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By Jon Paul Hoornstra
Contributing Sports Writer
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Bob Oldis, whose brief playing career with the Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Philadelphia Phillies was highlighted by a seven-game World Series victory over the New York Yankees in 1960, has died. He was 97.
Larry Shenk, the Phillies' former public relations director, shared the news Tuesday on Twitter/X.
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Oldis, a native of Iowa, played parts of seven seasons in the big leagues with the Senators (1953-55), Pirates (1960-61) and Phillies (1962-63). He played a total of 135 games, batting .237 with a .572 OPS.
Oldis played hundreds more games in the minor leagues after being signed out of Iowa City High School.
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Never known for his bat, Oldis was the only catcher who threw out Maury Wills, the eventual National League MVP, attempting to steal second base twice in the same game in 1962. They were only two of the 13 times Wills was thrown out in his then-record 104-steal season.
"I did that because Maury Wills and I went out to eat the night before and I got him half-drunk," Oldis told MLB.com in 2018. "We had a good relationship the night before. So that's what happened there."
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In 1960, Oldis backed up catcher Smoky Burgess on the Pittsburgh Pirates team that defeated the Yankees in a seven-game World Series. He appeared in two games behind the plate but did not bat in the series.
“Our share was about $8,400 a man," Oldis said in a 2011 interview for the SABR Bio Project. "After taxes, I was left $6,400 – enough to buy the lot for (our) house and start building.”
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The Phillies kept Oldis on staff as their bullpen coach from 1964-66 after he retired as a player. In 1967, he worked as a Phillies scout.
In that role, Oldis earned the second World Series ring of his career with the 2003 Florida Marlins. Among his other post-playing jobs, Oldis worked as a scout for the Montreal Expos, coached for the Expos and Minnesota Twins, and spent one year managing in the minors in Montreal's system.
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In retirement, Oldis was a frequent guest at 1960 Pirates reunion events in Pittsburgh. A baseball lifer, Oldis was the fourth-oldest living former MLB player at the time of his death.
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