Red Rolfe
Red Rolfe | |
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Third baseman / Manager | |
Born: Penacook, New Hampshire, U.S. | October 17, 1908|
Died: July 8, 1969 Gilford, New Hampshire, U.S. | (aged 60)|
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |
MLB debut | |
June 29, 1931, for the New York Yankees | |
Last MLB appearance | |
September 27, 1942, for the New York Yankees | |
MLB statistics | |
Batting average | .289 |
Home runs | 69 |
Runs batted in | 497 |
Managerial record | 278–256 |
Winning % | .521 |
Teams | |
| |
Career highlights and awards | |
Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American baseball third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the New York Yankees from 1931 to 1942 and managed the Detroit Tigers from 1949 to 1952.
Rolfe was a native of
Early life and amateur career
Rolfe was born on October 17, 1908, in Penacook, New Hampshire. His father, Herbert, earned a living in the lumber business.[1] Rolfe was the fifth of seven children; he had four older sisters and one younger sister. A younger brother died in infancy in 1910.[2]
While he was in the seventh grade, Rolfe started to play for Penacook High School's baseball team, as the school did not have enough players. Playing for Penacook's team again in the eighth grade, the school won the league championship.[1] He played for Penacook's baseball team in all four years that he was a student at the school, before he graduated in 1926. Rolfe then attended Phillips Exeter Academy for one year and played as a shortstop on their baseball team, which was managed by Simmy Murch.[1][3] At Phillips Exeter, he began to be known as "Red" due to the color of his hair.[1]
Rolfe enrolled at Dartmouth College and played college baseball for the Dartmouth Indians. He played on the freshman team as their shortstop in his first year and was team captain.[4] He also played for the football and basketball teams.[1] Rolfe then played for three years on the varsity team for the next three years, under head coach Jeff Tesreau as a shortstop.[3] Tesreau made Rolfe his cleanup hitter.[1] While a student at Dartmouth, Rolfe spent the summer of 1930 playing for the Orleans town team in the Cape Cod Baseball League, where he was managed by longtime major league player and manager Patsy Donovan.[5][6] Rolfe graduated from Dartmouth in 1931.[4]
Professional career
During the 1931 collegiate season, Rolfe met with
Rolfe reported directly to the Yankees
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/RedRolfeGoudeycard.jpg/180px-RedRolfeGoudeycard.jpg)
Rolfe became the Yankees starting shortstop in 1934, with
During his major league playing career, Rolfe was the starting third baseman on the New York Yankees of the late 1930s. The "Bronx Bombers" of Lou Gehrig, Joe DiMaggio, Bill Dickey, Lefty Gomez and Red Ruffing won American League pennants from 1936–39 and took all four World Series in which they appeared, winning 16 games and losing only three in Fall Classic play over that span. After finishing third in 1940, the Yankees rebounded to win league titles in 1941–42, and the World Series in the former year, before finally bowing in 1942.
Rolfe played ten major league seasons, all with New York,
During the 1940-1941 offseason, Rolfe developed colitis. He batted .300 in the 1941 World Series, as Rolfe won his fifth World Series title.[8] In 1942, the colitis reduced Rolfe to a part-time player.[17] His weight dropped from 172 pounds (78 kg) to 138 pounds (63 kg).[8] He batted .219 in 69 games and retired at the end of the season.[2]
College and MLB coach
During Rolfe's final season with the Yankees, on September 10, 1942, Rolfe accepted the positions of head baseball and basketball coach for Yale University, beginning after the season, on November 1.[18] With Rolfe as their coach, the Yale Bulldogs baseball team had a 56–17 (.767) record and the Yale Bulldogs men's basketball team had a 34–10 (.773) record.[19]
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/08/Red_Rolfe_and_Ray_Meyer.jpg/220px-Red_Rolfe_and_Ray_Meyer.jpg)
