He replaced Mickey Mantle. Art Schallock, is turning 100

“Every morning,” Schallock recalled, chuckling at the thought decades later.

Schallock never minded. It was all worth it.

Just part of being the new guy back in the day, a rite of passage for the latest big leaguer getting promoted. Schallock got the call in 1951, replacing future Hall of Famer Mickey Mantle when the New York Yankees optioned the then-19-year-old to Triple-A. Schallock, then 27, roomed with Berra and was tasked with picking up Berra’s daily delivery of “funnies” as they called them.

The oldest living former major leaguer, Schallock turns 100 on Thursday and is being celebrated in the Bay Area and beyond as the milestone approaches.

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The baseball memories are still plenty fresh.

“That was quite a thrill, quite a thrill playing with those guys,” Schallock shared in a video call. “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.”

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The Bay Area native went to Tamalpais High in Mill Valley then College of Marin before becoming the 10,823rd major league player when he debuted on July 16, 1951. He pitched 2 2/3 innings for the Yankees that day at Detroit, then earned his first career win exactly one month later at Washington.

The left-hander won three World Series rings from 1951-53, although he only pitched in the ‘53 Series, retiring Brooklyn’s Jackie Robinson during a two-inning outing in Game 4. He went 6-7 with a 4.02 ERA over five seasons in 58 games and 14 starts with the Yankees and Orioles.

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He still wears one of those World Series rings regularly on his pitching hand.