"Баллет Джо" Роган: Негр лигасының жұлдызы

American baseball player

Wilber Joe Rogan, also known as "Bullet Joe" (July 28, 1893 – March 4, 1967), was an American pitcher, outfielder, and manager for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro baseball leagues from 1920 to 1938. Renowned as a two way player who could both hit and pitch successfully, one statistical compilation shows Rogan winning more games than any other pitcher in Negro leagues history and ranking fourth highest in career batting average. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998. Rogan's early baseball career took place in the U. S. Army, where he played for a famous team in the all black 25th Infantry. After joining the Kansas City Monarchs, he was the top pitcher and one of the best hitters on a team that won three pennants from 1923 to 1925 and the 1924 Colored World Series. He became a playing manager in 1926 and led his team to another league title in 1929. "Charleston was everything—but Rogan was more", said William "Big C" Johnson, one of Rogan's Army teammates. "Rogan could do everything, everywhere." "He was the onliest pitcher I ever saw, I ever heard of in my life, was pitching and hitting in the cleanup place", said Satchel Paige. According to Rogan's longtime catcher Frank Duncan, "If you had to choose between Rogan and Paige, you'd pick Rogan, because he could hit. The pitching, you'd as soon have Satchel as Rogan, understand? But Rogan's hitting was so terrific. Get my point?" Casey Stengel called Rogan "one of the best—if not the best—pitcher that ever lived."

Wilber Rogan was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His true birth name is unknown; his National Baseball Hall of Fame plaque reads "Wilber Joe Rogan", but other sources have named him "Charles Wilber Logan". After the death of his mother and his father's remarriage in 1908, he moved with his family to Kansas City, Kansas, where he attended Sumner High School. He began his baseball career there in 1911 as a catcher with Fred Palace's Colts, a semipro team composed mostly of teenagers. Also joining the Colts that season was Dick Whitworth, who would, like Rogan, go on to pitch for many years in the Negro leagues. Friction with his stepmother and unhappiness with the segregated high school he attended led Rogan to drop out of school before graduation and enlist in the Army on October 19, 1911. He lied about his age to do so. This would cause later confusion about Rogan's age, as some records (along with his Hall of Fame plaque) give his birth year as 1889, others as 1893; recent histories, such as Phil Dixon's, conclude that the latter date is correct.

Rogan served in the Philippines during American colonization with the 24th Infantry Regiment, an all black regiment, for three years. He was honorably discharged in 1914. He made his debut with the Wreckers on July 4, 1915. His Army teammates included a number of later Negro league stars, such as Dobie Moore, Heavy Johnson, Bob Fagan, Lemuel Hawkins, and William "Big C" Johnson. Over the next three seasons, the Wreckers won the Post League championship, the United States Army Series, and the Oahu League. In February 1917 Rogan twice defeated the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League, who were visiting the islands for spring training. On furlough for several months in 1917, Rogan played professionally for the Los Angeles White Sox, the Kansas City, Kansas, Giants, and J. L. Wilkinson's All Nations Club, but returned to the army for three more years. In August 1918 Rogan and the rest of the 25th Infantry were moved to Camp Stephen D. Little in Nogales, Arizona. Researchers John Holway and James Riley report that in 1919, Casey Stengel played against Rogan in Arizona, and subsequently recommended him to Wilkinson for his new Negro National League team, the Kansas City Monarchs. However, Rogan had already played in the California Winter League and for Wilkinson's All Nations team in 1917, and had already been noted by African American newspapers as early as 1916.

In July 1920, Rogan and Dobie Moore joined the Monarchs. Rogan quickly became the premier pitcher and biggest box office draw in the young league. By his third season with the Monarchs, 1922, he hit .390, and his 13 home runs were good for second in the league. On August 6, 1923, Rogan combined with teammate and manager José Méndez to pitch a no hitter against the Milwaukee Bears, Méndez pitching the first five innings and Rogan the last four. That season he hit .364 with a league leading 16 wins and 151 strikeouts to lead the Monarchs to their first pennant. In 1924 Rogan hit .395 while compiling an 18–6 record and leading the Monarchs to their second league title. That winter he led the 1924/25 Cuban League with nine victories for the champion Almendares club. Rogan may have reached his peak in 1925, leading Kansas City to its third straight league championship with a 17–2 record and a .381 batting average. However, before the World Series rematch with Hilldale, Rogan suffered a knee injury while playing with his young son. Forced to undergo surgery, he missed the series. Without their star, the Monarchs were defeated in six games. The following season, Rogan took over from José Méndez as manager of the Kansas City Monarchs. In that season's NNL playoffs against the Chicago American Giants, he pitched and lost both games of a series deciding doubleheader to the younger Bill Foster. As late as 1928 at the age of 34, Bullet Rogan was the best hitter (.358) and arguably the best pitcher (10–2) on the Monarchs. Rogan continued at the Monarchs' helm in 1929 when they won their fourth NNL championship and recorded the best record (62–17) in the history of the league. On April 29, 1930, in Enid, Oklahoma, Rogan played for the Monarchs in baseball's first night game. In August he was hospitalized with an undisclosed illness. He remained out of the lineup for more than a year, finally returning on September 28, 1931. When Wilkinson did not organize a Kansas City Monarchs team for 1932, Rogan joined a white independent team in Jamestown, North Dakota, where he played until August. He batted .315 and went 20–3 as a pitcher before returning to the reorganized Monarchs in September. In the winter of 1933 and 1934, Rogan returned to Hawaii and the Philippines as a member of the Philadelphia Royal Giants, a black all star team. The Royal Giants toured Japan and China as well. In 1936, at the age of 43, Rogan appeared in the East West All Star Game.

On October 22, 1922, Wilber Rogan married Kathrine McWilliams, a Colorado farm girl. Their son Wilber Rogan, Jr., was born right after the 1924 World Series. Between the 1923 and 1924 seasons, it was reported that Rogan spent the winter writing life insurance. After his retirement as a player, Rogan became an umpire in the Negro American League until 1946, then worked in the post office. He died in Kansas City, Missouri on March 4, 1967, at age 73. The Baseball Hall of Fame first admitted Negro league players in the 1970s, but did not honor Rogan until 1998, 31 years after his death.