Three years ago, I figured out that
Dave Philley was the oldest living Oriole. Sadly, that's no longer the case, as the 18-year major league veteran passed away last Thursday in his hometown of Paris, TX. He was 91 years old. His American League record of 24 pinch hits in one season was achieved in 1961, when the then-41-year-old was in his second stint with the O's. Dave served his country in World War II and had 1,700 hits and a .270 career batting average for the Orioles and 8 other big league teams. Serendipitously, he played for both "Philly" teams: the Athletics and the Phillies.
Roch Kubatko notes that Eddie Robinson, a former first baseman who spent just four games at the end of his career in Baltimore but also served on Paul Richards' coaching staff here, is now the current senior Oriole. As it happens, Robinson was also born in Paris in 1920; his birthday is December 20 whereas Philley's was May 16. The pair were teammates in a few different cities and were reportedly close friends.
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