Happy 100th birthday, Bobby Shantz
- Mark Potash
- Sep 26
- 4 min read
Updated: Oct 30
As a history buff, I love longevity links. Harrison Ruffin Tyler, a grandson of President John Tyler — who was born in 1790 and served as president from 1841-45 — just passed away on May 25 of 2025 at 96. Al Benton, a two-time all-star pitcher for the Tigers, pitched to Hall of Fame sluggers Babe Ruth, who began his big-league career in 1915, and Mickey Mantle, who played his last big-league game in 1968. Former White Sox starter Jim Kaat, who played in the big leagues in 1983, once pitched to Ted Williams, who played his first game in 1939 — and Tim Raines, who played his last game in 2002.
Former big-league pitcher Bobby Shantz, the pride of Pottstown, Pa. who celebrated his 100th birthday on Sept. 26, has his own special longevity niche. Not only is he the oldest living former league MVP — he won the award in 1952, when he went 24-7 for the Philadelphia Athletics — but he is the last living player who played for Connie Mack, the long-time Athletics owner and manager who was born in 1862, during Civil War I.
The little lefty (he was 5-foot-6) pitched for the Athletics in Mack's final two seasons of Mack's 50-year run as the Athletics manager in 1949 (6-8, 3.40 ERA) and 1950 (8-14, 4.61 ERA). Shantz ended up pitching 15 seasons in the big leagues, making three All-Star games (1951, 1952 and 1957) and winning eight Gold Gloves. He won three pennants with the Yankees (1957, 1958 and 1960), winning the World Series in 1958, when he made three appearances, including a start in Game 4 against the Milwaukee Braves (a 4-2 loss).
Shantz's Chicago connection is a bit dubious. As a member of the Cardinals in 1964, Shantz was part of the ill-fated "Brock-for-Broglio" trade in which the Cubs sent 24-year-old Lou Brock and pitchers Jack Spring and Paul Toth to the Cardinals on June 15 for veteran pitcher Ernie Broglio, Shantz and outfielder Doug Clemens.
That trade is the worst in Cubs history and one of the worst in baseball history. But it's long forgotten that at the time, it was seen as a big Cubs heist in Chicago. Brock was an under-performing prospect — a .257 hitter with a .648 OPS in three-plus seasons. (Fun Fact: Brock homered in his final at-bat with the Cubs). Broglio was a former 20-game winner (21-9 with the Cardinals in 1961) who went 18-8 in 1963. He was struggling in 1964 (3-5, 3.50 ERA) but reported no arm issues.
The Cubs were emerging as potential contenders — with two-time MVP Ernie Banks still in his prime and Billy Williams and Ron Santo blossoming into stars — after a 17 consecutive seasons in the second division. After a 14-21 start in 1964, they won 13 of 19 games to reach .500 — just 5 1/2 games behind the first-place Phillies and Giants — and were thinking big. Acquiring Broglio was a long-awaited pennant push.
"I've been with this club four years now , and I've never had the feeling before that we could go all the way," Santo said in the Tribune the day after the trade. "With our pitching staff now, we can win the pennant."
Of course, we know now that it was not to be. The Cubs lost Broglio's first seven starts (0-4, 6.99 ERA), went 49-59 after trading Brock and finished 76-86, in eighth place in the National League. Brock was an immediate hit with the Cardinals. After hitting .251 with a .640 OPS with the Cubs in 1964, he hit .348 with 12 home runs, 44 RBIs, 33 stolen bases and a .915 OPS with the Cardinals.
Brock's impact was immense. The Cardinals were 28-31 and in eighth place (seven games behind the leaders) at the time of the trade. After acquiring Brock, the Cardinals went 65-38 to zoom past the Cubs and everyone else in their way in winning the pennant and the World Series.
Brock was on his way to the Hall of Fame, and he made the Cubs regret the trade every step of the way. Brock hit .434 against the Cubs in 1964 and 1965 (56 for 129) with six home runs, 21 RBIs (in 29 games) and a 1.and 21 RBIs in 29 games and a 1.157 OPS. He ended up hitting .334 with 20 home runs, 103 RBIs and 98 stolen bases in 256 games against the Cubs in his career.
As for Bobby Shantz, his '64 season was one he'd like to forget. He started the season with the eventual World Series champion Cardinals, played two months for the Cubs (0-1, 5.56 ERA) and was traded to the Phillies, who were pennant-bound until suffering the biggest collapse in baseball history. Leading the National League by 6 1/2 games with 12 to go, the Phillies lost 10 consecutive games to blow that entire lead as the Cardinals roared past them to win the pennant.
But let the record show that Shantz had a fulfilling major-league career. He played 15 seasons with a 119-99 record and 3.38 ERA (a 138 ERA+). He won an MVP award. He won eight Gold Gloves. He won three pennants and a World Series. He played with Mickey Mantle. And he played for Connie Mack, whose father served in the 51st Massachusetts Infantry in "Lincoln's army" in the Civil War. That's a tremendous run, and still going. Happy 100th Birthday, Bobby Shantz.
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