Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American baseball

third baseman A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the Baseball scorekeep ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and front-office executive in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

(MLB). He played in MLB for the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

from 1931 to 1942 and managed the

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

from 1949 to 1952. Rolfe was a native of

Penacook, New Hampshire Penacook, originally called "Fisherville", is a village within the city of Concord in Merrimack County, New Hampshire, United States. It lies along Concord's northern border with Boscawen. The name comes from the Pennacook tribe that lived in ...

. He graduated from

Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...

and

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

and signed with the Yankees. Rolfe played in four

MLB All-Star Game The Major League Baseball All-Star Game, also known as the "Midsummer Classic", is an annual professional baseball game sanctioned by Major League Baseball (MLB) and contested between the all-stars from the American League (AL) and National ...

s and won five

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB). It has been contested since between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winning team, determined through a best- ...

championships before he retired after the 1942 season. He coached in

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

for

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

from 1943 to 1946 and served as athletic director for Dartmouth from 1954 to 1967, while coaching baseball during the 1954 and 1955 seasons.

Early life and amateur career

Rolfe was born on October 17, 1908, in

. His father, Herbert, earned a living in the lumber business. Rolfe was the fifth of seven children; he had four older sisters and one younger sister. A younger brother died in infancy in 1910. While he was in the

seventh grade Seventh grade (also 7th Grade or Grade 7) is the seventh year of formal or compulsory education. The seventh grade is typically the first or second year of middle school. In the United States, kids in seventh grade are usually around 12–13 years ...

, Rolfe started to play for Penacook High School's baseball team, as the school did not have enough players. Playing for Penacook's team again in the eighth grade, the school won the league championship. He played for Penacook's baseball team in all four years that he was a student at the school, before he graduated in 1926. Rolfe then attended

for one year and played as a

shortstop Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball positions, baseball or softball fielding position between second base, second and third base, which is considered to be among the Defensive spectrum, most demanding defensive positions. Historically, the ...

on their baseball team, which was managed by Simmy Murch. At Phillips Exeter, he began to be known as "Red" due to the color of his hair. Rolfe enrolled at

and played

for the Dartmouth Indians. He played on the freshman team as their shortstop in his first year and was

team captain In team sport, captain is a title given to a member of the team. The title is frequently honorary, but in some cases the captain may have significant responsibility for strategy and teamwork while the game is in progress on the field. In eithe ...

. He also played for the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

teams. Rolfe then played for three years on the

varsity team A varsity team is the highest-level team in a sport or activity representing an educational institution. Varsity teams train to compete against each other during an athletic season or in periodic matches against rival institutions. At high schools ...

for the next three years, under

head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...

Jeff Tesreau Charles Monroe "Jeff" Tesreau (March 5, 1888 – September 24, 1946) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player. Standing , Tesreau was given the nickname "Jeff" because he resembled boxer Jim Jeffries. He made his MLB debut in 191 ...

as a shortstop. Tesreau made Rolfe his

cleanup hitter In baseball, a cleanup hitter is the fourth hitter in the batting order. The cleanup hitter is traditionally the team's most powerful hitter. His job is to "clean up the bases", that is, drive in base runners. Theory The thinking behind the ...

. While a student at Dartmouth, Rolfe spent the summer of 1930 playing for the Orleans town team in the

Cape Cod Baseball League The Cape Cod Baseball League (CCBL or Cape League) is a collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league located on Cape Cod in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. One of the nation's premier collegiate summer leagues, the league boasts over 1,000 forme ...

, where he was managed by longtime major league player and manager

Patsy Donovan Patrick Joseph Donovan (March 16, 1865 – December 25, 1953) was an Irish born right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball who played for several teams from to , most notably the Pittsburgh Pirates. He batted .301 lifetime and set a m ...

. Rolfe graduated from Dartmouth in 1931.

Professional career

During the 1931 collegiate season, Rolfe met with

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. Mack holds records for the most wins (3,731), losses (3,948), ties (76), and ga ...

, the

of the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

, while Dartmouth was playing the

Penn Quakers The Penn Quakers are the athletic teams of the University of Pennsylvania. The school sponsors 33 varsity sports. The school has won three NCAA national championships in men's fencing and one in women's fencing. Sponsored teams Men's varsit ...