After his four-year coaching stint at Yale, Rolfe accepted a position as a coach on McCarthy's staff for the Yankees for the 1946 season.[20] In December 1946, the Toronto Huskies of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) hired Rolfe to replace Ed Sadowski as their coach in the midst of the 1946–47 BAA season.[21] Rolfe led the Huskies to a 17–27 (.386) record as their coach[22] as the Huskies finished the season tied for last place with a .367 winning percentage.[23] Due to poor attendance and an estimated loss of $40,000 to $50,000, the Huskies folded after the season.[24]
The
Detroit Tigers manager (1949-1952)
After the 1948 season, the Tigers hired Rolfe as manager, succeededing Steve O'Neill.[28] Rolfe instituted rules that his players did not agree with, such as no shaving or beer in the clubhouse and no meals between doubleheaders.[29]
In
Beset by an aging starting rotation, the Tigers slipped in 1951, finishing in fifth place with a .474 mark, 25 games behind the first-place Yankees. During the season, Tigers owner Walter Briggs replaced Billy Evans as general manager with Charlie Gehringer, and after the season, he replaced Ray Kennedy as the director of the farm system with Muddy Ruel. The Tigers retained Rolfe as their manager, however.[32]
The Tigers began the 1952 season by losing their first eight games. Sportswriter Gordon Cobbledick reported in April that the players' antipathy towards Rolfe was the cause of their struggles.[33] Though Gehringer and the players, led by pitcher Fred Hutchinson, publicly refuted Cobbledick's story.[34][35] Hal Newhouser later acknowledged that Rolfe's strict policies had alienated the players, but also said that the trade of George Kell, Dizzy Trout, Johnny Lipon, and Hoot Evers to the Boston Red Sox also hurt team morale.[29] With the Tigers in last place in May, Gehringer publicly affirmed that Rolfe would remain the manager of the Tigers.[36] The Tigers won only 23 of 72 games (.319) before the Tigers fired Rolfe on July 5 and replaced him as manager with Hutchinson.[37] The 1952 club won only 50 games, losing 104 – the first time ever that the Tigers lost 100 or more games.
Dartmouth athletic director
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/03/Red_Rolfe_Field_July_2017.jpg/170px-Red_Rolfe_Field_July_2017.jpg)
Rolfe then returned to Dartmouth on July 1, 1954, as the new athletic director, succeeding
The Boston Baseball Writers Association gave Rolfe their Old-Timers Award in 1966.[40] In 1969, Dartmouth renamed their college baseball diamond, previously known as Memorial Field, naming it Red Rolfe Field in his honor.[29] In the 1970s, Dartmouth created the Red Rolfe Award, presented to a non-student for their contributions to Dartmouth's athletics department.[41]
Personal life
Rolfe married Isabel (
Rolfe had a colostomy in February 1967,[42] and was hospitalized for three weeks.[29] He died in Gilford, on July 8, 1969, at age 60 of chronic kidney disease.[43] He was buried in his birthplace of Penacook after a private ceremony.[44]
With the dissolution of the Eastern Intercollegiate Baseball League in 1992, the Ivy League reformed into two divisions for baseball in 1993: the Red Rolfe Division and the Lou Gehrig Division.[45]
Head coaching record
Regular season | G | Games coached | W | Games won | L | Games lost | W–L % | Win–loss % |
Playoffs | PG | Playoff games | PW | Playoff wins | PL | Playoff losses | PW–L % | Playoff win–loss % |
Team | Year | G | W | L | W–L% | Finish | PG | PW | PL | PW–L% | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Toronto | 1946–47
|
44 | 17 | 27 | .386 | 6th in Eastern | — | — | — | — | Missed playoffs |
Source[46]
See also
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual doubles leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
- ^ a b c d e f g "A ballplayer's beginnings". Concord Monitor. March 28, 1997. pp. C-1, C-7 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d "Red Rolfe – Society for American Baseball Research".
- ^ a b Hill 25, Kenneth B. ""THE BIG RED ROLFE" MAKES GOOD | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | June 1934". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | The Complete Archive.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b c d ""Red" Rolfe '31 to Return As Director of Athletics | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | January 1954". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | The Complete Archive.
- ^ Cort Vitty. "Red Rolfe". sabr.org. Retrieved August 30, 2019.
- ^ "Judge Otis Heads League". Yarmouth Register. Yarmouth, MA. May 3, 1930. p. 6.
