The oldest living Yankee is having a ball watching his team in the World Series.
Art Schallock — a southpaw pitcher who replaced Mickey Mantle on the roster when he was called up to the big leagues in 1951 — predicts the Bombers will beat the hated Dodgers in six.
“They just have to get some hits,” the 100-year-old said. “And good pitching.”
After Friday’s Game 1 — which sadly ended with a Freddie Freeman walk-off grand slam, putting the Yanks behind 0-1 in the series heading into Saturday night’s game — his spirits were still high.
“Ahhh, they’ll come back, it was just the first game, and it was a great game!” he said.
Schallock, a dad of two, grandfather of five and great-grandfather of two, can’t wait for the pinstripers to win their 28th world title.
It will surely take him back to 1951, ’52 and ’53 — when the oldest living Major Leaguer won his own World Series rings with the team.
In fact, it will be deja vu for Schallock because in ’52 and ’53, the Yankees beat the Dodgers, who played in Brooklyn at the time and were led by the immortal Jackie Robinson.
He still proudly wears the 1951 ring, and gifted the ’52 ring to his grandson Zachary. But he can’t find the 1953 bling.
“My wife hid it and forgot where she put it,” he said of his beloved, Donna, who died last year after 76 years of marriage.
He’ll be watching the games in a senior home in Sonoma, Calif., where he lives. His granddaughter Samantha and her wife Kristen attended the watch party for Friday’s Game 1.
Schallock recalled being called up from the minors in 1951.
“They had to make room for me on the roster. They had to get rid of somebody, so they sent Mantle down to Kansas City. But he came back a couple months later and made a hell of a name for himself,” he said.
As a rookie he lived in the Concourse Plaza Hotel, two blocks from Yankee Stadium, and bunked with future Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra.
“Yogi was my roommate when I first got up to the Yankees because he knew all the hitters and the league and stuff. He was very good at that. I roomed with him most of the time,” he recalled.
He gushed about teammate and Yankee legend Joe DiMaggio.
“I loved playing with Joe. It was a pleasure and a thrill just to watch him play. He made everything look so easy, fly balls and everything else. He had a strong arm and was just a wonderful ball player. One of the best,” he said.
Before making it to the pros, Schallock served in the U.S. Navy during World War II — and never dreamed he’d get to the Major Leagues. “I didn’t see a baseball for three years. I didn’t know what the hell a baseball was,” he recalled.
Now, Schallock credits his baseball career for keeping him young. However, he wishes he was playing today because of the huge money players make.
“Back then it was five grand for a rookie sitting on a bench. Now they get $475,000, just sitting on a bench,” he said. “I cry . . . when I hear about those salaries.”
When he turned 100 in April, the Yankees filmed a video with players giving congratulatory messages and sent him a signed jersey with No. 100. Star pitcher Gerrit Cole said to him, “I’ll bet ya you could probably still throw a strike.”
Asked to recall his own three World Series victories, he laughed, “How did I celebrate? Another beer.”
