Preacher Roe

Infobox MLB retired
name=Preacher Roe
position=Pitcher


bats=Right
throws=Left
birthdate=birth date and age|1915|2|16
Ash Flat, Arkansas
deathdate=
debutdate=August 22
debutyear=by|1938
debutteam=St. Louis Cardinals
finaldate=September 4
finalyear=by|1954
finalteam=Brooklyn Dodgers
stat1label=Win-Loss record
stat1value=127-84
stat2label=Earned run average
stat2value=3.43
stat3label=Strikeouts
stat3value=956
teams=
* St. Louis Cardinals (by|1938)
* Pittsburgh Pirates (by|1944-by|1947)
* Brooklyn Dodgers (by|1948-by|1954)
highlights=
* 5x All-Star selection (1945, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952)
* Led NL in strikeouts in 1945 with 148

Elwin Charles Roe (born February 26, 1915) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Brooklyn Dodgers from 1938-1954. He posted an exceptional 22-3 won-loss record for the Dodgers in 1951. Roe's overall career statistics were hurt by the fact that he was away from baseball during World War II and that he pitched for the Pirates at a time when they were the worst team in the National League. Contrasting the fielding of the Dodgers and the Pirates, he once said that a pitcher should pay to pitch for the Dodgers, whereas the Pirate's second baseman and shortstop were like goalposts with the ball bouncing between them.

Ralph Kiner, he said, stood in a hole in the outfield. He caught balls hit to his hole but otherwise did not field. One can get a great flavor of 'Ole Preach', as he was called, by reading Roger Kahn's famous book "The Boys of Summer".

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!"

After being taken out of a game in the second inning, Roe commented that, "Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you."

Preacher was still pitching in the majors at age 39, unusual at the time. When asked to explain his longevity, he replied "Clean livin' and the spitball." In 1955 after his retirement he appeared on "Sports Illustrated" and showed the kids of America how to throw a spitball.

Preacher Roe lives today in West Plains, Missouri, where for many years he operated a small grocery store and also has a street named after him (Preacher Roe Boulevard), which included US 160 north of the US 63 bypass until the city rerouted US 160 and Route 17 around 2000. US 160 still runs as Preacher Roe Boulevard south of US 63.

A community ball field in Salem, Fulton County, Arkansas, 18 miles from Roe's birthplace of Ash Flat, is known as Preacher Roe Park.

The book "" (2004) includes short stories from former Dodger pitcher Carl Erskine. Roe is prominent in many of these stories.

ee also

*List of oldest living Major League Baseball players
* List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions

External links

* [http://www.preacherroe.com Official Website]
* [http://www.baseball-reference.com/r/roepr01.shtml Preacher Roe at Baseball Reference"]