RIP Jim Marshall 1931-2025

[stevejrogers]

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[Benjamin Grimm]

George Altman, March 20, 1933, is now the oldest living Met.

[Edgy MD]

Marshall somehow nailed up a .344 / .400 / .656 // 1.056 line in 35 trips to the plate in early 1962 before being dealt off for Vinegar Bend Mizell, who somehow managed to pich poorly enough for the Mets to play his way out of baseball.

Marshall picked two rough times to get a chance to manage in the big leagues, with the mid-1970s Cubs and the 1979 Athletics. This did, however afford him the honor of being Rickey Henderson's first big-league manager.

[G-Fafif]

The last of the absolutely Original Mets, those who played in orange and blue on the Eleventh of April, Nineteen Sixty-Two.

“It was a special place, a special time,” he told Post+ in a story published online this past June when asked to remember New York’s reaction to that first team. “It was unlike anywhere else I had ever been. They treated us great. Everyone was so enthusiastic. I could never forget all that.”

This from the guy they booed in the Home Opener for daring to fill in for an achy Gil Hodges.

[MFS62]

Sigh.

RIP, Jim

Later

[Cowtipper]

These are all the living players from the 1950s now. Organized by year of debut...

1948

Bill Greason

1949

Bobby Shantz

1950

Vern Law

Bob Ross

1952

Neal Hertweck

Ron Necciai

1953

Roy Face

Ted Kazanski

Bob Oldis

Jim Willis

Al Worthington

1954

Joey Amalfitano

Ray Crone

Camilo Pascual

John Pyecha

Bob Skinner

1955

Vicente Amor

Wayne Causey

John Edelman

Alex George

Don Kaiser

Sandy Koufax

Eric MacKenzie

Stan Pawloski

Pedro Ramos

Bobby Richardson

Jim Small

1956

Luis Aparicio

Bob Aspromonte

Jackie Brandt

Mack Burk

Marty Keough

Joe Margoneri

Bill Mazeroski

Taylor Phillips

Bill White

1957

Ken Aspromonte

Bennie Daniels

John DeMerit

Jim Gentile

Johnny Goryl

Eddie Haas

Ken Hamlin

Bobby Henrich

Jay Hook

Fred Kipp

Tony Kubek

Don Lee

Lloyd Merritt

Claude Osteen

Tom Patton

Buddy Pritchard

Charlie Rabe

George Thomas

Jim Woods

1958

Felipe Alou

Gary Bell

Ted Bowsfield

Chuck Essegian

Jack Feller

John Fitzgerald

Ron Hansen

Johnny James

Footer Johnson

Willie Kirkland

Lou Klimchock

Bob Lillis

Ralph Mauriello

Zach Monroe

Orlando Peña

Lee Tate

Don Taussig

1959

George Altman

Gary Blaylock

Cliff Cook

Chuck Cottier

Bob Duliba

Jack Fisher

Buddy Gilbert

Jim Kaat

Evans Killeen

Marty Kutyna

Gene Leek

Jim Mahoney

Jerry Mallett

J.C. Martin

Ken McBride

Joe Morgan

Jim Perry

Jim Proctor

Claude Raymond

Bob Saverine

Russ Snyder

Al Spangler

Wes Stock

Billy Williams

Ted Wills

Source:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/bullpen/List_of_living_major_league_players_from_the_1950s

Chuck Essegian is now the oldest former Oriole, born August 9, 1931.

[roger_that]

Levels of "Original Met":

Level 5: played a few games at some point late in the 1962 season (Kranepool)

Level 4: played substantially in 1962 but was not on the roster all season long (Christopher)

Level 3: was on the Opening Day roster but got dealt off before the season was up (Zimmer)

Level 2: was on roster Opening Day but did not play in the opener (Chacon)

Level 1: played in the opener.

[roger_that]

This from the guy they booed in the Home Opener for daring to fill in for an achy Gil Hodges.

 

Nice story. Untrue, but nice anyway.

Hodges played the entire opener. Marshall pinch-hit in the 9th for Clem Labine.

[G-Fafif]

This from the guy they booed in the Home Opener for daring to fill in for an achy Gil Hodges.

 

Nice story. Untrue, but nice anyway.

Hodges played the entire opener. Marshall pinch-hit in the 9th for Clem Labine.

 

Home Opener, not Opening Night in St. Louis — Hodges was a late scratch and did not play; Marshall started, batted sixth and went 1-for-3 with a walk:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196204130.shtml

[MFS62]

I can still hear how announcers pronounced, or tried to pronounce, some of those names.

One pronounced A-mal-uh-fa ta no - throwing in the extra syllable

WOR sports announcer Stan Lomax said CAM-uh-lo (instead of Ca-meal-e-o) PAS-kul

I'm guessing that Jim Kaat was the last on that list to retire as a player.

Fun list.

Thanks

Later

[G-Fafif]

Next-day coverage of Jim Marshall’s reception at the Polo Grounds 1962 opener, when he was announced as playing in place of Gil Hodges.

[stevejrogers]

Levels of "Original Met":

Level 5: played a few games at some point late in the 1962 season (Kranepool)

Level 4: played substantially in 1962 but was not on the roster all season long (Christopher)

Level 3: was on the Opening Day roster but got dealt off before the season was up (Zimmer)

Level 2: was on roster Opening Day but did not play in the opener (Chacon)

Level 1: played in the opener.

 

What level are the expansion draft picks, and by extension post 1964(ish) entry draft selections by incoming teams to start filling out their minor league systems) but are ephemeral the franchise, never appearing in a regular/postseason game for them?

