[KenRaffensberger16]

Wartime manpower shortages occasionally forced teams to look for players who were too young to be drafted. The Phillies debuted two players who were right out of high
school - shortstop, Granville "Granny" Hamner (left) and second baseman Ralph "Putsy" Caballero on Sept. 14, 1944. Hamner was 17 years and 4 months old and Caballero was
16 years, 10 months old at the time of their major league debuts. Both went into the military in 1945. Hamner was with the Phillies through 1959, made three all-star teams
(1952-1954), and became the Phillies captain. He fooled around with a knuckleball and was used as relief pitcher in 7 MLB games. In games where he didn't pitch he had 1,528
hits in 1,524 games. He died at 66 in 1993. Caballero, at 87, is one of the oldest living Phillies. He was a utility infielder who was out of the majors by 1952. His New Orleans
home was destroyed by Hurricaine Katrina. He and his family have rebuilt and remained in New Orleans. - He is a survivor.
The Phillies also recruited high school pitcher, Rogers Mc Kee during WWII. I believe he still holds the record for youngest pitcher to get a win in the majors. He won one of his
first outings for the Phillies at 16 years, 11 months of age in 1943. Mc Kee passed away in his native North Carolina in September 2014, two weeks shy of his 88th birthday. For
photos of him see page 615, section 12300 of this thread.