Somewhat Less Reliable Now

Tommy Henrich, the oldest living New York Yankee, Lou Gehrig’s last living teammate and last living link to any World Series from the 1930s, isn’t any more, succumbing to being very, very old, at the age of 96. A solid performer for 11 seasons for the Yankees, winning 8 pennants, Henrich was overshadowed by superstar teammates Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio, but had a knack for clutch hits, earning the nickname Old Reliable from Mel Allen after a late-inning hit won a game, enabling the team to catch a train for their next series. Henrich also hit the first game-ending home run in World Series history, leading off the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 1 in 1949 to beat Don Newcombe and the Brooklyn Dodgers, 1-0. Henrich even came up with big plays while striking out. He should have made the last out of Game 4 of the 1941 World Series, but Dodgers catcher Mickey Owen committed a passed ball, and Henrich ended up scoring the tying run in a 4-run rally.