Billy Werber (above, left), who as a Cincinnati Red in 1939, became the first baseball player to bat on television, passed away today at the age of 100. Cincinnati Reds played the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field in the first televised game, May 1, 1939.
Werber was inducted into the Reds Hall of Fame in 1961 and at the time of his death, he was the oldest living major league ballplayer and the last living teammate of Babe Ruth.
Nice little stock-pile of triva, huh? It goes on too. More on his wikipedia page.
There is a great quote from him on why he stopped watching baseball at the age of 98. Apparently, he was not a fan of some of the fashionable grooming choices of some modern ballplayers…
“I don’t like the appearance of a lot of the players. The hair’s too long. Their beards are too evident. They’re a grubby-looking bunch of caterwaulers.”
More on Billy Werber:
• Oldest big-leaguer Werber turns 100 (USA TODAY)
• Ex-Big Leaguer Werber Has Many Stories to Choose From (Washington Post)
