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07-24-2007 10:15 AM |
Rollie Stiles, oldest ex-major leaguer, dies at 100
Posted By: <b>Jon Canfield</b><p>ST. LOUIS -- Former St. Louis Brown Rollie Stiles, believed to be the oldest former major leaguer, has died. He was 100.<br /><br />Stiles died in his sleep Sunday morning at Bethesda Southgate nursing home in St. Louis County, a spokesman for the nursing home said Monday. A cause of death was not given.<br /><br />Born Nov. 17, 1906, in Ratcliff, Ark., Stiles pitched for the Browns in 1930, 1931 and 1933, compiling a 9-14 record with a 5.92 ERA. Babe Ruth was among the hitters he faced.<br /><br />"I had a great game against him," Stiles recalled in a 2006 interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "I held him to three hits."<br /><br />Emmett McAuliffe, a board member of the St. Louis Browns fan club and a friend of Stiles, recalled him as a modest and graceful man grateful for his baseball career.<br /><br />"Everything about him was class," McAuliffe said. "He knew he wasn't the greatest player that ever lived. But he loved the game."<br /><br />In fact, Stiles played seven seasons in the minor leagues after his major league career ended.<br /><br />"Even though the salary was bad, to be paid to play a boy's game was a great line of work to him," McAuliffe said.<br /><br />Bill Borst, co-founder of the Browns fan club, said Stiles was scheduled to be the honored guest at the club's annual dinner Wednesday.<br /><br />The Browns moved to Baltimore and became the Orioles after the 1953 season.<br /><br />Stiles worked for Procter & Gamble after finishing his playing career, retiring in 1969. His wife died in 1997. Survivors include four grandchildren and four great-grandchildren, according to the Browns fan club.<br /><br />Funeral arrangements were pending. <br /><br />Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press<br /><br />
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