. Rather than sign with the Athletics,

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom ** Scouts BSA, sect ...

Gene McCann signed Rolfe to the

days after his graduation from Dartmouth for $600 per month and a $5,000

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

. Rolfe reported directly to the Yankees and made his professional debut with the Yankees on June 29 as a defensive replacement. It was customary at the time for the Yankees to introduce a prospect to the major leagues briefly before sending him to the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

. In July, the Yankees optioned Rolfe to the Albany Senators of the Eastern League. He batted .333 in 58 games for Albany. Assigned to the

Newark Bears The Newark Bears were an American independent league professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They were a member of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball and, later, the Canadian American Association of Professional Bas ...

of the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major ...

in 1932, Rolfe took the starting shortstop job from Bobby Stevens. Rolfe batted .330 in 147 games for Newark in 1932, as Newark won the International League pennant. Returning to Newark for the 1933 season, Rolfe batted .326 and won the International League Most Valuable Player Award as Newark again won the pennant. Rolfe became the Yankees starting shortstop in 1934, with Don Heffner, who played

second base In baseball and softball, second baseman, abbreviated 2B, is a fielding position in the infield, between second and first base. The second baseman often possesses quick hands and feet, needs the ability to get rid of the ball quickly, and must ...

alongside Rolfe with Newark, becoming the Yankees' starting second baseman, and second baseman

Tony Lazzeri Anthony Michael Lazzeri (December 6, 1903 – August 6, 1946) was an American professional baseball second baseman during the 1920s and 1930s, predominantly with the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (MLB). He was part of the famed " Murd ...

and shortstop Frankie Crosetti playing as third basemen. However, Heffner struggled and manager

Joe McCarthy Joseph Raymond McCarthy (November 14, 1908 – May 2, 1957) was an American politician who served as a Republican U.S. Senator from the state of Wisconsin from 1947 until his death at age 48 in 1957. Beginning in 1950, McCarthy became the mo ...

decided that Rolfe's throwing arm made him a better third baseman, as Lazzeri moved back to second base and Crosetti returned to shortstop. He batted .287 in 89 games, as a knee injury experienced when he collided with Max Bishop of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

limited his playing time. Rolfe became their starting third baseman in 1935. During his major league playing career, Rolfe was the starting third baseman on the

of the late 1930s. The "Bronx Bombers" of

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig ( ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941), also known as Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig, was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was ...

Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (; born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, ; November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "the Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American professional baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career ...

Bill Dickey William Malcolm Dickey (June 6, 1907 – November 12, 1993) was an American professional baseball catcher and manager. He played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees for 17 seasons. Dickey managed the Yankees as a player-manager i ...

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingto ...

and

Red Ruffing Charles Herbert "Red" Ruffing (May 3, 1905 – February 17, 1986) was an American professional baseball player. A pitcher, he played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1924 through 1947. He played for the Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, ...

won

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

pennants from – 39 and took all four

in which they appeared, winning 16 games and losing only three in Fall Classic play over that span. After finishing third in , the Yankees rebounded to win league titles in – 42, and the World Series in the former year, before finally bowing in

1942 The Uppsala Conflict Data Program project estimates this to be the deadliest year in human history in terms of conflict deaths, placing the death toll at 4.62 million. However, the Correlates of War estimates that the prior year, 1941, was th ...

. Rolfe played ten major league seasons, all with New York, batting .289 with 1,394

hits Hits or H.I.T.S. may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * '' H.I.T.S.'', 1991 album by New Kids on the Block * ''...Hits'' (Phil Collins album), 1998 * ''Hits'' (compilation series), 1984–2006; 2014, a British compilation album s ...

, 69

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run ...

and 497

runs batted in A run batted in or runs batted in (RBI) is a statistic in baseball and softball that credits a batter for making a play that allows a run to be scored (except in certain situations such as when an error is made on the play). For example, if th ...

