A Birthday Trivia Question

by David Fleitz

The 20 men listed below have two things in common.  One, they are all in the Baseball Hall of Fame.  What is the second thing that they have in common?

The men are:

Mel Ott, William Hulbert, Hack Wilson, Nellie Fox, John Clarkson, Frank Chance, Buck Ewing, Christy Mathewson, Tony Lazzeri, Charley Radbourn, Arky Vaughan, Roberto Clemente, Lou Gehrig, Rube Waddell, King Kelly, Ed Delahanty, Josh Gibson, Addie Joss, and Ross Youngs.

The answer:  none of them lived to see their 50th birthdays.  In fact, the last eight men on the list did not make it to 40.

Why do I mention this, you ask?  Maybe because I turned 50 this week, that's all.  I have now lived longer than 20 Hall of Famers, two Presidents of the United States (Kennedy and Garfield), and innumerable entertainers and other public figures who have been unlucky, careless, or both.

Also, I am now older than any active player who has ever appeared in a major league game, except for people like Minnie Minoso or Nick Altrock who did so at advanced ages as a publicity stunt.  The oldest real player to appear in a real game (that I could find) was pitcher Jack Quinn, who made his last appearance on July 7, 1933 for the Reds when he was 50 years and two days old.

Oh, well.  They say 50 is the new 40.  Besides, if I live to be 100, I'm barely halfway there.

Cap Anson's pennant-winning 1885 Chicago White Stockings team.  Of the 14 men who played in at least five games for the White Stockings that year, five did not live to 40, and three others did not make it to 50.