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Old-Timers Day is a time honored tradition in Major League Baseball and for decades, nobody did it better than the New York Yankees. Their tradition dates back to September 28, 1947 when the Yankees held an event not only to honor the game’s old-timers, but to also celebrate Babe Ruth, who was dying of throat cancer at the time. The event drew plenty of coverage, so there is some fantastic footage and photography that still survives to this day.

There have been events held at ballparks to celebrate those who had previously played in the Majors dating back to the 1800s and many of them were tied together with supporting a cause. Even the first official Old-Timers Day at Yankee Stadium provided financial support to the Babe Ruth Foundation. While the Yankees are the franchise most associated with Old-Timers Day, the event isn’t exclusive to them.

The Indians had an old-timer’s game in 1921 that featured Cy Young and Nap Lajoie among others. A 1950 old-timer’s game in 1950 by the New York Giants featured the return of Fred Merkle, whose 1908 “boner” predated gaffes by Bill Buckner and Steve Bartman by decades. Merkle was given a rousing ovation in his return to the Polo Grounds. The White Sox held an old-timer’s game in 1983 to celebrate the 50^th anniversary of Comiskey Park. Some Hall of Famers who participated in that event included Ernie Banks, Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Frank Robinson and Hoyt Wilhelm.

The 1980s saw the Cracker Jack Old-Timers Baseball Classic (1982-1990) and the Heroes of Baseball Series (1986-1995) which weren’t associated with any one team. The 1982 Cracker Jack Old-Timers Game is famous for a 75-year-old Luke Appling belting a home run off Warren Spahn, an event that came in at #297 in The Stud 400.

In recent years, the Dodgers and Mets have been among the teams to hold Old-Timers Days. The 2022 Mets Old-Timers Day was particularly notable because the franchise finally upheld a promise made by Joan Payson to Willie Mays decades earlier to have his number retired.

Like most things in today’s baseball, even a beloved event Old-Timers Day has gone into the shitter. The baseball world had settled into the comfortable routine that the Yankees would hold their annual Old-Timers Day complete with player announcements and a three-inning exhibition game. The Yankees used Covid as an excuse to can the game and haven’t brought it back despite its popularity. As it stands now, not a single Major League team holds an annual Old-Timers Day Game and that’s horseshit. It may be a slight consolation, but Yankees Old-Timers Day does get its proper recognition here on The Stud 400.

Before we move on to this week’s edition of The Stud 400, here’s a look at the last five entries as we count down the 400 greatest moments in Major League Baseball history:

190: Padres draft Tony Gwynn (1981)

189: Rennie Stennett goes 7-for-7 (1975)

188: Sammy Sosa hits 20 HRs in June (1998)

187: The Jeffrey Maier Game (1996)

186: Dennis Eckersley & Tony LaRussa modernize the closer (1988)

And now, here’s Episode LI of The Stud 400.

185. Augie Busch nixes Stan Musial trade (1956)

Have you ever heard of Frank Lane? Probably not. The dude was born in the 1800s and unless you’re well-versed in 1940s MLB general managers, it’s a name from baseball’s past you aren’t familiar with. Unless you’re a fan of the White Sox or Cardinals. Or Indians. Folks who know the history of those franchises likely have different feelings towards “Trader” Lane. Lane was the GM of the White Sox from 1948-1955 and built the team into contenders by completing a ridiculous 241 trades during his tenure. After he resigned, the Cardinals scooped him up and he continued to serve as baseball’s version of Monty Hall. He made deals shipping out reigning Rookie of the Year Bill Virdon, Hall of Famers Enos Slaughter and Red Schoendienst and many others. Under his watch, you’d figure Stan Musial was the only untradeable piece on the team.

You’d also be wrong to assume that. In 1956, Lane attempted to trade Stan the Man to the Phillies for Robin Roberts in what would have been one of the all-time blockbuster trades. Musial was 35, but still had seven more All-Star seasons in front of him. Luckily for Cardinals fans and the baseball world in general, Cardinals owner August Busch stepped in, vetoed the trade and then said any future trade proposals had to go through him. A frustrated Lane resigned a year later and got picked up by the Indians. If you’re wondering, yes he was also the dope who traded Rocky Colavito away from the Indians.

184. Home Run Derby TV Show (1960)

Way before Josh Hamilton’s performance at Yankee Stadium, Ken Griffey Jr.’s warehouse shot in Baltimore and Mark McGwire’s moon shots in Fenway Park, another version of the Home Run Derby delighted fans. We’re not talking about the mid-80’s version either. We’re going back to 1960 and the fantastic TV show Home Run Derby. Filmed at Wrigley Field in December of 1959, the show ran for 26 episodes starting in January of 1960. It was a simple showdown of Major League sluggers who went head-to-head for nine innings. Each batter got three outs per turn at bat and any swing that didn’t result in a home run was considered an out. The game also featured an umpire and if he called a strike on a pitch that was taken, that was an out too.

