Rollin Joseph Lutz (February 18, 1925 – October 20, 2008) was an American professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

player and coach, as well as the first non-Japanese manager in Japanese professional

Life

Lutz was born on February 18, 1925, in

Keokuk, Iowa Keokuk is a city in and a county seat of Lee County, Iowa, United States. It is Iowa's southernmost city. The population was 9,900 at the time of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The city is named after the Sauk people, Sauk chief K ...

. Lutz was a high school baseball standout and signed a professional contract the

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in 1941. After the US became involved in World War II, Lutz enlisted in the

United States Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionar ...

after graduating from high school and served in the South Pacific theater.Zaloudek, Mark
"Former ballplayer served as mentor in a varied career"
, ''

Sarasota Herald-Tribune The ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' is a daily newspaper, located in Sarasota, Florida, United States, founded in 1925 as the ''Sarasota Herald''. History The newspaper was owned by The New York Times Company from 1982 to 2012. It was then owned by ...

'', October 25, 2008. Accessed November 6, 2008.

Baseball career

After returning from military service, Lutz was signed by the St. Louis Browns as an amateur free agent before the 1946 season. He played for minor league teams in

Elmira, New York Elmira () is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in and the county seat of Chemung County, New York, United States. It is the principal city of the Elmira, New York, metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses Chemung County. ...

and

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

in the Brown's farm system, while earning bachelor's and master's degrees in science. His only major league experience was when he appeared with the Browns in the , playing first base and going 6-for-36 in 14 games, with one triple and 2 RBI in 14 games with the team for a .167 batting average. The Browns traded him on July 24, 1951 to the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

together with Johnny Bero and cash in exchange for Ben Taylor.

Coaching

Following his major league career, Lutz coached high school baseball, football and basketball in Argyle, Iowa and

Davenport, Iowa Davenport ( ) is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Mississippi River on the eastern border of the state. Davenport had a population of 101,724 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 cen ...

, where he led Davenport's baseball to a state championship, and was an athletic coach at

Parsons College Parsons College was a private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college located in Fairfield, Iowa. The school was named for its wealthy benefactor, Lewis B. Parsons Sr., and was founded in 1875 with one ...

in Iowa. Lutz became the head coach of the

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

baseball team, leading the Salukis to the 1968 College World Series, in which they lost the final game 4-3 in nine innings to the University of Southern California Trojans, after finishing the regular season with a 34-12 record. Lutz was selected as the National Coach of the Year in 1968 by the American Association of College Coaches. The following season, Lutz led the #1 nationally ranked Salukis to a 36-7 regular season record and the 1969 College World Series. Having played in the major leagues for Bill Veeck, Lutz adopted some of his flourishes, including female batgirls, giveaway contests for fans and skydivers landing on the pitching mound. Through the 1969 season, Lutz had coached the team to a 149-48 record (plus two ties) in four seasons as coach.McGowen, Deane
"N.C.A.A. NINE WINS GAMES AND FANS; Lutz of Southern Illinois Is Veeck-Minded Coach"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', June 15, 1969. Accessed November 6, 2008. The

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

named Lutz as their first-base coach in 1971, after he had been coordinator of its minor league teams. He was on the team's coaching staff in 1972 and 1973. He was hired by the

Hiroshima Carp The is a professional baseball team based in Hiroshima, Japan. They compete in the Central League of Nippon Professional Baseball. The team is primarily owned by the Matsuda family, led by , who is a descendant of Mazda founder Jujiro Matsuda ...

in 1974 as a batting instructor. The following season, Lutz became the first foreigner to manage a team in Japanese professional baseball, when he was selected to manage the Carp.

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

pitcher

Warren Spahn Warren Edward Spahn (April 23, 1921 – November 24, 2003) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). A left-handed pitcher, Spahn played in 1942 and then from 1946 until 1965, most notabl ...

was hired to serve as the team's temporary pitching coach, after having worked together with Lutz on the Indians' coaching staff. As manager, Lutz had the team change the color of its caps to red to represent the team's fighting spirit. Lutz left the team after 15 games due to an umpiring dispute, but the Carp went on to win its first-ever

Central League The or , also known as the for sponsorship reasons, is one of the two professional baseball leagues that constitute Nippon Professional Baseball in Japan. The winner of the league championship plays against the winner of the Pacific League i ...

championship under replacement manager

Takeshi Koba was a professional baseball player and manager in Japan, and the manager of Tokyo International University's baseball team. Early life Because baseball was popular in the city, Koba started playing it when he was in primary school. Soon he dre ...

.Staff
"Former Carp manager Lutz dead at 83"
''

Yomiuri Shimbun The is a Japanese newspaper published in Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, Fukuoka, and other major Japanese cities. It is one of the five major newspapers in Japan; the other four are ''The Asahi Shimbun'', the ''Chunichi Shimbun'', the ''Ma ...

'', October 28, 2008. Accessed November 7, 2008.

Retirement

Lutz moved with his family to

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

in 1969 while he was part of the Cleveland Indians organization. He spent 12 years as the executive director of the Boys Club in Sarasota, until he left in 1988 following concerns regarding the financial management of the organization. He died at age 83 on October 20, 2008, after years of declining health resulting from a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

and

diabetes Diabetes mellitus, commonly known as diabetes, is a group of common endocrine diseases characterized by sustained high blood sugar levels. Diabetes is due to either the pancreas not producing enough of the hormone insulin, or the cells of th ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lutz, Joe 1925 births 2008 deaths Akron Yankees players American expatriate baseball people in Japan Baseball coaches from Iowa Baseball players from Iowa Cleveland Indians coaches Eau Claire Bears players Elmira Pioneers players Expatriate baseball managers in Japan Gloversville-Johnstown Glovers players Hannibal Pilots players Hiroshima Toyo Carp managers High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Iowa High school football coaches in Iowa Hot Springs Bathers players Major League Baseball first basemen Minor league baseball managers Montreal Royals players Parsons Wildcats baseball coaches Parsons Wildcats football coaches Sportspeople from Keokuk, Iowa Sportspeople from Lee County, Iowa Pocatello Bannocks players Richmond Virginians (minor league) players San Antonio Missions players Southern Illinois Salukis baseball coaches Springfield Browns players St. Louis Browns players 20th-century American sportsmen St. Paul Saints (AA) players Williston Oilers players Youngstown Browns players United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II