Rutner, Oldest Jewish Baseball Player, Passes Away
ROUND ROCK - Little more than 60 years after making his Major League debut, baseball's oldest Jewish player has passed away.
Mickey Rutner, a member of the Round Rock Express family and resident of Georgetown, passed away Tuesday morning at the Scott and White Hospital and Clinic in Temple. He is survived by his wife, Lee, a former Broadway dancer, and their three sons. Rutner was 87-years-old.
Rutner, who falls just behind Babe Ruth in the Baseball Almanac, worked as a greeter in the luxury suites at The Dell Diamond for eight seasons. "I keep [the fans] away from Nolan [Ryan] so they don't bother him during the game," Rutner told the New Jersey Jewish News on Sept. 27.
Born in Hempstead, New York on March 18, 1920, Rutner's life was the basis for Eliot Asinof's 1955 sports novel, Man on Spikes, which detailed the struggle of one player's big league dreams. Asinof later penned the best-seller, Eight Men Out.
Rutner attended St. John's College before entering the minor leagues, where he faced anti-Semitism along with Asinof, who was later forced out of baseball because of his Jewish faith.
Rutner went on to debut for the Philadelphia Athletics on Sept. 11, 1947, roughly the same time that future Houston Astro and Hall of Famer Nellie Fox made his debut. Rutner appeared in 12 games, spending 11 of them at third base. In 48 at-bats, he notched 12 hits, drove in four runs and struck out just twice. He launched his first and only Major League home run against Earl Caldwell on Sept. 13, 1947.
"The guy threw me a curve ball," Rutner told the Jewish News. "I hit it quite well, and as I was rounding second I was thinking to myself, 'Holy cow.'"
Rutner appeared in his last Major League game on Sept. 26, 1947.
"Mickey was a good ball player in his day and a great addition to the Round Rock organization," said Express co-owner and Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. "His passing is a great loss for us and he will be missed."
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