He replaced Mickey Mantle. Now baseball’s oldest living major leaguer, Art Schallock, is turning 100

Whether at home or on the road, Art Schallock would begin each day by taking the elevator down to the lobby and collecting the latest comic books for roommate Yogi Berra.

“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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