Oldest living MLB player turns 100, vividly recalls facing Dodgers in 1953 World Series

As for opponents, one particular Hall of Fame hitter didn't fare well against Schallock. Ted Williams was 0 for 2 in regular-season play and also hitless in spring training meetings. Schallock said he got Williams to chase change-ups and curveballs out of the strike zone.

"I changed speeds and kept the ball down," he said.

After finishing 1955 with the Orioles, he set career highs with 24 starts and 163 innings in Triple-A a year later before retiring at age 32. He and his wife eventually moved to Northern California, where he'd grown up.

Schallock's major league career might have begun sooner, but — like so many players — he served in the military in World War II. Two weeks after graduating from Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley, he was drafted into the Navy and spent three years as a radio operator on the USS Coral Sea, an aircraft carrier deployed in the Pacific.

After returning home, Schallock had a blind date with Dona Bernard, and they married a year later. The couple had two daughters and were married 76 years until Dona passed away a year ago.

Schallock became the oldest living major league player when George Elder — who played in 41 games in 1949 — died at age 101 in 2022.

According to the Baseball Almanac, 78 former players are in their 90s and 17 are at least 95. No. 2 on the list at 99 is Bill Greason — a pitcher who made three appearances in 1954 — and No. 3 at 98 is Bobby Shantz — a pitcher whose lengthy career included winning the American League Most Valuable Player award in 1952.

Nobody else on the list of former players ages 90 and over has three World Series rings. Someone at the party mentioned that Schallock was wearing a championship ring.

He grinned and replied, "Only one! My daughter has another one, and I don't know where the third one is."

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Freelance reporter Bob McGregor contributed to this report.