(RBIs) in 1,175 games. His finest season came in 1939, when he led the American League with 213 hits, 139 runs scored, and 46 doubles while hitting .329 with 14

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s and 80 RBIs. In six World Series, Rolfe appeared in 28 games, all as the Yankees' starting third-sacker; he collected 33 hits and batted .284, with a

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a baseball positions, defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putout ...

of .944 in 71 chances. He was the Junior Circuit's starting third baseman in the

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Feb ...

and

1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...

Major League Baseball All-Star Games — both American League victories — and went three-for-eight (.375) at the plate, with a triple. Rolfe started in the 1939 All-Star Game alongside teammates

, Joe Gordon, and George Selkirk. During the 1940-1941 offseason, Rolfe developed

colitis Colitis is swelling or inflammation Inflammation (from ) is part of the biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. The five cardinal signs are heat, pain, redness, swelling, and ...

. He batted .300 in the

1941 World Series The 1941 World Series, the last before the entry of the United States into the Second World War, matched the New York Yankees against the Brooklyn Dodgers, with the Yankees winning in five games to capture their fifth title in six years, and the ...

, as Rolfe won his fifth World Series title. In 1942, the colitis reduced Rolfe to a part-time player. His weight dropped from to . He batted .219 in 69 games and retired at the end of the season.

College and MLB coach

During Rolfe's final season with the Yankees, on September 10, 1942, Rolfe accepted the positions of head baseball and basketball coach for

, beginning after the season, on November 1. With Rolfe as their coach, the

Yale Bulldogs baseball The Yale Bulldogs baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. The team is a member of the Ivy League, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Divis ...

team had a record and the

Yale Bulldogs men's basketball The Yale Bulldogs men's basketball team represents Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, competing in the Ivy League. The team plays home games in the John J. Lee Amphitheater of the Payne Whitney Gymnasium. The team has reached the NCAA Div ...

team had a record. Red Rolfe and Ray Meyer

After his four-year coaching stint at Yale, Rolfe accepted a position as a coach on McCarthy's staff for the Yankees for the 1946 season. In December 1946, the

Toronto Huskies The Toronto Huskies were a team in the Basketball Association of America (BAA), which was a forerunner of the National Basketball Association (NBA), during the 1946–47 season. They were based in Toronto. The team compiled a 22–38 win–loss r ...

of the

Basketball Association of America The Basketball Association of America (BAA) was a professional basketball league in North America, founded in 1946. Following its third season, 1948–49, the BAA merged with the National Basketball League (United States), National Basketball Lea ...

(BAA) hired Rolfe to replace Ed Sadowski as their coach in the midst of the

1946–47 BAA season The 1946–47 BAA season was the inaugural season of the Basketball Association of America. The league launched with 11 teams playing a 60-game schedule. The postseason tournament (the 1947 BAA Playoffs) at its conclusion, ended with the Philad ...

. Rolfe led the Huskies to a record as their coach as the Huskies finished the season tied for last place with a .367 winning percentage. Due to poor attendance and an estimated loss of $40,000 to $50,000, the Huskies folded after the season. The

hired Rolfe in August 1947 as the director of their scouting department. In November, the Tigers named Rolfe the director of their

farm system In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any successful pl ...

. Under Rolfe's direction, the

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

joined the Tigers' farm system in December.

Detroit Tigers manager (1949-1952)

After the 1948 season, the Tigers hired Rolfe as manager, succeededing

Steve O'Neill Stephen Francis O'Neill (July 6, 1891 – January 26, 1962) was an American professional baseball catcher and Manager (baseball), manager. He played his first 13 seasons with the Cleveland Indians. As a manager, he led the Detroit Tigers to a ...

. Rolfe instituted rules that his players did not agree with, such as no shaving or beer in the clubhouse and no meals between doubleheaders. In , Rolfe's first season as manager, the Tigers improved by nine games and returned to the first division. Then, in , the Tigers maintained a close race with the Yankees, winning 95 games and finishing in second place, three games behind. A fluke botched

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Le ...

proved the team's undoing. Late in September at Cleveland, the Indians had the bases loaded in the tenth inning with one out and the score tied. Visibility was poor because smoke from Canadian forest fires was blowing across

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( ) is the fourth-largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and also has the shortest avera ...

. On an apparent 3-2-3 double-play grounder to first base, Detroit

catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the catc ...

