Charlie Devens
“All I wanted to do was play baseball” A Harvard graduate and a Major League Baseball player from 1932 to 1934, pitching (throwing the ball) for the New York Yankees, Charlie Devens was the last surviving member of the 1932 World Series. A championship playoff famed for Babe Ruth’s accurate – though disputed – prediction that he would hit his last ever home run to centre field (straight ahead of the batter). Before we turn our attention to Charlie, here’s a question for you. Which future President of the United States threw the ceremonial first pitch during the third game of the 1932 World Series? Find the answer below the sources. Although part of the Yankees team in 1932, Charlie Devens did not have the honour of pitching during the 1932 World Series. Maybe the stress of not pitching gave him longevity in life, living until the ripe age of 93. In a 1933 interview, Devens’ himself describes the life of a baseball player “a lazy man’s existence”: “You rise at about...