Boston Red Sox legend Bobby Doerr was great at a lot of things during his career, and it turns out he’s pretty good at simply living, too.
The former second baseman became the oldest living Hall of Famer ever Thursday when he reached 97 years and 72 days old, passing former catcher and manager Al Lopez, who died on Oct. 30, 2005 at 97 years and 71 days of age. Doerr also is the only living player to have appeared in an MLB game during the 1930s.
“I remember in 1937, when I first went to Boston,” Doerr said, per the Baseball Hall of Fame’s website. “(Manager Joe) Cronin took me through his office, back up on third base in the top of the stands, and said: ‘Bobby, this is where you’re going to be playing.’ I’ll never forget the sight of seeing Fenway Park for the first time.”
Doerr played 14 seasons for the Red Sox and was a huge part of the team’s 1946 World Series run. He was inducted into the Hall in 1986, and Boston retired his No. 1 two years later on May 21, 1988.
Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@BaseballHall
