I have to admit that I didn't know who Silas Simmons was until a few weeks ago. Through SABR's Listserve, members were notified that Mr. Simmons would be celebrating a birthday and encouraged all to send cards. Lots of professional ballplayers have birthdays that come and go every single day. Silas was special, though, because he's had so many.
Earlier in October, Silas turned 111.
A peculiar habit of mine with the older generation is to imagine if they would have heard Babe Ruth play baseball (assuming they had any interest in the sport whatsoever). That's a bit of a laugh in Silas' case. Silas was born only a few months after Ruth, and he retired as a pro ball player seven years before The Bambino did.
When he was interviewed for a TV story, he certainly looked and sounded great. Here's a link to that story:
http://www.tampabays10.com/news/local/article.aspx?s=search&storyid=41824
Sadly, there was a follow up story just a few days ago. Silas passed away on Sunday, October 29. Maybe the "sadly" part is just for us--he sounds like he was tired and ready to go, according to this report:
http://www.tampabays10.com/sports/article.aspx?storyid=42726
Rest in peace, Silas.
