The Fight of Their Lives

by John Rosengren

  172. none of them on the third base side.: Unidentified newspaper clippings by Dick Miller, November 18, 1972, and June 8, 1974.

  172. finishing 15 games back in the American League West.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 250–51.

  173. was not an amicable divorce.: Author interview with Jeri Roseboro, July 29, 2013; Roseboro, Glory Days, 280–86.

  173. Johnny was out of baseball, again.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 254–57.

  174. bum partners blowing Roseboro’s money.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 259–65.

  175. plugging a bullet though his brain.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 259–87; Sporting News, September 11, 1976; Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  175. proved to be the tonic he needed.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 288–89.

  176. He didn’t resent Marichal.: Author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 26, 2013; Los Angeles Times, August 25, 1975; Roseboro, Glory Days, 11, 296.

  176. a larger office down Sunset Boulevard.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 290–91; author interview with Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, August 1, 2013.

  177. a troubling presence between them.: Roseboro, Glory Days, 292; author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 16, 2013; author interview with Jeri Roseboro, July 29, 2013.

  177. and he hit me with his bat.”: Roseboro, Glory Days, 3–7.

  178. he suffered, too,” Barbara said.: Author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006.

  178. became their family’s home.: Marichal, A Pitcher’s Story, 186–88.

  179. with that on my conscience,” he said.: Author interview with Marichal, March 26, 2013.

  179. his 16 seasons in the big leagues.: Kaplan, Greatest Game, 45.

  179. greatest pitcher I ever saw,” Gibson said.: Ottoway News Service, July 30, 1983; Ruck, Tropic of Baseball, 85.

  180. not appreciate his sublime finesse.: San Francisco Chronicle, August 1, 1983; Elysian Fields Quarterly, Winter 1998.

  181. which also probably reduced his vote total.: Elysian Fields Quarterly, Winter 1998.

  181. first living player to be selected by the BBWAA.: Americas, date unknown.

  181. with a bat,” wrote baseball historian Donald Honig.: Elysian Fields Quarterly, Winter 1998.

  182. because of the Roseboro incident].”: Ottoway News Service, July 30, 1983; Sporting News, February 7, 1981; Sports Illustrated, January 26, 1981.

  182. moment gone wrong haunted him.: Sporting News, February 7, 1981.

  183. “So much of it is image and reputation.”: San Francisco Chronicle, January 5, 1983; author interview with Ron Rapaport, August 9, 2013.

  183. It’s an uphill battle for Marichal.”: Lake County News-Herald, December 28, 1982.

  184. he would snub them as they had him.: New York Post, March 17, 1982.

  184. most heartfelt public relations campaign.: Author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006; Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2002.

  185. (fn.) during induction weekend in Cooperstown.: Marichal, My Journey, 242.

  185. hold the past against us any longer.: Author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006; author interview with Marichal, March 26, 2013; author interview with Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, August 1, 2013; Ruck, Tropic of Baseball, 85; Dodger Blue, June 15, 1983; Syracuse Post Standard, January 13, 1983; Twin Falls Times News, January 13, 1983.

  186. Johnny forgave me, I was so happy.”: Author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006; author interview with Marichal, March 26, 2013.

  186. now is happier than I am,” he said.: Marichal, My Journey, 192–93; Associated Press, January 13, 1983.

  186. Both men cried.: Marichal, My Journey, 193; Kaplan, Greatest Game, 165; author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006.

  187. to the major leagues in later decades.: New York Times, January 24, 1983; Ruck, Tropic of Baseball, 85.

  188. underscored the emotion of his words.: New York Times, January 24, 1983; Associated Press, August 2, 1983; Marichal, My Journey, 197.

  188. the Dominican Republic’s favorite son.: Marichal, My Journey, 198.

  188. that became the theme of his day.: Marichal, My Journey, 195.

  189. none prouder than the Dominicans present.: Marichal, Hall of Fame induction speech; Kaplan, Greatest Game, 166; San Francisco Chronicle, August 1, 1963; Associated Press, August 2, 1983.

