Saul Walter Rogovin (March 24, 1922 – January 23, 1995) was an American professional

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

. Rogovin was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

over parts of 8 seasons (1949–57), with 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 of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

, and

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

. In 1951, he led the American League with a 2.78 ERA. For his major league career, he compiled a 48–48 record in 150 appearances, with a 4.06

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Com ...

, 10

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s, and 388 strikeouts.

Early and personal life

Rogovin was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, behi ...

, and was Jewish.Saul Rogovin Stats , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref> His parents were Jacob and Bessie Rogovin.Saul Rogovin , Society for American Baseball Research
/ref> He played

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

at Abraham Lincoln High School. He tried out for the Dodgers, but was not signed. He married Doreen Lipsit at Rodeph Shalom in New York on January 30, 1955.

Minor league career

Rogovin played Class D ball in

Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania Beaver Falls is a city in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 9,005 at the 2020 census. Located 31 miles (50 km) northwest of Pittsburgh, the city lies along the Beaver River, six miles (9 km) north of its co ...

for the

Beaver Falls Bees The Beaver Falls Bees was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaver Falls, Pennsylvania between 1937 and 1941. The team can be traced back to 1931 as the Beaver Falls Beavers who first played in the Middle Atlantic ...

for $60 ($ in current dollar terms) a month in 1941. Umpire

Dolly Stark Monroe Randolph Stark (January 19, 1885 – December 1, 1924) was a college baseball coach and professional baseball player who coached the Mississippi A&M Aggies, now known as the Mississippi State Bulldogs to a 22–4 record in 1909. He the ...

saw Rogovin play for a corporate team in 1941 and got him a tryout with the Giants. He played for a short time with their

Jersey City Giants {{about, the baseball team, the football team, American Association (American football) The Jersey City Giants was the name of a high-level American minor league baseball franchise that played in Jersey City, New Jersey, as the top farm system a ...

affiliate in

Jersey City Jersey City is the second-most populous city (New Jersey), city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark, New Jersey, Newark.

before his contract was sold to the

Chattanooga Lookouts The Chattanooga Lookouts are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds. They are located in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and are named for nearby Lookout Mountain. The team plays its home ...

. It was their coach,

Red Lucas Charles Fred "Red" Lucas (April 28, 1902 – July 9, 1986) was an American professional baseball pitcher and pinch hitter. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1923 to 1938 for the New York Giants, Boston Braves, Cincinnati Reds, and Pi ...

, who put Rogovin in as a pitcher. He pitched a shutout game against the

Birmingham Barons The Birmingham Barons are a Minor League Baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox and plays at Regions Field in downtown Birmingham. The current ...

to close the 1945 season. He also played for the

Pensacola Fliers The Pensacola Fliers were a Minor League Baseball team, based in Pensacola, Florida, United States, that operated in the Southeastern League between 1928 and 1950. They won 3 league championships, in 1939, 1949 and 1950. The team originated ...

and

Buffalo Bisons The Buffalo Bisons (known colloquially as the Herd) are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Located in Buffalo, New York, the team plays their home games at Sahlen ...

(for whom he was 13-7 in 1948, and 16-6 in 1949).Saul Rogovin Minor Leagues Statistics & History , Baseball-Reference.com
/ref>

Major league career

Before the 1944 season, Rogovin signed as a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

with the Washington Senators. Prior to the start of the 1947 season, he was sent by the Senators to the Detroit Tigers. He made his debut in April 1949 at the age of 27. During

spring training Spring training is the preseason in Major League Baseball (MLB), a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives estab ...

in 1950, he began to experience some soreness in his pitching arm. That year Rogovin was 2–1 with a 4.50 ERA while pitching in 11 games. He hit a

grand slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

off

Eddie Lopat Edmund Walter Lopat (originally Lopatynski) (June 21, 1918 – June 15, 1992) was a Major League Baseball pitcher, coach, manager, front office executive, and scout. He was sometimes known as "The Junk Man", but better known as "Steady Eddie", ...

of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

. The next grand slam by a Jewish pitcher was not hit until

Jason Marquis Jason Scott Marquis (; born August 21, 1978) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs, Colorado Rockies, Washington Nationals, Arizona ...

hit one in 2008. On May 15, 1951, he was traded by the Tigers to the Chicago White Sox for

Bob Cain Robert Max "Sugar" Cain (October 16, 1924 – April 8, 1997) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Chicago White Sox, Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Browns between 1949 and 1954. He batted and threw left-handed. Cain was the p ...

