Ex-Negro Leaguer Emilio 'Millito' Navarro dies at 105: 'He gave his all'

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Emilio "Millito" Navarro, believed to be the oldest living professional baseball player, died Saturday in his Caribbean homeland of Puerto Rico. He was 105.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Phelan M. EbenhackEmilio Navarro was known for his baserunning skills and became the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues.

The former Negro Leagues star died while surrounded by relatives, said a statement from his family.

Navarro was hospitalized Wednesday in the southern coastal city of Ponce after having a small heart attack.

Navarro was elected to the Puerto Rico Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Puerto Rican Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.

The cheerful 5-foot-5 infielder was known for his baserunning skills and became the first Puerto Rican to play in the Negro Leagues.

"It is a tremendous loss, but they were 105 years of greatness," said Eric Navarro Rivera, one of Navarro's grandsons. "He gave his all to everybody."

Navarro played in the Dominican Republic with the Escogido Lions in the late 1920s and in Venezuela with Magallanes and other teams in the 1930s.

In Puerto Rico, he was the second baseman for the Ponce Lions for nearly 20 years.

He was a shortstop and leadoff hitter for the New York-based Cuban Stars of the Eastern Colored League in 1928, hitting .337 the following year.

In 2008, Navarro threw out a first pitch before a game at Yankee Stadium. He warmed up his arm, waved his hat and made a 30-foot toss on the fly to catcher Jorge Posada.

Asked how the sport had changed, Navarro's eyes widened and he mentioned high salaries.

"I made $25 a week," he said through a translator.

In an interview last August with The Associated Press, he said he did not have any secrets to a long life but that he enjoyed dancing and the occasional glass of whiskey.

[+] Enlarge AP Photo/Julie JacobsonEmilio Navarro poses with Ivan Rodriguez (left) and Jorge Posada in 2008 at Yankee Stadium.

Navarro told the AP in June 2009 that a recent tribute the major leagues paid to black players was its way of apologizing for racial discrimination in the first half of the 20th century.

Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in 1947.

"Back then, there was a lot of racism, but it is good they apologize now," he said. "We black players suffered a lot during that time because we even had to go to different restaurants."

Before he became a baseball player, Navarro had excelled in track and was known as a local champion in the 100, the long jump and the 120-yard high hurdles.

After retiring from professional baseball, Navarro worked as a coach and athletic teacher at schools in Ponce and Caguas.

Navarro was born Sept. 26, 1905, in Patillas and spent most of his life in the nearby city of Ponce, where he lived by himself in a house he built for his family in the late 1950s.

"He was an exquisite and excellent father," said Eric Navarro Torres, one of his sons. "He instilled us with honesty and above all respect for everybody."

Navarro is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, nine great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. His wife died more than two decades ago at age 62 from breast cancer.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press

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