Edwin Elliott Carnett (October 21, 1916 – November 4, 2016) was an American professional baseball player. He played in the major leagues, primarily as an outfielder and first baseman, appearing for three different teams during the 1940s. Listed at 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) and 185 lb (84 kg), he batted and threw left-handed.
Baseball career
Carnett was noticed by big league scouts when he was pitching in high school. He was signed by the Chicago Cubs in 1935, assigned to the Class C Ponca City Angels of the Western Association in his hometown, Ponca City, Oklahoma, and won 19 games. In 1936, he was in spring training with the Los Angeles Angels, the Cubs' top farm club in the Pacific Coast League, but an accident during a "pepper" game led to a serious shoulder injury that jeopardized his career. He was reassigned back to Ponca City, pitched with the injury and lost ten straight games, took off some time to work on his hitting, and then won 16 consecutive games.[1]
After World War II ended, he played for the AAA PCLSeattle Rainiers in 1946 before returning to Class C balls and eventually returned to Ponca City to play for the Jets in 1954 and 1955 prior to their moving to Gainesville, Texas.
Death
Carnett died in November 2016 in Ringling, Oklahoma, two weeks after celebrating his 100th birthday.[4] At the time of his death, he was the oldest living former Major League Baseball player;[4] that distinction then passed to Bobby Doerr, who was born on April 7, 1918.
