Alumni Spotlight
Arthur ‘Harold’ Green ’34: A Life Well Lived at Age 108 – Our Oldest Known Alumnus
Meet Arthur, at 108, English High’s oldest known living alumnus – from the Class of 1934.
A lifelong baseball fan, he likes to reminisce about the privilege he had watching Babe Ruth, Jackie Robinson and Lou Gehrig play in person.
To put things in perspective…
When Arthur got his diploma, a gallon of gas cost 10 cents, a loaf of bread was 8 cents, and a whole chicken was 87 cents. Many household phones shared a party line. You could buy a new car for $825 and a modest house in Boston sold for $5,900.
President Franklin Roosevelt, elected in 1932 during the Great Depression, introduced the New Deal, but the minimum wage was stuck at 25 cents an hour. The unemployment rate was around 22%.
Among the top movies in 1934 were Bright Eyes with Shirley Temple, It Happened One Night with Clark Gable, and Cleopatra starring Claudia Colbert. It was the year Disney introduced Donald Duck, and the year state troopers ambushed gangsters Bonnie and Clyde, and FBI agents killed notorious bank robber John Dillinger.
In August 2023, when Arthur ‘Harold’ Green threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a Baltimore Orioles – Colorado Rockies baseball game, fans were puzzled about the high number on the back of his uniform — it’s his age!
Arthur ‘Harold’ Green, Class of 1934
Born in Savannah, GA, Arthur and the Green family moved to Baltimore when he was four and the Depression was raging.
When he reached high school age, Arthur’s daughter Myra says, he was sent to Boston to live with his godfather where there was less racism and the public schools had a better reputation. She says he attended EHS because of its reputation: an excellent teaching staff and sports opportunities including baseball, football and diving.
From 1940-42, he worked as a mailman until he was drafted. He served in the Army with distinction during World War II and the Korean War.
Arthur retired from the Postal Service in 1972, then launched two side gigs in Baltimore: He bought six multi-unit properties, and freelanced as a wedding photographer. He and his late wife were married for 50 years.
Myra, Arthur’s only child, is a news writer at ABC News. She arranged for her dad to be ABC’s ‘Play of the Day’ that was featured on ‘Good Morning America.’ She smiles, “Throwing out the first pitch had been his dream since he turned 100!” In 1994, he attended his 6oth EHS Reunion.
Her dad’s secrets to longevity? “He bowled at least twice a week until the pandemic… so he kept active. He also keeps his mind active by doing crossword puzzles every day and reads the paper. He doesn’t eat especially well, but he does eat lots of fruit.”
Today Arthur lives independently in a senior facility and bowls on occasion. At a family outing he rolled a 126, the highest score.
