Former Red Billy Werber turns 100

Here's a nice read about Billy Werber, the oldest living former player and our 3B from 1939-1941, who reached his centennial on this earth last week.  Werber started on the pennant-winning '39 team and finished 10th in MVP voting the following year, when he helped lead the Reds to the championship.  He was also the first batter in the first televised game, May 1, 1939, when the Reds played the Dodgers at Ebbets Field.  He scored over 100 runs both seasons but was traded after a down year in '41.  After one year with the Giants he retired.

Werber came up with the Yankees and is the last surviving teammate of Babe Ruth.  From the article:

"In my first game, I got on base ahead of Babe Ruth," Werber recalled. "He hit a home run and I ran around the bases, full speed, because I wanted to show those Yankees how fast I could run. When (Ruth) came in he patted me on the head and said, 'You don't have to run like that when The Babe hits one.' "

More of Werber's stories about Ruth, Foxx and other stars from that era can be found in this Boston Globe article from earlier this year.

Werber sounds like a mix of Brandon Phillips and Paul O'Neil - an athletic, aggressive baserunner who also had a temper and penchant for kicking stuff around in the dugout.  He was inducted to the Reds HOF in 1961.  Happy belated, Billy.