Art Schallock, Major League Baseball's oldest living player, turned 100 years old on Thursday. Schallock once replaced legendary New York Yankees slugger Mickey Mantle in 1951 when Mantle was sent down to Triple-A.
"That was quite a thrill, quite a thrill playing with those guys," Schallock told the Associated Press. "I roomed with Yogi Berra when I got up there and he knew all the hitters. We went over all the hitters on each team. Besides that, I had to run down to the lobby and get his funny books. Every morning. Yogi knew all the hitters, how to pitch to them, whether it's low, high or whatever, he knew how to pitch to them. And I had to learn from him."
Schallock served in the United States Navy as a radio operator during World War II. After leaving the service, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946. He began playing for the franchise in 1947 when he suited up for the Class A Pueblo Dodgers.
"When I got out of the service, I went to junior college for a couple of years and pitched baseball there and then I pitched semi-pro in San Francisco and made a name for myself and Brooklyn signed me," Schallock said.
Schallock also pitched for the Triple-A Montreal Royals in 1948 and the Hollywood Stars from 1949 to 1951.
In 1951, Schallock was traded to the Yankees and made his debut for the team on July 16, 1951. He replaced Mantle at the time as the Yankees were optioning the future Hall of Famer to make room for Schallock.
Schallock pitched for the Kansas City Blues in 1953 then was called up by the Yankees once again that July. He ended up pitching in Game 4 of the 1953 World Series and allowed one run in two innings of work.
Schallock finished up his career pitching for the Baltimore Orioles before announcing his retirement following the 1955 season. In total, he pitched in 58 MLB games (14 as a starting pitcher) and tallied a 6-7 record and a 4.02 ERA in 170 1/3 innings.
He finished his career with three World Series rings from 1951 to 1953.