- ^ "Red Rolfe, Green Star, May Join A's". The Philadelphia Inquirer. June 14, 1931. p. 37 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f "A great ballplayer, an even greater man". Concord Monitor. September 7, 1999. pp. A-1, A-6 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "New York Yankees Snare Collegian". The Waterbury Democrat. June 23, 1931. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rolfe Joins Yankees". Evening Courier. June 27, 1931. p. 14 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "The Gazette 30 Jun 1931, page 16". Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Yanks Farm Out Rolfe". The Bayonne Times. July 7, 1931. p. 9 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Two New Men May Take Over Yankee Keystone Combine". Times Union. March 21, 1934. p. 12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Clinches Shortstop Job". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. May 29, 1932. p. 32 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Article clipped from Chattanooga Daily Times". Chattanooga Daily Times. April 9, 1934. p. 8 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rangers can make history with five All-Star starters". MLB.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe One of Great 'Old Yanks,' May Never Return to Fulltime Duty". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. April 29, 1942. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Named As Yale Baseball Coach". Portland Press Herald. September 11, 1942. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "That's Why Red Rolfe Gives Up Dream Sport to Rejoin N.Y. Yankees". The Boston Globe. January 16, 1946. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Gives Up Yale Job To Rejoin Yankees As Coach". Record-Journal. January 8, 1946. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Agrees To Coach Huskies". The Hamilton Spectator. December 10, 1946. p. 25 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Robert Rolfe: Coaching Record, Awards". Basketball-Reference.com.
- ^ "Huskies' Future Appears Cloudy". The Gazette. April 5, 1947. p. 16 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Huskies Find Going Too Stiff – Bow Out of Basketball Loop". The Windsor Star. July 28, 1947. p. 23 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Joins Detroit Club as Scout Supervisor". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. August 5, 1947. p. 10 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rolfe Named Director Of Tiger Farm Clubs". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. November 16, 1947. p. 16 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Seattle Has Joined Tiger Farm System, States Red Rolfe". The Bakersfield Californian. December 17, 1947. p. 22 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe Is Named Manager of Tigers – Succeeds O'Neill". The Boston Globe. November 15, 1948. p. 18 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d e f g "A man of character: From Detroit to Dartmouth, Rolfe leaves a lasting impression". Concord Monitor. March 30, 1997. pp. C-1, C-10 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Sporting News Names Red Rolfe Manager of Year". The Morning Call. December 30, 1950. p. 9 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Eddie Sawyer Is Surprised He Won "Manager" Honors". The Spokesman-Review. November 9, 1950. p. 4 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Ruel to Boss Tiger Farms". Omaha World-Herald. October 18, 1951. p. 27 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tigers' Dislike of Red Rolfe Cause of Slump -- U.S. Writer Trouble Power Lack -- Rolfe". The Toronto Star. April 23, 1952. p. 12 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rolfe Gets Vote of Confidence". Detroit Free Press. April 24, 1952. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Ridiculous,' Scoffs Gehringer". Detroit Free Press. April 24, 1952. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rolfe Will Remain As Detroit Manager, Gehringer Declares". The Buffalo News. May 13, 1952. p. 33 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Press, the Associated (July 6, 1952). "Tigers Drop Rolfe, Appoint Hutchinson; A NEW MANAGER FOR THE DETROIT TIGERS". The New York Times – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ JORDAN '45, CLIFFORD L. "AN ATHLETIC SUMMING UP | Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | JUNE 1967". Dartmouth Alumni Magazine | The Complete Archive.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Red Rolfe Retiring From Post". The Berkshire Eagle. January 16, 1967. p. 27 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hub Baseball Writers To Honor Red Rolfe". The Boston Globe. December 29, 1966. p. 26 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Green Honors 'Duke'". Valley News. May 5, 1977. p. 16 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Yankee All-Timer Rolfe Finally Finds His Utopia". The Boston Globe. June 3, 1969. pp. 29, 30 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Red Rolfe, Yankees' Star 3d Baseman, Dies at 60; Dartmouth Athletic ManagerI for 13 Years -Pilot of I Detroit Tigers, 1949-52 I". The New York Times. July 9, 1969 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "Obituary for Robert A Rolfe Rolfe". Concord Monitor. July 9, 1969. p. 1 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "A New Ivy". Rutland Daily Herald. February 15, 1993. p. 16 – via newspapers.com.
- Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 10, 2024.
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
- Red Rolfe at Find a Grave