. He led the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

with a 2.78

in 1951, while playing for

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

and

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

. He was 4th in the league in hits allowed per 9 IP (7.85), and 5th in complete games (17) and shutouts (3). He had 12 wins and eight losses that year, with seven losses by one run and one by two runs. He at times fell asleep on the bench; according to a later article in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

'', he suffered from a sleep disorder. In 1952 he was 14-9 and had a .609 win–loss percentage and struck out 14

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) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

players in a 15-inning game.Saul Rogovin, 71, A Former Pitcher - The New York Times
/ref> He was 7th in the league in innings (231.7; a career high), 8th in shutouts (3), 9th in games started (30) and wins (14), and 10th in strikeouts (121). He came in 27th in MVP voting. On December 10, 1953, he was traded by the White Sox with Rocky Krsnich and

Connie Ryan Cornelius Joseph Ryan (February 27, 1920 – January 3, 1996) was an American professional baseball second baseman, third baseman, coach and manager who served as interim manager of two Major League Baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves and the ...

to the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

for

Willard Marshall Willard Warren Marshall (February 8, 1921 – November 5, 2000) was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. From 1942 through 1955, Marshall played for the New York Giants (1942, 1946–1949), Boston Braves (1952), Cincinnati Reds (1952-1953) an ...

. In 1954, he pitched for the

Havana Sugar Kings The Havana Sugar Kings were a Cuban-based minor league baseball team that played from 1946 to 1960. From 1954 until 1960, they belonged in the Class AAA International League, affiliated with Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. Their home s ...

, going 8-8 with a 3.71 ERA. In December 1954 he was sent from the Cincinnati Redlegs to the Baltimore Orioles. On July 9, 1955, he was released by the Orioles and signed as a free agent with the Philadelphia Phillies, where he had an ERA of 3.08 and a 5–3 win–loss record. Rogovin said: "Somebody cracked that I now throw with three speeds 'slow, slower and stop.' But who cares, as long as I'm winning? They can have the fastball." He played his last major league game in June 1957, at 35 years of age, retiring due to a sore arm. Through 2010, he was 10th all-time in career wins (directly behind

Larry Sherry Lawrence Sherry (July 25, 1935 – December 17, 2006) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed relief pitcher from 1958 to 1968, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles D ...

) among Jewish major league baseball players.

After baseball

After baseball, Rogovin became a liquor salesman. He said "Being out of baseball hurt me inside, hurt me so bad that I couldn't go to a game for years. I wanted to go visit my old team, keep up my baseball contacts, but I couldn't." He then decided to resume the college studies he had begun more than 30 years earlier. He was 51 years old when he started studying for a degree in Education at

Manhattan Community College The Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) is a public community college in New York City. Founded in 1963 as part of the City University of New York (CUNY) system, BMCC grants associate degrees in a wide variety of vocational, business, ...

. Upon his submission of his application to Manhattan Community College, he was told by a dean that, regardless of his age, he would be required to take a physical education course. In response, he pulled out a bubble-gum card with his picture on it, and asked if his Major League career would fulfill the physical education requirement. The dean decided that would be fine. He transferred to and graduated from

City College City college may refer to: In the United States * Community college, a type of educational institution sometimes called a ''junior college'' or a ''city college'' in the United States * City College of New York ** 137th Street – City College (IR ...

, with a degree in English literature. He then began teaching English and literature in the New York City high schools at age 56. He taught first at

Hughes High School Hughes High School (HHS) was an accredited comprehensive public middle and high school located in Hughes, Arkansas, a part of the Hughes School District, until its entire school district was closed due to declining enrollment in 2015. The Hughes ...

in New York, and then at

Eastern District High School The Grand Street Campus is a building used as the home for three high schools in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, New York City. The current building at 850 Grand Street opened in 1981; its identity as the Grand Street Campus dates to 1996. It is curre ...

in Brooklyn the last eight years of his teaching career. He died on January 23, 1995, at the age of 71 from

bone cancer A bone tumor is an abnormal growth of tissue in bone, traditionally classified as noncancerous (benign) or cancerous (malignant). Cancerous bone tumors usually originate from a cancer in another part of the body such as from lung, breast, th ...

, and is buried at

Beth David Cemetery Beth David Cemetery is a Jewish cemetery located at 300 Elmont Road in Elmont, New York. The cemetery was established in 1917. As of 2012, there were approximately 245,000 burials in the cemetery. Notable interments *Sam Ash (1897–1956), violini ...

Elmont, New York Elmont is an unincorporated hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in northwestern Hempstead in Nassau County, New York, United States, along its border with the borough of Queens in New York City. The population was 35,265 at the 2 ...

References

External links