Roger Francis Wolff (April 10, 1911 – March 23, 1994) was an American

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

player. A

right-handed In human biology, handedness is an individual's preferential use of one hand, known as the dominant hand, due to it being stronger, faster or more dextrous. The other hand, comparatively often the weaker, less dextrous or simply less subjecti ...

knuckleball A knuckleball or knuckler is a baseball pitch thrown to minimize the spin of the ball in flight, causing an erratic, unpredictable motion. The air flow over a seam of the ball causes the ball to change from laminar to turbulent flow. This chan ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

, he appeared in 182

games A game is a structured form of play, usually undertaken for entertainment or fun, and sometimes used as an educational tool. Many games are also considered to be work (such as professional players of spectator sports or games) or art (such ...

over all or part of seven seasons in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

between and : three with the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oaklan ...

, three with the Washington Senators, and one season split between 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) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive F ...

and the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

. Wolff was born in

Evansville, Illinois Evansville is a village in Randolph County, Illinois, United States. The population was 701 at the 2010 census. Geography Evansville is located at (38.089613, -89.933976). According to the 2010 census, Evansville has a total area of , of which ...

; he was listed as tall and .

Baseball career

Wolff's professional career began in 1930 and he spent 12 full seasons in the

minor leagues Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

before getting his first major-league opportunity at the end of the 1941 season, starting two games for

Connie Mack Cornelius McGillicuddy (December 22, 1862 – February 8, 1956), better known as Connie Mack, was an American professional baseball catcher, manager, and team owner. The longest-serving manager in Major League Baseball history, he holds untoucha ...

's Philadelphia Athletics. He was charged with the

loss Loss may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * ''Loss'' (Bass Communion album) (2006) * ''Loss'' (Mull Historical Society album) (2001) *"Loss", a song by God Is an Astronaut from their self-titled album (2008) * Losses "(Lil Tjay son ...

in each contest, but threw two

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s and compiled a decent 3.18

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. The remainder of his pro career would be spent as a major leaguer, initially during the manpower shortage caused by

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He lost a combined 45 games during the three seasons of through (winning 26), but in —the last wartime season—he would experience a dramatic turnaround in performance.

Stellar 1945 campaign

As a member of Washington's four-knuckleball-pitcher starting rotation (along with

Mickey Haefner Milton Arnold "Mickey" Haefner (October 9, 1912 – January 3, 1995) was an American knuckleball-throwing left-handed pitcher who played eight seasons in Major League Baseball between and , six and a half of them with the Washington Senators (19 ...

, Dutch Leonard and

Johnny Niggeling John Arnold Niggeling (July 10, 1903 – September 16, 1963) was an American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 184 games in Major League Baseball over all or parts of nine seasons (–) with the Boston Bees / Braves, Cincinnati Reds ...

), Wolff helped lead the Senators to a second-place finish, only 1 games behind the eventual

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

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 ...

. He posted a 20–10 won–lost record and a 2.12 earned run average, and placed in 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 ...

's Top 10 in multiple statistical categories: *

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

(seventh) *

Wins Above Replacement Wins Above Replacement or Wins Above Replacement Player, commonly abbreviated to WAR or WARP, is a non-standardized sabermetric baseball statistic developed to sum up "a player's total contributions to his team". A player's WAR value is claimed to ...

(sixth, with 5.6; third in WAR for pitchers, with 6.0) * Games Won (third, with 20) *

Winning Percentage In sports, a winning percentage is the fraction of games or matches a team or individual has won. The statistic is commonly used in standings or rankings to compare teams or individuals. It is defined as wins divided by the total number of match ...

(sixth, with .667) *

Walks Plus Hits Per Inning Pitched In baseball statistics, walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) is a sabermetric measurement of the number of baserunners a pitcher has allowed per inning pitched. WHIP is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits allowed and dividi ...

(first, with 1.012) *

Earned Run Average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

(third, with 2.12) *

Strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

s (tied for fifth, with 108) *

Complete Game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pitche ...

s (tied for third, with 21) *

Shutouts 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 ...

(tied for fourth, with four) *

Innings Pitched In baseball, innings pitched (IP) are the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of batters and baserunners that are put out while the pitcher is on the pitching mound in a game. Three outs made is equal to one innin ...

(sixth, with 250) Wolff threw a one-hit shutout on June 19 against Philadelphia at

Griffith Stadium Griffith Stadium stood in Washington, D.C., from 1911 to 1965, between Georgia Avenue and 5th Street (left field), and between W Street and Florida Avenue NW. The site was once home to a wooden baseball park. Built in 1891, it was called Bounda ...

, allowing only a fourth-inning

double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...

to Hal Peck. No

All-Star Game An all-star game is an exhibition game that purports to showcase the best players (the "stars") of a sports league. The exhibition is between two teams organized solely for the event, usually representing the league's teams based on region or div ...

was played in 1945 due to travel restrictions caused by the war. Wolff returned to the Senators' rotation in and led the staff with a 2.58 ERA in 122 innings pitched, but he fashioned only a 5–8 won–lost mark. He was traded to Cleveland in March of 1947, and worked in 20 games for the Indians and Pirates before leaving pro baseball. Wolff's career won–lost record was 52–69 with an

of 3.41. In 182 games, including 128 starts, he compiled 63 complete games, eight shutouts and 12 saves, allowing 1,018 hits and 316

bases on balls A base on balls (BB), also known as a walk, occurs in baseball when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls '' balls'', and is in turn awarded first base without the possibility of being called out. The base on balls is defined in Se ...

, with 430 strikeouts, in 1,025 innings pitched. After baseball, he worked in private business and was the longtime athletic director at the Southern Illinois Penitentiary. He died at age 82 in

Chester, Illinois Chester is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, Illinois, United States, on a bluff above the Mississippi River. The population was 6,814 at the 2020 census. It lies south of St. Louis, Missouri. History Founding Samuel Smith is ...

.Vitty, Cort, ''Roger Wolff,''

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and record of baseball primarily through the use of statistics. Established in Cooperstown, New ...

Biography Project

References

External links

Vitty, Cort, ''Roger Wolff,''

Biography Project * 1911 births 1994 deaths Baseball players from Illinois Cedar Rapids Raiders players Cleveland Indians players Dallas Steers players Danville Veterans players Dayton Ducks players Denver Bears players Fort Worth Cats players Indianapolis Indians players Keokuk Indians players Knuckleball pitchers Major League Baseball pitchers Oklahoma City Indians players People from Randolph County, Illinois Philadelphia Athletics players Pittsburgh Pirates players Springfield Senators players Terre Haute Tots players Washington Senators (1901–1960) players Williamsport Grays players {{US-baseball-pitcher-1910s-stub

Baseball career

Stellar 1945 campaign

See also

References

External links