Sport: Baseball
Born: May 30, 1884
Died: September 19, 1961
Town: Bridgeton, New Jersey
Rueben Noshier Oldring was born May 30, 1884 in New York City. At some point in his teens, the Oldrings relocated to Bridgeton in South Jersey and “Rube”·attended high school there. He would maintain a connection to this part of the state for the next 40-plus years.
Rube was a sure-handed outfielder with a powerful arm who played semipro ball in New York and New Jersey until he signed his first minor-league contract in 1905. By the end of that season, he was playing in the majors for the New York Highlanders. Over the winter, the Philadelphia Athletics informed them that they had actually had an agreement with Rube the previous September. The Highlanders had no appetite to fight with Connie Mack and let him go.
Rube reported to spring training with the A’s and became the team’s starting centerfielder. He remained one of Mack’s most dependable players and helped the team win the pennant in 1910 by batting .308 with good power. Unfortunately, Rube injured his knee before the series and was not a factor in Philadelphia’s championship. The following season, he had another good year and starred for the A’s against the Giants in the World Series. Rube slugged a three-run homer off of Rube Marquard in Game 5 and the A’s won in six games. It was the first Rube-off-Rube home run in postseason history.
The Athletics won the pennant again in 1913 and Rube scored 101 runs and stole 40 bases. Philadelphia beat the Giants again in the World Series. Rube made a game-saving play in the outfield in Game 4. He was given a Cadillac by the fans and named the most popular player in the city. Rube was on the team for a fourth pennant in 1914, but this time the A’s lost to Boston’s “Miracle Braves.”
Rube, a newlywed, announced after the 1915 season that he was quitting baseball to work the farm he owned in South Jersey. The A’s and Yankees were able to lure him back to the diamond for brief stints, but he quit for good in 1918. During World War I, Rube took a job in the nearby shipyards and played ball for the company team. Needless to say he found it hard to stay away from baseball. During the 1920s, in fact, he became a successful player-manager in the minors.
In 1927, he retired for good and went into farming full-time. During the 1940s, he worked for a canned vegetable company in evaluating crops. Rube passed away at his home in Bridgeton from heart disease in 1961. His son, Rube Jr., lived in the area until his death in 2018 at the age of 91.