For years, baseball reference guides listed August 24, 1852, as Hall of Fame outfielder Jim O’Rourke’s date of birth. More recent books give the date as September 1, 1850. If the newer works are correct, O’Rourke was 54 years and 21 days old when he came out of retirement and collected the final hit of his career on September 22, 1904.
Both the hit and the change in O’Rourke’s date of birth are indeed significant.
O’Rourke moves past Minnie Minoso to become the oldest player in major league history to hit safely. Minoso was 53 years, 9 months, and 14 days old when he singled for the Chicago White Sox on September 12, 1976.
» A baseball fan since 1983, John Paul Hill has published two articles in historical journals on A.B. "Happy" Chandler.
Also by John Paul Hill
» A Note on RFK Stadium
» More submissions
Copyright © 2005 by John Paul Hill. Posted December 15, 2005.
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