Remembering a Fascinating Yankee

A notable Yankee passed away late in the 2019 season. Charlie Silvera, seen here at the 2010 Old Timers Day, was the last surviving Yankee who played on the historic and unprecedented run of five consecutive World Series Champions between 1949 and 1953.

Not surprisingly, he's probably the least known of the core led by Hall of Famer Yogi Berra. A backup catcher for nine seasons, he played in just 201 regular season games and amazingly, only once in the World Series, game two in 1949. Silvera was always ready, but "just in case" never occurred -- with the ironman Berra in the heart of his career.

Who else is in that exclusive "five ring" circle? Bookended by Berra and Silvera, the group also includes Cooperstown inductees Phil Rizzuto and Johnny Mize, plus Hank Bauer, Vic Raschi, Eddie Lopat, Gene Woodling, Vic Raschi and Joe Collins. Ten players -- 12 if you include Bobby Brown and Jerry Coleman, who missed all or part of 1952 and '53 due to military service during the Korean War and played in neither World Series -- and, of course, their one-of-a-kind manager Casey Stengel. Charlie Silvera was the last of them. He died September 7th at age 94.

Comments

Marty Appel said…
A shout out for coaches Frank Crosetti, Jim Turner and Bill Dickey. And there were a few others too - trainer Gus Mauch, team physician Sidney Gaynor, and PR man Red Patterson. They didn't all receive rings - it wasn't common then.
December 2, 2019 at 11:04 AM
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