These are the oldest players in MLB history

Baseball is America’s oldest and most storied professional sport. The lengthy history of the game, coupled with its non-contact nature, has made these players by far the oldest to appear in a game in the history of North American sports.

Unfortunately, Baseball Reference does not have a complete history of the Negro Leagues down to their game logs. Any baseball player in the Negro Leagues who did not finish their career in the MLB has their age estimated as close to available records as possible.

[Ed. note: We were not able to find photos of all the players.]

Age: 49 years, 153 days

Teams: Baltimore Orioles, Louisville Colonels, Brooklyn Robins, Philadelphia Phillies, Detroit Tigers

Bet you didn’t know: He was beaned in the head and remained unconscious for three days after; fractured his skull while diving into a pool at night (it was empty); and fractured his skill again after his car overturned. (He also suffered a concussion and several broken bones in the accident).

Age: 49 years, 191 days

Teams: Seattle Mariners, Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, Texas Rangers, Colorado Rockies, St. Louis Cardinals

Bet you didn’t know: He was once married to the daughter of former Notre Dame basketball coach Digger Phelps.

Age: 49 years, 199 days

Teams played for: St. Louis Browns, Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, Washington Senators, New York Giants

Bet you didn’t know: He was known as the “Freshest Man on Earth” due to his pranks. He was also dubbed the “Dude” — long before Lebowski.

Age: 49 years, 302 days

Teams: New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns

Bet you didn’t know: That’s him trying to tag a sliding Ty Cobb.

Age: 49 years, 350 days

Teams: Chicago White Sox, New York Giants, Baltimore Orioles, Atlanta Braves, Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, California Angels

Bet you didn’t know: He debuted in the majors at 29 and played 21 seasons.

Age: 49

Teams: Baltimore Black Sox, New York Lincoln Giants, Homestead Grays, Pittsburgh Crawfords, Philadelphia Stars, New York Cubans

Bet you didn’t know: He was “known for his willingness to fight, any time, anywhere.”

Age: 50 years, 6 days

Teams: New York Yankees, Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, Brooklyn Robins, Boston Braves, Chicago White Sox, Baltimore Terrapins

Bet you didn’t know: He played alongside 31 Hall of Famers during his career.

Age: 51

Teams: Brooklyn Royal Giants, Harrisburg Giants, Memphis Red Sox, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons, Chicago Columbia Giants

Age: 51

Teams: Cuban Stars East, Chicago American Giants, New York Cubans

Age: 52

Teams: Eastern Colored League Team

Bet you didn’t know: He made his major league debut at age 50.

Age: 52

Teams: Brooklyn Royal Giants, New York Lincoln Giants, New York Black Yankees, New York Cubans

Bet you didn’t know: He pitched against Babe Ruth in a 1920 exhibition.

Age: 54 years, 21 days

Teams: Middletown Mansfields, Boston Red Stockings, Boston, Providence Grays, Buffalo Bisons, New York Giants, Washington Senators

Bet you didn’t know: He graduated from Yale Law School and worked as a lawyer.

Age: 56

Teams: Dayton Marcos, Cleveland Tate Stars, Toledo Tigers, St. Louis Stars, Cleveland Elites, Detroit Stars, Memphis Red Sox, Indianapolis ABCs, Nashville Elite Giants, Columbus Elite Giants, Washington Elite Giants, Chicago American Giants, Birmingham Black Barons

Bet you didn’t know: He’s the winningest manager of the Negro League era.

Age: 56 years, 311 days

Teams: Chicago White Sox, Cleveland, New York Cubans, St. Louis Cardinals, Washington Senators

Bet you didn’t know: He organized a youth baseball team for the Lonja plantation, where he worked.

Age: 57 years, 16 days

Teams: Louisville Colonels, Boston Americans, Chicago White Sox, Washington Nationals

Bet you didn’t know: Altrock and Miñoso are the only baseball players to appear in a game in five different decades.

Age: 58 years, 350 days

Teams: Detroit Tigers, St. Louis Cardinals, St. Louis Browns

Bet you didn’t know: He is the oldest player to record a hit and score a run in a game.

Age: 59 years, 80 days

Teams: Kansas City Monarchs, Birmingham Black Barons, Cleveland Cubs, Pittsburgh Crawfords, New York Black Yankees, Memphis Red Sox, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Browns, Kansas City Athletics

Bet you didn’t know: His first wife served his divorce papers as he walked on to Wrigley Field.