Preacher Roe
| Preacher Roe | |||
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| Pitcher | |||
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Born: February 26, 1916 Ash Flat, Arkansas |
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Died: November 9, 2008 (aged 92) West Plains, Missouri |
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| MLB debut | |||
| August 22, 1938, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| September 4, 1954, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 127–84 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.43 | ||
| Strikeouts | 956 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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Elwin Charles Roe (February 26, 1916 – November 9, 2008), known as Preacher Roe, was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1938), Pittsburgh Pirates (1944–47), and Brooklyn Dodgers (1948–54).
Roe was born on February 26, 1916, in Ash Flat, Arkansas and grew up in Viola, Arkansas. The nickname "Preacher" came at age 3 when an uncle asked his name and Roe responded "preacher" because of a minister who would take him on horse-and-buggy rides. Roe attended Harding College (now University). At Harding, in a thirteen-inning game in 1937, Roe gained national attention by striking out twenty-six batters.
In the summer of 1938, Roe was signed by Branch Rickey, then general manager for the St. Louis Cardinals. Roe pitched in one game for the team that season, giving up six hits, two walks and four runs in 2⅔ innings. He spent the next five seasons in the Cardinals' minor league system before being traded to the Pittsburgh Pirates on September 30, 1943 in exchange for pitcher Johnny Podgajny, outfielder Johnny Wyrostek and cash.
As a fastball pitcher with the Pirates, Roe had a record of 13-11 with a 3.11 earned run average in 1944 and a 14-13 record with a 2.87 ERA in 1945. His 148 strikeouts in the 1945 season led the National League and he was selected for (but did not play in) the 1945 All-Star Game. While coaching high school basketball after the 1945 season, Roe fractured his skull in a fight with a referee. His pitching suffered in the following seasons, with Roe's record falling to 3-8 and an ERA of 5.14 in 1946 and deteriorated further in 1947, as he finished the season with a record of 4-15 and an ERA of 5.25.
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