Aaron Robinson thought he simply needed to touch home plate for a

force play In baseball, a force play or force out occurs when a runner is required to advance to a base which a player on the opposing team has already reached while in possession of the ball. There are two situations in which a force play occurs: One, a ...

to retire the Indians' baserunner,

Bob Lemon Robert Granville Lemon (September 22, 1920 – January 11, 2000) was an American right-handed pitcher and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). Lemon was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1976. Lemon was raised in California, ...

, charging in from third. But in the smoky conditions Robinson had not seen that a putout had already been made at first base, necessitating that the catcher tag the ''runner'', not the ''plate'', to record an out. Robinson mistakenly tagged the plate, Lemon's run counted and Cleveland won the game. ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'' named Rolfe their

Manager of the Year Manager of the Year may refer to: * Major League Baseball Manager of the Year Award * League Managers Association Awards#LMA Manager of the Year, League Managers Association Manager of the Year * Premier League Manager of the Season {{disambiguati ...

, while he finished in third place in balloting for the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...

' Manager of the Year Award, behind

Eddie Sawyer Edwin Milby Sawyer (September 10, 1910 – September 22, 1997) was an American manager and scout in Major League Baseball. As a manager, he led the 1950 Philadelphia Phillies — the "Whiz Kids", as the youthful club was known — to the second ...

of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

of the Yankees. Beset by an aging starting rotation, the Tigers slipped in , finishing in fifth place with a mark, 25 games behind the first-place Yankees. During the season, Tigers owner Walter Briggs replaced Billy Evans as

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

with

Charlie Gehringer Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman. He played for the Detroit Tigers for 19 seasons from 1924 Detroit Tigers season, 1924 to 1943 Det ...

, and after the season, he replaced

Ray Kennedy Raymond Kennedy (28 July 1951 – 30 November 2021) was an English Association football, footballer who won every domestic honour in the game with Arsenal F.C., Arsenal and Liverpool F.C., Liverpool in the 1970s and early 1980s. Kennedy playe ...

as the director of the farm system with

Muddy Ruel Herold Dominic "Muddy" Ruel (February 20, 1896 – November 13, 1963) was an American professional baseball player, coach, manager and general manager. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1915 to 1934 for the Washington Senat ...

. The Tigers retained Rolfe as their manager, however. The Tigers began the 1952 season by losing their first eight games. Sportswriter Gordon Cobbledick reported in April that the players' antipathy towards Rolfe was the cause of their struggles. Though Gehringer and the players, led by pitcher

Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball pitcher and manager. He played for the Detroit Tigers of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1939 and 1940, then took a five-season hiatus to ...

, publicly refuted Cobbledick's story.

Hal Newhouser Harold Newhouser (May 20, 1921 – November 10, 1998), nicknamed "Prince Hal" and "Hurricane Hal," was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a pitcher from 1939 to 1955, most notably for the Detroit Tige ...

later acknowledged that Rolfe's strict policies had alienated the players, but also said that the trade of

George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American professional baseball player and television sports commentator. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1943 to 1957, most prominently as a member of the D ...

, Dizzy Trout, Johnny Lipon, and

Hoot Evers Walter Arthur "Hoot" Evers (February 8, 1921 – January 25, 1991) was an American baseball outfielder, scout, coach, and executive. Evers played professional baseball from 1941 to 1942 and 1946 to 1956, including 12 seasons in Major League Base ...

to the

also hurt team morale. With the Tigers in last place in May, Gehringer publicly affirmed that Rolfe would remain the manager of the Tigers. The Tigers won only 23 of 72 games () before the Tigers fired Rolfe on July 5 and replaced him as manager with Hutchinson. The 1952 club won only 50 games, losing 104 – the first time ever that the Tigers lost 100 or more games.

