Jim Marshall, oldest living former Met, dies at 94
Veteran player, coach and manager spent 70 years in baseball after brief stint with the 1962 Mets
Jim Marshall, a veteran player, coach and manager who was the oldest living former New York Met, died Monday night at the age of 94, the Mets’ office confirmed. Jay Horwitz, the team’s vice president of alumni relations, verified Marshall’s passing.
Marshall’s major league playing career included a brief stay with the 1962 Mets, appearing in 17 games as an outfielder before being traded in May to the Pittsburgh Pirates for pitcher Vinegar Bend Mizell. Marshall later recalled the experience of playing for the Amazin’s, telling The Post this year, “They loved a loser. It was a special place, a special time. It was unlike anywhere else I had ever been. They treated us great. Everyone was so enthusiastic. I could never forget all of that.”
A native of Danville, Illinois, Marshall played five seasons in the major leagues and finished his big-league career with a .242 batting average and a .709 OPS across 410 games, with 29 home runs and 106 RBIs. He was originally signed by the Chicago White Sox out of Compton (Calif.) College and was included in a multi-player trade that sent him, future Hall of Famer Larry Doby, Jack Harshman and Russ Heman to the Baltimore Orioles for Tito Francona, Billy Goodman and Ray Moore.
Marshall spent three seasons with the Orioles and later with the Chicago Cubs before moving abroad to play for the Chunichi Dragons in Japan from 1963 to 1965, becoming among the earlier American-born major leaguers to play in Nippon Professional Baseball.
After his playing days ended, Marshall returned to the United States and began a long coaching and managerial career in the minor leagues from 1968 to 1972. He joined the Cubs’ staff as third base coach in 1973 and later took over managerial duties. Marshall compiled a 229-326 record as a big-league manager in three seasons with the Cubs and one with the Oakland Athletics in 1979. Following his time as a major league skipper, he continued to work in baseball for decades as a minor league manager, coach, scout and adviser.
Marshall formally retired in 2021 at the age of 90 after 70 years in the game. His career spanned playing, coaching, scouting and advisory roles at multiple levels of professional baseball.
At the time of his death, Marshall was the oldest living former Met. There are six surviving members of the 1962 Mets: Craig Anderson (87), Rick Herrscher (88), Jay Hook (88), Galen Cisco (89), Cliff Cook (89) and John DeMerit (89). With Marshall’s passing, George Altman, who played 124 games for the Mets in 1964, becomes the oldest living former Met at 92.
The 1962 Mets were historically notable for their losses; they posted 120 defeats that season, a modern-era record at the time. That mark stood until the 2024 Chicago White Sox finished with 121 losses.
Marshall is survived by family members and by a long list of colleagues and players who worked with him across seven decades in professional baseball. The Mets’ alumni relations office and former teammates acknowledged his passing and his place in the club’s early history.