Mark Scott was the host and while one player took his turn at bat, the other would join Scott in the broadcast booth to talk baseball, analyze his round and compliment his opponent. The winner would move on to the next week to face a new challenger. Altogether, 19 active players participated in the show, nine of which went on to make the Hall of Fame. Mickey Mantle hit the most home runs on the show, belting 44 while going 4-1 in his head-to-head matchups. He topped Willie Mays 9-8 in the series premiere. Hank Aaron won the most contests, going 6-1 and winning a total of $13,500. Wally Post finally dethroned Aaron 7-4 in episode 13. Jackie Jensen held the record for consecutive home runs with five. Other Hall of Famers who participated were Harmon Killebrew, Frank Robinson, Gil Hodges, Ernie Banks, Eddie Mathews, Duke Snider and Al Kaline. The final episode aired on July 2, 1960 with Mantle returning to oust Jensen, who had won two showdowns in a row. Sadly, Scott passed away of a heart attack at the age of 45, 11 days after the final episode aired. The show was discontinued due to the passing of the host, but luckily, the entire series survives in recordings to this day.

183. Minnie Minoso returns—again (1980)

They say Father Time remains undefeated, and that may be true, but some players gave more of a fight than others. Take Minnie Minoso for instance. Minoso got his start playing for the New York Cubans in the Negro Leagues before becoming the first Black Cuban to play in the Majors when he debuted with the Indians in 1949. Minoso retired from the Majors in 1964 at the age of 40, but continued to play in the Mexican League. He returned to the White Sox as a coach in 1976, but was activated for three games that September. Minoso, at the age of 52, went 1-for-8 with a single off Sid Monge. His participation allowed him to become just the second player to have played in the 1940s and 1970s, joining Willie Mays.

Overall, he was the fifth player to have played in the Major Leagues in four decades, joining Early Wynn, Ted Williams, Mickey Vernon and Bobo Newsom. Minoso wasn’t done yet, though! Bill Veeck signed Minoso in 1980, giving him a chance to become the first five-decade player in the modern era. The Cuban Comet had two pinch hit appearances at the age of 56, popping out against Frank Tanana and grounding out against Dave Schuler. His appearance in those two games meant that he was the last player who played in the 1940s to be active in the Major Leagues and also the last active player who also played in the Negro Leagues.

182. Yankees Old-Timers Game (1947)

Old-Timers Day has a long and complicated history, but the Yankees iteration of the event has become the standard bearer for all sports. Consequently, the first official Yankees Old-Timers Day is generally viewed as the birth of the tradition. That took place on September 28, 1947 at Yankee Stadium and it was as glorious an event as you can imagine. Probably even more. A frail Babe Ruth, who died less than a year later, appeared at the game out of uniform and took photos and videos with some of his contemporaries, who had long since retired from the game. We’re talking straight up baseball immortals. Players like Ty Cobb, Cy Young, Lefty Gomez, Mickey Cochrane, Jimmie Foxx, Ed Walsh, Chief Bender and Tris Speaker among others participated in the game. Yankees coach Frankie Crosetti had a color silent movie camera and the video survives to this day. It’s absolutely remarkable to see color footage of such folks. The event was a huge success and all funds were donated to the Babe Ruth Foundation. It’s no wonder such a grand event spurred a decades-old tradition at the old ball yard.

181. Gil Hodges dies (1972)

When you start thinking of beloved New York baseball figures, there are no shortage of heroes to choose from. Pick any decade and you have your choice of Grade A superstars who have carved out some place in history. One such player is Gil Hodges, a hero from the Boys of Summer Brooklyn Dodgers and later the New York Mets. Hodges debuted as a pro at the age of 19 in the final game of the 1943 season, drawing a walk against Johnny Vander Meer, and then missed the next two years due to military service. He returned and put up one of the legendary careers in Dodgers history. The popular first baseman helped the Dodgers to seven National League pennants and two World Series titles. Going into the final games of his career in 1963, Hodges was the all-time home run leader for right-handed hitters in the National League, until he was surpassed by Willie Mays. At the time, he was a part-time player for the Mets, having returned to New York after five years in Los Angeles. It wouldn’t be the last time he wore the orange and blue of the Mets.

Immediately upon his retirement, like literally 18 days after he hung them up, Hodges took over as manager of the Washington Senators and stayed in that role until the Mets pried him away to take over for Wes Westrum, who had recently resigned from the team. Hodges became the Mets third manager starting in 1968. The Mets had been historically awful and never had a winning season, but Hodges had the club within four games of .500 at the All-Star break. They faded, but took that next step forward in 1969 in a huge way. You’ll read all about that later on in the countdown. Hodges led the Mets to winning records the next two seasons and entered the 1972 season with high hopes. On Easter Sunday in 1972, Hodges was at Spring Training and took the day to play golf with coaches Joe Pignatano, Rube Walker and Eddie Yost. They played 27 holes and as Hodges left the course en route to his hotel, he collapsed and died in the arms of Pignatano, who was trying to assist him. A heart attack claimed the life of the icon. The shockwaves of Hodges’ passing were felt widely and deeply and even though it’s been over 50 years since he’s gone, you’ll still hear his name come up over and over again.

When you’re talking beloved New York baseball figures, they don’t come much bigger than Gil Hodges.

Stay tuned for next week’s episode of The Stud 400 when we have some fun with the longball. We revisit an unlikely home run source whose homer yielded one of the most iconic calls of all time and another that brought about a fantastic nickname for the moment. We’ll break into a new club that caught some resurrected attention this year and keep it in the family for another fantastic moment. The Gathering Crowds are coming for The Stud 400 next week, will you be among them?