Oxnard's Malinosky, former Brooklyn Dodger, dies at 101

Tony Malinosky, the oldest living former major league baseball player and a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1936, has died at the age of 101.

Malinosky passed away Feb. 8 in Oxnard, the team said on its website (linked here).

An infielder from Illinois who attended Whittier College with future president Richard Nixon was signed originally by the Pittsburgh Pirates.

In a story that the Associated Press did on Malinosky before his 100th birthday (linked here), he said he made $400 a month in his big-league career. Under manager Burleigh Grimes and playing with future Hall of Famers Waite Hoyt and Heinie Manush, Malinosky and the Dodgers went 62-91.

"I lived off Flatbush Avenue, near Ebbets Field," Malinosky recalled. "We had a lot of fun in those days. Of course, it was a lot different than today. The players nowadays have to have a truck to haul away their money. When I played, you could put it in your pocket."

Here's also a link to a feature done on him by KCLU reporter Lance Orosco (linked here), that earned him a Peabody Award.

So who now is the oldest living former major leaguer? It's 99-year-old Connie Marrero, a Cuban-born pitcher who played for the Washington Senators from 1950-54. He's en route to turning 100 on April 25.