William "Daddy" Rohrer was an

All-American Girls Professional Baseball League The All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (AAGPBL) was a professional women's baseball league founded by Philip K. Wrigley which existed from 1943 to 1954. The AAGPBL is the forerunner of women's professional league sports in the Uni ...

manager and Minor League Baseball player. He played under the name of John H. Rohrer. Born in

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is known as the town where Kool-Aid ...

, Rohrer started his professional baseball career at the age of 16. He spent 12 seasons in the minors as a light-hitting, good-fielding

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

for ten teams in five different leagues, primarily with the Oakland Oaks and Salt Lake City Bees of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Spanning 1909–1920, he posted a .217 batting average and a .230 of slugging in 826 games.Baseball Reference – John H. Rohrer minor league career
/ref> Following his playing career, Rohrer turned to managing in the then-outlaw

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. After that, he started to coach and train some of the finest girls' softball teams in the California area, and worked with them to put together an all-star team. The team made a successful three-month tour of

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

and the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, just prior to

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 ...

. Rohrer later turned to

scouting Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement employing the Scout method, a program of informal education with an emphasis on practical outdoor activities, including camping, woodcraft, aquatics, hiking, backpacking ...

and worked for the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. He was responsible for signing future AAGPBL stars as Dorothy Harrell, Dorothy Wiltse,

Alma Ziegler Alma Ziegler (January 9, 1918 – May 30, 2005) was an infielder and pitcher who played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. Listed at , 125 lb., Ziegler batted and threw right-handed. Alma Ziegler was one ...

and his own daughter, Kay Rohrer. He also took over as manager of the Fort Wayne Daisies in the 1947 season. The AAGPBL folded in 1954, but there is now a permanent display at the

Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-re ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

since November 5, 1988 that honors those who were part of the league. Rohrer, along with the rest of the league's personnel, has his name honored at Cooperstown.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rohrer, William All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Baseball managers Cedar Rapids Rabbits players Dayton Veterans players Green Bay Bays players Lincoln Tigers players Oakland Oaks (baseball) players Sacramento Solons players St. Joseph Drummers players Salt Lake City Bees players Seattle Rainiers players Sioux City Indians players Baseball players from Nebraska 1892 births Place of death missing Year of death missing