1916
Born February 26, 1916
Ash Flat, AR, USA
Preacher Roe Marquee
b. February 26, 1916 · St. Louis Cardinals 1938, Pittsburgh Pirates 1944–1947, Brooklyn Dodgers 1948–1954
Preacher Roe pitched briefly for the Cardinals before a wartime gap, then reemerged with Pittsburgh and finished his career with seven seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers, retiring in 1954.
He went 127-84 with a 3.43 earned run average over 1,914 innings, completing 101 of his 261 starts and throwing 17 shutouts, striking out 956 along the way, a career built on guile as much as velocity by most contemporary accounts.
He was a Sporting News All-Star in 1951, one recognition among a run of five All-Star selections between 1945 and 1952.
He batted right-handed but threw left, an unusual combination he shared with a small handful of pitchers of his era. Ash Flat, Arkansas is where he was born, on February 26, 1916; he lived until November 9, 2008.
Honors
| Award | Times | Years |
|---|---|---|
| All-Star selection | 5 | 1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 |
| The Sporting News All-Star | 1 | 1951 |
| The Sporting News Pitcher of the Year | 1 | 1951 |
Batting, season by season
| Year | Team | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | SB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | STL | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 |
| 1944 | PIT | 39 | 53 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 23 | 0 | .132 |
| 1945 | PIT | 33 | 75 | 3 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 21 | 0 | .107 |
| 1946 | PIT | 21 | 15 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 0 | .067 |
| 1947 | PIT | 38 | 40 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 15 | 0 | .125 |
| 1948 | BRO | 34 | 51 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 14 | 0 | .098 |
| 1949 | BRO | 30 | 70 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 28 | 0 | .114 |
| 1950 | BRO | 36 | 91 | 8 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 27 | 0 | .154 |
| 1951 | BRO | 34 | 89 | 3 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 36 | 0 | .112 |
| 1952 | BRO | 27 | 57 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 19 | 0 | .070 |
| 1953 | BRO | 25 | 57 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | 0 | .053 |
| 1954 | BRO | 15 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 9 | 0 | .143 |
| Career | — | 333 | 620 | 37 | 68 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 28 | 38 | 215 | 0 | .110 |
Pitching, season by season
| Year | Team | W | L | G | GS | SV | IP | H | ER | BB | SO | ERA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | STL | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 13.50 |
| 1944 | PIT | 13 | 11 | 39 | 25 | 1 | 185.1 | 182 | 64 | 59 | 88 | 3.11 |
| 1945 | PIT | 14 | 13 | 33 | 31 | 1 | 235.0 | 228 | 75 | 46 | 148 | 2.87 |
| 1946 | PIT | 3 | 8 | 21 | 10 | 2 | 70.0 | 83 | 40 | 25 | 28 | 5.14 |
| 1947 | PIT | 4 | 15 | 38 | 22 | 2 | 144.0 | 156 | 84 | 63 | 59 | 5.25 |
| 1948 | BRO | 12 | 8 | 34 | 22 | 2 | 177.2 | 156 | 52 | 33 | 86 | 2.63 |
| 1949 | BRO | 15 | 6 | 30 | 27 | 1 | 212.2 | 201 | 66 | 44 | 109 | 2.79 |
| 1950 | BRO | 19 | 11 | 36 | 32 | 1 | 250.2 | 245 | 92 | 66 | 125 | 3.30 |
| 1951 | BRO | 22 | 3 | 34 | 33 | 0 | 257.2 | 247 | 87 | 64 | 113 | 3.04 |
| 1952 | BRO | 11 | 2 | 27 | 25 | 0 | 158.2 | 163 | 55 | 39 | 83 | 3.12 |
| 1953 | BRO | 11 | 3 | 25 | 24 | 0 | 157.0 | 171 | 76 | 40 | 85 | 4.36 |
| 1954 | BRO | 3 | 4 | 15 | 10 | 0 | 63.0 | 69 | 35 | 23 | 31 | 5.00 |
| Career | — | 127 | 84 | 333 | 261 | 10 | 1914.1 | 1907 | 730 | 504 | 956 | 3.43 |
On this day & linked events
2008
Died November 9, 2008
1938
Major-league debut: Preacher Roe
Preacher Roe made a major-league debut on August 22, 1938.
1954
Final major-league game: Preacher Roe
Preacher Roe played a final major-league game on September 4, 1954.
Image: Bowman Gum, public domain