A 6'4" righthander, Tennessee native Sid Hudson played for Boston from 1952-54, capping off a 12-year major league career that saw him win 104 games and earn selection to two All-Star games. At the time of his passing October 10 in Waco, Texas, he was the second-eldest former Red Sox player behind 100-year-old Billy Werber.



As a rookie in 1940, Hudson won 17 games for a 7th-place Washington Senators team that won just 64 games in all. Sid's season was highlighted by a near no-hiter on June 21 against the St. Louis Browns; Rip Radcliff blooped a leadoff double down the right field line in the 9th to spoil the effort. Hudson later logged another 1-hitter against the Philadelphia A's on August 6, and earned a 13-inning shutout, 1-0, over the Red Sox and Lefty Grove on September 2. In all, he won 40 games over his first three seasons with Washington.

After giving up a 2-run homer to Arky Vaughn in the 7th inning, Sid stood to be the losing pitcher for the AL in the 1941 All-Star Game at Tiger Stadium. He was spared that indignity when his teammates rallied for a 7-5 victory on Ted Williams' 3-run walkoff homer in the 9th off Claude Passeau. Sid was one of the first to greet Ted in the wild celebration that ensued near home plate.

Like many ballplayers of his era, Hudson's career was interrupted by military commitments during World War II. Sid served in the US Army Air Force with the 79th Air Base Squadron in Waco and the 73rd Air Bomber Wing in the Pacific theater from October 1942 through January 1946.

By then Hudson was 31, and he would never regain the dominant pitching form of his youth as he struggled to a 48-83 record with Washington over the next 6-1/2 seasons. In one of few highlights over that stretch, on April 27, 1947, Sid was the starting pitcher on Babe Ruth Day at Yankee Stadium as the Bambino made his final public appearance in The Bronx; Hudson spoiled the day for the hosts by beating the Yankees, 1-0. At the age of 37, he was traded to Boston on June 10, 1952, for Walt Masterson and Randy Gumpert.

Sid won 7 of his 18 starts for the Sox that year, all complete games, while striking out 50. He went on to win 9 more in the 1953 and 1954 seasons, pitching his final game on 9/25/54 at age 39 at Fenway Park against his former team, the Senators, in a 7-6 Boston win. He was released at the end of spring training in 1955, and he remained with the Red Sox as a scout through 1960.

In the mid-1960s, Hudson joined the expansion-era Senators as a pitching coach and remained with the club when they became the Texas Rangers. Hudson went on to serve as pitching coach for Baylor University from 1987 through 1993.

He leaves a daughter, Nancy, of Waco. Sid's wife of 65 years, Marion, died in May.

Here are the oldest living ex-Red Sox players:

Billy Werber, 100 (6/20/1908)
Otey Clark, 93 (5/22/1915)
Eddie Joost, 92 (6/05/1916)
Dom DiMaggio, 91 (2/12/1917)
Lou Stringer, 91 (5/13/1917)
Randy Gumpert, 90 (1/23/1918)
Lou Lucier, 90 (3/23/1918)
Bobby Doerr, 90 (4/7/1918)
Ken Holcombe, 90 (8/23/1918)
Johnny Pesky, 89 (9/27/1919)
Babe Martin, 88 (3/28/1920)
Dave Philley, 88 (5/16/1920)
Bud Byerly, 87 (10/26/1920)
Johnny Schmitz, 87 (11/27/1920)
Bill Werle, 87 (12/21/1920)
James Atkins, 87 (3/10/1921)
Matt Batts, 86 (10/16/1921)
Neill Sheridan, 86 (11/20/1921)
Dave "Boo" Ferriss, 86 (12/5/1921)

As an aside, Hudson, Gumpert and Masterson were the oldest surviving MLB players to have been involved in a trade for each other until Masterson died this past April at age 87.

Not to make light of an ex-Sox pitcher's death, but... nice to see a thread on the main board about a guy whose oblique is less healthy than Beckett's.

Sid Hudson was the starter and winner of the first game I ever attended at Fenway Park as the Red Sox (4) took on the Indians (1).