever.  483 to straight away center, 450ish in the power alleys and well under 300 down the lines.  Dusty Rhodes, whom probably had the best season for a pinch hitter ever in 1954 won a World Series game with a walk off homer that was a lazy fly ball in any other park.

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[Rikki Gins]

Interesting. Thanks WAN! I noticed that Al Worthington played for the Giants in both New York and San Francisco. I wondered how many players had, that were still alive, so I asked AI. It named Al, of course, plus the oldest living player, Bill Greason. Then it got kind of vague, scratched its artificial head and said that there were four other living Giants players that played in both cities.

[Walks_At_Night]

Interesting. Thanks WAN! I noticed that Al Worthington played for the Giants in both New York and San Francisco. I wondered how many players had, that were still alive, so I asked AI. It named Al, of course, plus the oldest living player, Bill Greason. Then it got kind of vague, scratched its artificial head and said that there were four other living Giants players that played in both cities.

I took a quick look and didfn't find any others.  I thought Mike McCormick might have been a good candidate as he was just 18 when he played for the Giants their last year in NY but he is gone.  Several others have died in just the last couple of years.

You don't see 18 year olds in the Major Leagues any more either.  I'm guessing A-Rod was the last one and he's got to be in his 50's now.

[Rikki Gins]

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Deceased

John O'Brien had occupied the seventh oldest MLB player spot, but he passed away last June, before I could get the thread started up, so I will include him here as a memorial of sorts. RIP, Johnny O.

Johnny O'Brien at Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johnny_O%27Brien
A baseball themed obituary for Johnny: https://ripbaseball.com/2025/06/27/obituary-johnny-obrien-1930-2025/

[Walks_At_Night]

His twin brother was Eddie O'Brien whom played a prominent part in Jim Bouton's book, Ball Four

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[PolkaDot]

Not only after retirement but during the offseason as well.  Richie Hebner dug graves in the off season.

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Nice pickax.