Bill Werber, who was the oldest living ex-major leaguer and a teammate of Babe Ruth, died Thursday at the age of 100.
Werber was a career .271 hitter who led the American League in stolen bases three times. He played with Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jimmie Foxx and Lefty Grove in stints with the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox. He hit .370 as the third baseman on the 1940 World Series champion Cincinnati Reds.
“Babe Ruth hit a home run and I wanted to show them how fast I could run,” Werber said in an interview in June. “So I get into the dugout, and finally Babe got into the dugout. He patted me on the head and said, ‘Son, you don’t have to run like that when the Babe hits one.”‘
What an amazing man with some wonderful stories to have told not only his own children but his grandchildren too. Imagine the stories they have to tell their children. Bill Werber died in Charlotte North Carolina in an assisted living center close to his daughter.