Sandy Koufax turned 90 December 30th Is he the only great player from the 1950s still living?
bumpskier
Posts: 68 ✭✭
I'm not sure if Luis Aparicio is still living. He might be the only other HOF player from the 1950's still living
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Me and a friend who meet at Barnes & Nobel a couple of times a week do nothing but talk MLB and stats/history. Here's our list from a long time ago - don't know if I missed someone gone?
I'm assuming you're talking HOF?
Luis Aparicio, Bill Mazeroski, Orlando Cepeda, Jim Kaat along with Koufax.
And Sandy looks great too. I love collecting his cards.
Orlando Cepeda died in 2024, Bill Mazeroski was a good player but probably wouldn't be in the HOF except for that home run he hit to win the 1960 World Series. Jim Kaat only pitched 5 innings in 1959 and gave up seven earned runs in those 5 innings and his rookie card is in 1960 Topps so I don't really consider him a player from the 1950s
Koufax also didn't do much in the 1950s to help the Dodgers reach the 1955, 1956, and the 1959 World Series. But his rookie card is from the 1955 Topps set and he was a dominate pitcher from 1960 to 1966.
boy, it is hard to believe Sandy is 90 years old. crazy.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Billy Williams?
Maz also got in for being one of the best fielding 2nd basemen of all-time. 2nd base isn't as tough as shortstop but it still has value.
I recently bought a Mazeroski auto’d item on eBay from a person who is good friends with the family. He exchanged messages with me and told me that Bill occasionally signs photos, etc. for him and that he’s still in great health and spirits.
That's a good one!
Williams played in 59 and 60 but got credit as a rookie in 1961 as ROY. He combined for 30 games in 59-60 - I had to look that up. I have his 61T RC and thought he was truly a 60s starter in MLB.
And I believe he's still alive.
Billy is very much alive. One of my core memories is being at his Hall of Fame party at Wrigley Field the night he found out he was elected. The party was for Cubs employees and his family and it was a pretty cool experience.
Billy was at all the postseason games but when they showed him he was seated In the Club inside not in the boxes like he used to be. Made me wonder how he was doing.
1952 MVP Bobby Shantz still alive
Vern Law as well as Elroy Face - a couple of Pirates aces.
Bobby Shantz and Vern Law still sign too which is impressive.
And probably make as much now as they did in their playing days.
Sad in a way - people getting signatures and paying for them knowing these guys won’t be around much longer.
I know Vern does it for donations towards his son Vance’s treatment. Elroy Face used to be a regular at card shows in the 90s. Maz’s grandson sells his signature for him on the web.
Actually checked Google - 6 1960 Pirates are still alive !! Maz is the youngest at 89.
Roy Face – 97
Vern Law – 95
Bob Skinner – 94
Bennie Daniels – 93
Dick Groat – 92
Bill Mazeroski – 89
Know a guy who had every member of that teams signature on a card - except Clemente. Somewhere I have around 10 of them - including 4 of the living members.
I have a 54 topps heading out for Vern already.
Here’s a Shantz I got years ago. His signature still looks nice for 100 and I’ve been thinking of sending in a few more.
Who's the oldest living Yankee great?
2025 SEC bowl record 4-10
SEC bowl record vs BIG TEN last two years 2-8
I guess it would depend on what you consider a "great"
Maybe Reggie? I think he is going to be 80 this year. I think all the big players from the 50s-60s are already gone. guidry must be in his mid 70s or so. winfield turns 75 this year.
George Brett, Roger Clemens and Tommy Brady.
Here is a list of the oldest playershttps://www.baseball-almanac.com/players/Oldest_Living_Baseball_Players.php
Technically, he wasn't great in the 50s.
FWIW, Roy Face is still alive at 97. He's certainly by no means a HOF'er, but he was definitely pretty good.
Not HOFers but pretty good; Tony Kubek and Bobby Richardson are both 90.
It's the singer not the song - Peter Townshend (1972)
Not even a minute do I buy the whole buh buh buh I'm a man-child japery - Me (2025)
Guidry
have wanted to pick up a nice Koufax rookie for a while without breaking the bank, and finally found one this past year. Thought it looked decent so I had it reviewed, and the review came back a little better than I expected.
Hiya Keith
You seem to find "gems" in lower grading that just look incredible buddy.
Thanx for sharing.
Keith…
PSA bumped it? Or MBA gave it a gold diamond? Nice card!
Thank you Mike. Probably lower end due to budget not being unlimited 🤣
Gold diamond. I thought it was a nice card color and image wise, and I usually only grab cards that dead centered or close to dead centered as you know. Probably just being tough on this one, but color wise it glows in hand. Probably taking it to Chicago this summer to trade up.
About 20 years ago a colleague of mine (who knows I love baseball) had the opportunity to play golf with Sandy Koufax at an area country club and after the round asked Sandy if he would sign a scorecard for me....
IMF
Another great player from the 1950s still living is Bob Cousy. His first NBA game was in 1950, so he almost played in the 1940s, most of his outstanding college career was from the 1940s. I know his most famous card is the 1957 Topps rookie card. Are there any other big cards of his from his career" I know there were not a lot of basketball sets produced during his career? I hope he reaches 100. He will turn 98 this year.
That has got to be the nicest PSA 4 I have ever seen!
1951 Berk Ross card is a good one.
https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=1951+berk+ross+bob+cousy&_sacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p4624852.m570.l1311