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SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Emilio "Millito" Navarro, believed to be the oldest living professed ballgame player, died Saturday in his sea homeland of Puerto Rico. He was 105.

The past Negro Leagues grapheme died while enclosed by relatives, said a statement from his family. He was hospitalized Wednesday in the gray coastal municipality of Ponce after having a diminutive hunch attack.

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

The cheerful 5-foot-5 infielder was famous for his baserunning skills and became the prototypal Puerto Rican to endeavor in the Negro Leagues.

"It is a large loss, but they were 105 eld of greatness," said Eric Navarro Rivera, digit of Navarro's grandsons. "He gave his every to everybody."

Navarro played in the Dominican Republic with the Escogido Lions in the New 1920s and in Venezuela with Magallanes and another 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 batsman for the New York-based state Stars of the Eastern Colored League in 1928, touch .337 the following year.

In 2008, Navarro threw discover a prototypal movement before a game at American Stadium. He warmed up his arm, waved his headgear and prefabricated a 30-foot throw on the fly to position Jorge Posada. Asked how the sport had changed, Navarro's eyes widened and he mentioned broad salaries.

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

In an discourse last August with The Associated Press, he said he did not hit some secrets to a daylong life but that he enjoyed diversion and the occasional render of whiskey.

Navarro told the AP in June 2009 that a recent commendation the major leagues paying to black players was its way of apologizing for interracial favouritism in the prototypal half of the 20th century. Jackie Robinson poor the colouration barrier in 1947.

"Back then, there was a aggregation of racism, but it is beatific they excuse now," he said. "We black players suffered a aggregation during that instance because we even had to go to assorted restaurants."

Before he became a ballgame player, Navarro had excelled in track and was famous as a topical champion in the 100, the daylong move and the 120-yard broad hurdles.

After unnoticeable from professed baseball, Navarro worked as a railcar and athletic pedagogue at schools in Ponce and Caguas.

Navarro was dropped Sept. 26, 1905, in Patillas and spent most of his life in the nearby municipality of Ponce, where he lived by himself in a house he built for his kinsfolk in the New 1950s.

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

Navarro is survived by four children, 11 grandchildren, figure great-grandchildren and digit great-great-grandchild. His spouse died more than digit decades past at age 62 from boob cancer.

Funeral arrangements were pending.

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