John Roseboro facts for kids
Quick facts for kids John Roseboro |
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Roseboro in 1957
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| Catcher | |||
| Born: May 13, 1933 Ashland, Ohio |
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| Died: August 16, 2002 (aged 69) Los Angeles, California |
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| debut | |||
| June 14, 1957, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| Last appearance | |||
| August 11, 1970, for the Washington Senators | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Batting average | .249 | ||
| Home runs | 104 | ||
| Runs batted in | 548 | ||
| Teams | |||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||
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John Junior Roseboro (born May 13, 1933 – died August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1957 to 1970. He is best known for his time with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Roseboro was a four-time All-Star player. Many people consider him one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s. He won two Gold Glove Awards for his excellent fielding. He was the Dodgers' main catcher in four World Series, helping them win three of them.
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John Roseboro's Baseball Journey
Starting in Professional Baseball
John Roseboro was born in Ashland, Ohio. He went to Central State University. In 1952, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed him as a new player. He began his professional baseball career with the Sheboygan Indians. He had a great start, hitting for a .365 batting average in 1952.
Roseboro missed the 1954 season because he was serving in the military. After five years playing in the minor leagues, he joined the major leagues in June 1957. He was 24 years old.
Becoming the Dodgers' Main Catcher
In his first season, Roseboro was a backup catcher for the Dodgers. The team's star catcher was Roy Campanella. Roseboro was learning to take over from Campanella. However, in January 1958, Campanella was in a car accident. This accident left him unable to play baseball again. So, Roseboro became the starting catcher sooner than expected.
In his first full season, the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles. Roseboro hit .271 with 14 home runs and 43 runs batted in. He was also chosen as a reserve player for the National League in the 1958 All-Star game. In 1959, Roseboro was a top catcher in the league. He helped the Dodgers win the National League Pennant. The Dodgers then won the 1959 World Series, beating the Chicago White Sox.
After a tough season in 1960, Roseboro played much better in 1961. He hit a career-high 18 home runs and had 59 runs batted in. He also led National League catchers in certain defensive plays. He won his first Gold Glove Award that year. He was also named an All-Star for the second time. In 1962, he earned his third All-Star spot. The Dodgers had a close race with the San Francisco Giants for the pennant. The Giants won a special three-game series to take the championship.
Roseboro helped the Dodgers' pitchers have the best earned run average in the league in 1963. The Dodgers won the National League Pennant by 6 games. In the 1963 World Series against the New York Yankees, Roseboro hit a three-run home run in the first game. The Dodgers swept the Yankees, winning the series in four games. In 1964, Roseboro had his best batting average at .287. He also led the league's catchers by catching 60.4% of runners trying to steal bases.
The Famous Marichal Incident
Roseboro was part of a well-known event with Juan Marichal during a game. This happened between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants on August 22, 1965. The Giants and Dodgers had a strong rivalry for many years. This game was important because the Dodgers were in a close race for the pennant.
The game started with Maury Wills getting on base. Marichal, a very competitive pitcher, was not happy about this. Later, Marichal threw a pitch close to Wills. Then, Dodgers' pitcher Sandy Koufax threw a pitch over Willie Mays' head as a way to respond. In the third inning, Marichal threw another pitch close to a Dodger batter. The umpire warned both teams that no more retaliations would be allowed.
When Marichal came to bat, he expected Koufax to throw a pitch near him. Instead, Roseboro's throw back to Koufax after a pitch came very close to Marichal's ear. Marichal was upset and confronted Roseboro. Roseboro stood up with his fists ready. Marichal later said he thought Roseboro was going to attack him. Marichal then swung his bat, hitting Roseboro on the head. This caused a cut that needed stitches.
A short fight broke out on the field. Koufax, Mays, and others helped calm things down. Marichal was removed from the game. The National League president suspended Marichal for eight games and fined him $1,750. Roseboro later filed a lawsuit against Marichal but they settled it outside of court.
Years later, Roseboro said he was responding to Marichal throwing at Wills. He explained that Koufax usually avoided throwing at batters. Roseboro said throwing close to Marichal's ear was a common way to get back at a player. Marichal and Roseboro later became friends. Roseboro even asked the Baseball Writers' Association of America not to let the incident stop Marichal from getting into the Hall of Fame. Marichal was elected in 1983 and thanked Roseboro in his speech.
Later Years in Baseball
The Dodgers won the 1965 National League Pennant. Roseboro again helped the Dodgers' pitchers have the best earned run average in the league. He caught for two pitchers who won 20 or more games that year: Koufax (26 wins) and Don Drysdale (23 wins). In the 1965 World Series against the Minnesota Twins, Roseboro helped the Dodgers win Game 3. The Dodgers went on to win the World Series in seven games.
The Dodgers' pitchers continued to be the best in the league in 1966. Roseboro led the league's catchers in putouts and won his second Gold Glove Award. The Dodgers won the National League Pennant again. However, they lost the 1966 World Series to the Baltimore Orioles.
After the Dodgers had a tough season, Roseboro was traded to the Minnesota Twins in November 1967. While with the Twins, he was named to his fourth and final All-Star team in 1969. After that season, the Twins released him. He then signed with the Washington Senators in December 1969. He played in only 46 games for the Senators. His last major league game was on August 11, 1970, when he was 37 years old.
Career Highlights and Statistics
In his fourteen-year major league career, John Roseboro played in 1,585 games. He had 1,206 hits and a .249 career batting average. He hit 104 home runs and had 548 runs batted in. As a catcher, he had a very good .989 career fielding percentage.
Roseboro caught 112 shutouts during his career. He was the catcher for two of Sandy Koufax's four no-hitters. He caught more than 100 games in 11 of his 14 major league seasons. Baseball historian Bill James ranked Roseboro as one of the top catchers of all time.
Life After Playing Baseball
After his playing career, John Roseboro became a coach. He coached for the Senators (1971) and the California Angels (1972–74). He also worked as a hitting and catching instructor for the Dodgers in the minor leagues. Roseboro and his wife, Barbara Fouch Roseboro, also owned a public relations company in Beverly Hills.
Roseboro appeared in a TV movie called Dragnet in 1966. He also appeared as himself in the 1962 film Experiment in Terror and in a 1963 Mister Ed episode.
He even sang in Chevrolet commercials for the Dodgers' radio coverage in the 1960s.
As mentioned, after years of not speaking, Roseboro and Juan Marichal became friends in the 1980s. Roseboro helped Marichal get into the Hall of Fame. He asked people to forgive Marichal for their past incident. Marichal thanked Roseboro during his Hall of Fame induction speech. Roseboro said, "There were no hard feelings on my part."
John Roseboro passed away on August 16, 2002, in Los Angeles at age 69. Marichal was an honorary pallbearer at his funeral. Marichal said, "Johnny's forgiving me was one of the best things that happened in my life. I wish I could have had John Roseboro as my catcher."
Images for kids
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Roseboro in 1957