[roger_that]

This from the guy they booed in the Home Opener for daring to fill in for an achy Gil Hodges.

 

Nice story. Untrue, but nice anyway.

Hodges played the entire opener. Marshall pinch-hit in the 9th for Clem Labine.

 

Home Opener, not Opening Night in St. Louis — Hodges was a late scratch and did not play; Marshall started, batted sixth and went 1-for-3 with a walk:

https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/NYN/NYN196204130.shtml

 

Sorry. Didn't catch that. (Marv Throneberry memorial excuse.) Shoulda known better.

(Awful glad your white knight isn't here anymore to defend you against any accusations of fallibility. I might never hear the end of it if Sir Galahad were still posting here.)

[roger_that]

Levels of "Original Met":

Level 5: played a few games at some point late in the 1962 season (Kranepool)

Level 4: played substantially in 1962 but was not on the roster all season long (Christopher)

Level 3: was on the Opening Day roster but got dealt off before the season was up (Zimmer)

Level 2: was on roster Opening Day but did not play in the opener (Chacon)

Level 1: played in the opener.

 

What level are the expansion draft picks, and by extension post 1964(ish) entry draft selections by incoming teams to start filling out their minor league systems) but are ephemeral the franchise, never appearing in a regular/postseason game for them?

 

And I guess Level 0: Richie Ashburn

[Cowtipper]

Living original Mets:

John DeMerit

Galen Cisco

Cliff Cook

Rick Herrscher

Jay Hook

Craig Anderson

The YOUNGEST is Craig Anderson at 87.

Edited September 9, 2025 by Cowtipper

[Benjamin Grimm]

Felix Mantilla is dead at the present time.

[Cowtipper]

Thanks, I removed him from the list.

[G-Fafif]

There are as many living 1962 Mets as there are living New York Baseball Giants.

[Cowtipper]

We're getting to a point where the early history of the Mets is going to start fading into the ether, where active memories fade and all we get is second hand accounts. Even the youngest fans who were sentient enough to remember the earliest Mets teams are probably 70-75 years old now.

[stevejrogers]

We're getting to a point where the early history of the Mets is going to start fading into the ether, where active memories fade and all we get is second hand accounts. Even the youngest fans who were sentient enough to remember the earliest Mets teams are probably 70-75 years old now.

 

We’ll see that in real time with the Alumni Classic Saturday, where it’s mostly from the 1999-2000, 2006 and 2015-2016 crews. With some 1986-1988ers around in “ones they save for last, but won’t be playing” roles.

[Edgy MD]

Levels of "Original Met":

Level 5: played a few games at some point late in the 1962 season (Kranepool)

Level 4: played substantially in 1962 but was not on the roster all season long (Christopher)

Level 3: was on the Opening Day roster but got dealt off before the season was up (Zimmer)

Level 2: was on roster Opening Day but did not play in the opener (Chacon)

Level 1: played in the opener.

 

Is there a category for guys taken in the initial expansion draft in October 1961? They were the first to gain the professional title of "Met."

Surprisingly, only the last guy (Lee Walls) never took the field as a Met. He was traded to the Dodgers for Charlie Neal (good deal!!) in December.

 

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[TH]Round[/TH]	[TH]Pick[/TH]	[TH]Player[/TH]	[TH]Position[/TH]	[TH]Team[/TH]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]1[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Hobie Landrith[/td]	[td]C[/td]	[td]San Francisco Giants[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]2[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Elio Chacon[/td]	[td]2B[/td]	[td]Cincinnati Reds[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]3[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Roger Craig[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]Los Angeles Dodgers[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]4[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Gus Bell[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]Cincinnati Reds[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]5[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Joe Christopher[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]Pittsburgh Pirates[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]6[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Felix Mantilla[/td]	[td]2B[/td]	[td]Milwaukee Braves[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]7[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Gil Hodges[/td]	[td]1B[/td]	[td]Los Angeles Dodgers[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]8[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Craig Anderson[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]St. Louis Cardinals[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]9[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Ray Daviault[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]San Francisco Giants[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]10[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]John DeMerit[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]Milwaukee Braves[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]11[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Al Jackson[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]Pittsburgh Pirates[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]12[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Sammy Drake[/td]	[td]3B[/td]	[td]Chicago Cubs[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]13[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Chris Cannizzaro[/td]	[td]C[/td]	[td]St. Louis Cardinals[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]14[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Choo Choo Coleman[/td]	[td]C[/td]	[td]Philadelphia Phillies[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]15[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Ed Bouchee[/td]	[td]1B[/td]	[td]Chicago Cubs[/TD]
[TH]Regular[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]16[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Bobby Gene Smith[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]Philadelphia Phillies[/TD]
[TH]Option[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]17[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Sherman Jones[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]Cincinnati Reds[/TD]
[TH]Option[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]18[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Jim Hickman[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]St. Louis Cardinals[/TD]
[TH]Premium[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]19[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Bob Miller[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]St. Louis Cardinals[/TD]
[TH]Premium[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]20[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Jay Hook[/td]	[td]P[/td]	[td]Cincinnati Reds[/TD]
[TH]Premium[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]21[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Don Zimmer[/td]	[td]SS[/td]	[td]Chicago Cubs[/TD]
[TH]Premium[/TH]	[TH][MetsOrange]22[/MetsOrange][/th]	[td]Lee Walls[/td]	[td]OF[/td]	[td]Philadelphia Phillies[/TD]

[MFS62]

And the reason the Mets drafted Landrith first was because, as Casey Stengel said, "If you don't have a catcher, you're going to have a lot of passed balls".

Later