Profile of John Roseboro on Famous Like Me

John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 - August 16, 2002) was a Major League Baseball catcher and coach. He was born in Ashland, Ohio.

Career

A left-handed-hitter, Roseboro had a lifetime .249 batting average with 104 home runs and 548 RBI in 1585 games played with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1957-67), Minnesota Twins (1968-69) and Washington Senators (1970). He was a Gold Glove Award winner twice and a four-time All-Star during a fourteen-year stay.

On June 14, 1957, Roseboro succeeded Roy Campanella as the Dodgers' full-time catcher. He also was the Dodgers' starting catcher in the 1959, 1963, 1965 and 1966 World Series, with his team winning the championship the first three times. In the Series, Roseboro was a .157 hitter with one home run and seven RBI in 21 games.

After completing his playing career with Washington, Roseboro coached for the Senators (1971) and California Angels (1972-74). Later, he served as a minor league batting instructor (1977) and catching instructor (1987) for the Dodgers. Roseboro and his wife, Barbara Fouch Roseboro, also owned a Beverly Hills public relations firm.

Johnny Roseboro died in Los Angeles, California at age of 69.

Highlights

• 4-time All-Star (1958, 1961-62, 1969)
• Twice Gold Glove Award (1961, 1966)
• Twice set MLB records in putouts (1959, 1961)
• 6-time led NL in total chances (1958-62)
• Caught two no-hitters of Sandy Koufax

The Marichal Incident

Roseboro will always be remembered as the player that Dominican pitcher Juan Marichal clubbed over the head with a bat, during a game between the Dodgers and San Francisco Giants at Candlestick Park on August 22, 1965.

Marichal, facing Sandy Koufax and the Dodgers, knocked down Maury Wills and Ron Fairly with brushback pitches. When Marichal came up to bat in the third inning, Koufax wouldn't retaliate, but his catcher, Roseboro, apparently wanted to. Roseboro returned Koufax's pitches dangerously close to Marichal's face. Then, the future Hall of Famer hit Roseboro over the head with his bat twice, opening a two-inch gash that sent blood flowing down the catcher's face that would require 14 stitches. The Giants and Dodgers, strong contenders for the National League pennant, started a brawl that lasted 14 minutes before Koufax, Willie Mays, and other peacemakers restored order. Finally, the Giants won the game.

After the incident, National League president Warren Giles suspended Marichal for eight games; fined him with $1,750, and also forbid Marichal from traveling to Dodger Stadium for the final, crucial two-game series of the season. The Giants won both of them in the middle of a 14-game streak, but the Dodgers were even hotter later to win the pennant.

Marichal contended Roseboro returned a pitch close to his nose. Roseboro said he did nothing to provoke Marichal reaction and later sued him for $110,000 in damages. Marichal didn't face the Dodgers again until May 3, 1966. He got the victory and Roseboro hit 1 for 4. After years of bitterness, they became close friends in the 1980s, getting together occasionally at Old-Timers games, golf tournaments and charity events.

Quote

• There were no hard feelings on my part, and I thought if that was made public, people would believe that this was really over with. So I saw him at a Dodger old-timers' game, and we posed for pictures togheter, and I actually visited him in the Dominican. The next year, he was in the Hall of Fame. Hey, over the years, you learn to forget things. --Johnny Roseboro (ESPN - Baseball Brawls)

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