Billy Werber

Birth Name:
William Murray Werber
Birth Date:
June 20, 1908
Birth Place:
Berwyn Heights, Maryland
Death Date:
January 22, 2009
Place of Death:
Carriage Club retirement community, Charlotte, North Carolina
Age:
100
Cause of Death:
Natural causes
Cemetery Name:
Sharon Memorial Park
Claim to Fame:
Sports
Associates:
Billy Werber was an American professional baseball third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Yankees (1930, 1933), Boston Red Sox (1933–1936), Philadelphia Athletics (1937–1938), Cincinnati Reds (1939–1941) and New York Giants (1942). He led American League third basemen in putouts and assists once each, and also led National League third basemen in assists, double plays and fielding percentage once each. A strong baserunner, he led the AL in stolen bases three times and led the NL in runs in 1939 as the Reds won the pennant. In an 11-season career, Werber was a .271 hitter with 78 home runs and 539 RBI in 1,295 games. But despite all his success on the baseball diamond, he will probably be best remembered as the first player ever to bat on television during a game between Cincinnati and the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field (August 26, 1939) and the last living teammate of the legendary Babe Ruth.

Fun Facts

As a pro baseball player, he never made more than $13,500 in any one season (about $247,000 in 2024 money).

Werber said in an interview with the Charlotte Observer in June 2008, just before his 100th birthday, that his secret to longevity was this: “I don’t drink, I don’t smoke and I married a lovely girl who never got mad.” Kathryn “Tat” Werber died in 2000, after she and Bill had been married 70 years.

Prior to his death, Werber said that he no longer watched baseball. In an interview in 2008 Werber said, “I don’t like the appearance of a lot of the players. The hair’s too long. Their beards are too evident. They’re a grubby-looking bunch of caterwaulers.”

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Sharon Memorial Park

5716 Monroe Road

Charlotte, North Carolina, 28212

USA

North America

Map:

Map of Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte, North Carolina
Map of Sharon Memorial Park in Charlotte, North Carolina

Grave Location:

Garden of Remembrance, Werber Family Niche

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery make your way to the mausoleum complex in the center of the cemetery. Park in the front of the building and make your way to the doors marked “Memoria in Interna”. Mr. Werber’s cemation wall is the first wall on your right before you enter the building.

Grave Location GPS

35.185472, -80.772502

Photos:

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Read More About Billy Werber:

Videos Featuring Billy Werber:
Bill Werber Baseball
Bill Werber Philadelphia Historical Society
1933 NY Giants at Braves Field Boston Braves
1938 AMERICAN LEAGUE "The First Century of Baseball" MLB film Reels
Preview WNBC'S Yankee Special

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