Lew Carl

Lewis Adolph Carl (February 25, 1832 – May 19, 1885) was an American catcher in the National Association. After Nate Berkenstock, Carl was the second-ever future pro baseball player to be born; he is also the "oldest" player with a certified birth date, as Berkenstock's is given simply as 1831, without a date attached. He played in one game for the 1874 Baltimore Canaries.

Exactly when Carl took up the game of baseball is unknown; his name is not listed in Marshall D. Wright's compendium of the game's pre-professional era, The National Association of Base Ball Players, 1857-1870. It seems unlikely that Carl wouldn't appear in his first match until the age of 42, when he stepped in as catcher for the Baltimore Canaries on September 9, 1874; he may have been one of the many who previously played under a pseudonym. (Carl went 0-for-3 that day, and the Canaries lost to the New York Mutuals, 15-1, en route to 9-38 season, after which they folded.)

Carl's playing career wasn't over, however. Three years later, in 1877, he appeared in eight games for the Manchester, New Hampshire club of the International Association, a quasi-major league that featured many players that would later play in the real big leagues, including John O'Rourke, brother of "Orator" Jim O'Rourke. Carl, at the age of 45, managed three hits in 27 at bats for a .111 average.

Lew Carl died on May 19, 1885 in Newark, New Jersey, at the age of 53.