The oldest old-timer

Silas Simmons is 110 years old. He played pro baseball before the Negro Leagues were even formed, between 1912 and 1929, according to Alan Schwarz of the New York Times.

Among the teams Simmons played for: Pittsburgh's Homestead Grays. (That's a link to a team photo: he's second from the right in the middle row.) Among those he played against: Pop Lloyd, Judy Johnson and Biz Mackey. Simmons was a pitcher, and tells Schwarz, "I had a good curveball and a good fastball."

Simmons earned $10 a game for his work.

The story behind the story is also worth a read.