Edd Roush, Oldest Living Member of Baseball Hall of Fame, Dies at 94

Edd Roush, a two-time National League batting champion for the Cincinnati Reds who was the oldest living member of the Hall of Fame, died Monday at age 94.

Roush, a winter resident of Bradenton, died after apparently suffering a heart attack at Bill McKechnie Field, where the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Texas Rangers were about to play an exhibition game, according to his daughter, Mary Roush Allen.

He was pronounced dead at Manatee Memorial Hospital at 1 p.m., a hospital spokeswoman said.

Roush was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1962 with Jackie Robinson, Bob Feller and Bill McKechnie.

During his 18-year career, Roush had a .325 lifetime batting average. A left-hander, Roush swung a 48-ounce bat, one of the heaviest ever used.

In 1917, in his first full season with the Reds, he led the National League with a .341 batting average. He won his second batting title in 1919, hitting .321 for the Reds. Roush led the National League with 41 doubles in 1923 and 21 triples in 1924.

Bill Guilfoile, the Hall’s associate director, said the oldest member of the Hall still living is former Commissioner Albert (Happy) Chandler of Versailles, Ky., who will be 90 this July.

Guilfoile said Roush “was probably the premier (defensive) center fielder of his day.”

Roush, born in Oakland City, Ind., is survived by his daughter, granddaughters Rebecca Jane Meinberg of Cincinnati and Susan Dellinger of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., and three great-grandchildren.