He twice topped his league in hitting average and three times in RBI. White is the oldest player admitted to the Hall of Fame, having been born on December 2, 1847, which precedes any other entrant chosen as a player. On July 7, 1939, White died. In 2013, he was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
White began his career with the Chicago White Stockings in 1869, at the age of 16. He played first base and was known for his powerful batting stance -- he once hit a ball that went over the left field wall off of it. During his time with the White Stockings, they won the National League title in 1870 and 1871. In 1971, the White Stockings were renamed the Chicago Cubs.
After his season with the White Stockings ended, White joined the New York Mutuals of the American Association for the rest of the season. In 1870, he returned to the National League and played for the Cincinnati Red Stockings until 1874 when he retired from baseball after eight seasons. White finished his career with a.452 batting average, two times topping 100 RBI and once each topping 10 hits and runs created.
During his time in the National League, White helped the Red Stockings win two National League pennants and play in three World Series. In 1872, White scored more than 100 points in voting for the MVP Award for the first time.
The six-time All-Star and seven-time World Series champion racked up impressive stats, including a.340 lifetime batting average and 1,995 runs batted in (RBI). In 1939, Lou Gehrig was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. He is one of only four players who have been voted in by both their peers and the public. The others are Jim Rice, Barry Bonds, and Mike Schmidt.
Gehrig began his career with the New York Yankees in 1927 and played all but two seasons of his career with them. During his time with the Yanks, they won eleven championships including ten world titles. In addition, he played on three more World Series winning teams. In fact, Gehrig is one of only four players who have participated in every World Series game since it first started in 1903. The others are Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, and Stan Musial.
After retiring as a Yankee in 1939, Gehrig moved to Clifton, New Jersey where he lived until his death from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (also known as "Lou Gehrig's disease") on July 2, 1941 at the age of 37. Today, Lou Gehrig Memorial Stadium is named after him. It is home to the Columbia University Lions baseball team.
Gehrig's number 4 has been retired throughout Major League Baseball.
Mays, Willie Willie Mays stands alone in an era when baseball icons are falling by the wayside. Since the beginning of 2020, ten baseball hall of famers have died, including Hank Aaron and several more from Mays' playing days. Mays, who celebrated his 90th birthday on Thursday, is the oldest surviving Hall of Famer. He is also one of only three players - Carl Yastrzemski of the Boston Red Sox and Joe DiMaggio of the New York Yankees - to be named MVP in both the American League and National League. The other player is San Diego's Greg Maddux, who has won the NL award this past season.
The youngest player ever elected to the Hall of Fame is Tony Oliva, who was 44 years old when he made it into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2015. Oliva played 18 seasons in the major leagues and was a key member of the Minnesota Twins team that won the 1991 World Series. His number 8 has been retired throughout all of Major League Baseball (MLB) for post-season recognition of his achievements.
When you add up everyone's years, there have been few generations in baseball history since 1900 when the century mark was reached. From 1900 to 1999, there were only two men who were born in the 19th century - Thomas Edison and Albert Einstein. From 2000 to 2019, there were four - Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Prince Charles, and Elvis Presley.
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