Preacher Roe passes away

[PopTop]

Pretty colorful character according to the stories I've read, and another player who lost a lot of MLB service time to WWII. Love the words Red Barber used to describe the one and only home run Roe hit in the majors:

Roe was an exceptional pitcher, but notorious as a poor hitter. In 1953, he hit a home run at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh, causing fans to roar in surprise and delight. Dodger broadcaster Red Barber told his radio audience, "Well, old Number 28 has hit a home run, and we'll never hear the end of it, folks!"

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=3694998

NEW YORK -- Preacher Roe, who began pitching in the Ozarks and became a four-time All-Star as a revered member of "The Boys of Summer" in Brooklyn, has died.

Roe died Sunday in West Plains, Mo., said the funeral home handling the arrangements. His own Web site listed his age as 92 -- other reference materials differed by a year or two.

Roe went 127-84 in a 12-year career with the Dodgers, Pittsburgh and St. Louis. But it was in Brooklyn, where he played alongside the likes of Pee Wee Reese, Jackie Robinson, Gil Hodges, Ralph Branca and others at Ebbets Field, where he enjoyed his greatest success and acclaim.

Though those Dodgers teams of the 1940s and 1950s won only one World Series -- Roe was part of three teams that lost to the New York Yankees -- they became a beloved part of the borough. And Roe, a skinny left-hander and mathematics teacher from a small town in Arkansas, was among the fan favorites in the big city.

"He enjoyed playing the role of a country bumpkin, but he wasn't one," Branca recalled by phone Monday night. "He was real smart and real crafty on the mound.

"He threw two pitches, a slider and his 'Beech-Nut slider.' Beech-Nut was a gum we all chewed back then. He knew how to use that juice to get that ball all wet," he said.

After retiring, Roe admitted in a Sports Illustrated story that he had benefited for years by throwing a spitball.

[Old Sweater]

Sad to hear that.

Whats a bit odd is that while Preache Roe was one of the weakest hitters for a pitcher, the other Rowe>Schoolboy was one of the best hitting pitchers.

[PopTop]

I know, when I first saw the name I thought of Schoolboy Rowe actually. Texas born, lost a couple of years to WWII like Preacher Roe, one of those guys if you had to pick a team from all-time lists NOT in the Hall of Fame, you'd draft him late as your swing man.