Dartmouth athletic director

Rolfe then returned to Dartmouth on July 1, 1954, as the new athletic director, succeeding William H. McCarter. In 1956, he hired Tony Lupien as Dartmouth's new baseball coach. He also hired

Bob Blackman Robert John Blackman Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), MP (born 26 April 1956) is a British politician who has been the chairman of the 1922 Committee and chair of the Backbench Business Committee since 2024. A member of the Conservative ...

to coach the

Dartmouth Big Green football The Dartmouth Big Green football team represents Dartmouth College in NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) college football competition as a member of the Ivy League. The team possesses a storied tradition that includes a natio ...

team, Abner Oakes to coach the

Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey The Dartmouth Big Green men's ice hockey team is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I (NCAA), Division I college ice hockey program that represents Dartmouth College. The Dartmouth Big Green, Big Green are a member of ECA ...

team, and Dave Gavitt to coach the

Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball The Dartmouth Big Green men's basketball program is the intercollegiate men's basketball program of Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. The program is classified in the NCAA Division I and the team competes in the Ivy League. They play th ...

team. Dartmouth built the Leverone Field House while Rolfe was athletic director. Dartmouth's football team won the

Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy The Lambert Trophy (formerly the "Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy") is an annual award given to the best team in the East in Division I FBS (formerly I-A) college football. In affiliation with the Metropolitan New York Football Writers (founded 1935), ...

in 1965. Rolfe stepped down from the position in 1967 and followed by Seaver Peters. The Boston Baseball Writers Association gave Rolfe their Old-Timers Award in 1966. In 1969, Dartmouth renamed their college baseball diamond, previously known as Memorial Field, naming it Red Rolfe Field in his honor. In the 1970s, Dartmouth created the Red Rolfe Award, presented to a non-student for their contributions to Dartmouth's athletics department.

Personal life

Rolfe married Isabel (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Africa) on October 12, 1934. His older sister, Florence, introduced the two to each other in 1928. After he retired from Dartmouth, the couple lived on

Governors Island Governors Island is a island in New York Harbor, within the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. It is located approximately south of Manhattan Island, and is separated from Brooklyn to the east by the Buttermilk ...

Lake Winnipesaukee Lake Winnipesaukee () is the largest lake in the U.S. state of New Hampshire, located in the Lakes Region at the foothills of the White Mountains. It is approximately long (northwest-southeast) and from wide (northeast-southwest), covering & ...

, which is part of the town of

Gilford, New Hampshire Gilford is a town in Belknap County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 7,699 at the 2020 census, up from 7,126 at the 2010 census. Situated on Lake Winnipesaukee, Gilford is home to Governors Island, Ellacoya State Beach, Belk ...

. Rolfe had a

colostomy A colostomy is an opening (stoma) in the large intestine (colon), or the surgical procedure that creates one. The opening is formed by drawing the healthy end of the colon through an incision in the anterior abdominal wall and suturing it int ...

in February 1967, and was hospitalized for three weeks. He died in Gilford, on July 8, 1969, at age 60 of chronic kidney disease. He was buried in his birthplace of Penacook after a private ceremony. With the dissolution of the

Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League The Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League was a baseball-only conference that existed from 1930 to 1992. It consisted of the eight Ivy League schools along with Army and Navy. The league disbanded after the 1992 season, when Army and Navy joined ...

in 1992, the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

reformed into two divisions for baseball in 1993: the Red Rolfe Division and the

Division.

Head coaching record

, - , style="text-align:left;",

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, style="text-align:left;", , 44, , 17, , 27, , , , style="text-align:center;", 6th in Eastern, , —, , —, , —, , — , style="text-align:center;", Missed playoffs Source

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rolfe, Red 1908 births 1969 deaths Albany Senators players American League All-Stars Baseball players from New Hampshire Basketball coaches from New Hampshire Cape Cod Baseball League players (pre-modern era) Dartmouth Big Green athletic directors Dartmouth Big Green baseball players Deaths from kidney disease Detroit Tigers managers International League MVP award winners Major League Baseball third basemen Newark Bears (International League) players New York Yankees coaches New York Yankees players Orleans Firebirds players People from Belknap County, New Hampshire People from Concord, New Hampshire Phillips Exeter Academy alumni Toronto Huskies coaches Yale Bulldogs baseball coaches Yale Bulldogs men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen

Early life and amateur career

Professional career

College and MLB coach

Detroit Tigers manager (1949-1952)

Dartmouth athletic director

Personal life

Head coaching record

See also

References

External links