  189. standard bearer for Latin American ballplayers.: Associated Press, August 2, 1983, Marichal, My Journey, 194.

  Chapter Ten: The Man behind the Mask

  193. to the possibilities in the Dominican Republic.: Marichal, My Journey, 232.

  193. back into the game. Juan accepted.: Associated Press, May 17, 1983; Marichal, My Journey, 204.

  193. developed players, opened its own.: Marichal, My Journey, 204–5.

  194. “That’s the sad part of the job.”: Ibid., 205–9.

  194. business, but I love baseball.”: New York Daily News, May 6, 1987; author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006.

  194. Ph.D. in baseball and I can’t use it,” he said.: New York Daily News, May 6, 1987.

  195. anything by going to the minors.”: Unidentified newspaper clipping, June 8, 1974.

  196. they don’t have the buoyancy.”: Los Angeles Times, August 5, 2008; Nightline, April 6, 1987; New York Daily News, May 6, 1987; Associated Press, June 21, 1998; author interview with Charlie Blaney, August 21, 2013.

  196. that there is racism in baseball.”: Nation, April 16, 2012.

  196. (fn.) in a major league front office again.: June 21, 1998; http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7751398/how-al-campanis-controversial-racial-remarks-cost-career-highlighted-mlb-hiring-practices, March 30, 2012; author interview with Fred Claire, August 21, 2013.

  196. what is going on racial prejudice.”: Roseboro video interview with Sharp; author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 26, 2013; New York Daily News, May 6, 1987.

  197. will change the face of baseball again.”: New York Daily News, May 6, 1987.

  197. (fn.) also when it seemed to level off.: Pacific Stars and Stripes, August 12, 1990; Nation, April 16, 2012; Associated Press, June 21, 1998.

  197. Roseboro’s chance came next.: http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/7751398/how-al-campanis-controversial-racial-remarks-cost-career-highlighted-mlb-hiring-practices, March 30, 2012.

  197. on the resort’s world-famous course.: Author interview with Rafael Avila, August 26, 2013.

  197. the Dominican Republic, Los Tigres del Licey.: Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  198. need a vacation,” he said with a smile.: Unidentified newspaper clipping, June 8, 1974.

  198. players know it, which Roseboro loved.: Author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 26, 2013.

  199. knew the game so well,” Juan said.: Author interview with Marichal, March 26, 2013.

  199. chauffeured car to the hospital.: Author interview with Rafael Avila, August 26, 2013.

  199. to him in the Dominican Republic,” Juan said.: Author interviews with Juan Marichal, March 26, 2013, and July 19, 2013.

  199. in five games to win the Series.: Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  200. not going to be a manager,” Johnny said.: Ibid.

  200. (fn.) to hire Joe Morgan back in 1983.: Author interview with Fred Claire, August 21, 2013.

  200. only two managers in 45 years.”: Ibid.

  201. sport after me have continued it.”: Marichal, My Journey, 213–20; Sports Illustrated, September 15, 1997; Kaplan, Greatest Game, 168.

  202. rather anointed their reconciliation.: Author interview with Roger Guenveur Smith, November 21, 2012.

  202. He did not hide from that.: Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  202. it bore no trace of his shame.: Marichal, My Journey, xv.

  203. ofte
n underrated—Roseboro had been.: Mansfield (OH) News Journal, July 6, 1986.

  203. Tony said. “He was very funny.”: Author interview with Tony Roseboro, November 15, 2012.

  204. and visited them when he could.: Author interview with Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, August 1, 2013; “The Man behind the Mask,” handout at John Roseboro funeral, August 24, 2002; author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 26, 2013.

  204. not have asked for a better father.”: Author interview with Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, August 1, 2013.

  204. last time he visited his hometown.: Ashland Times-Gazette, May 28, 1996; author interview with Joe Mason, November 23, 2012.

  205. hard, to lose his younger brother.: Roseboro video interview with Sharp; Ashland Times-Gazette, December 16, 1997; Associated Press, December 15, 1997.

  205. I was always in such good shape,” he said.: Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  205. he told them. “And that’s that.”: Roseboro, Glory Days, 30; Roseboro video interview with Sharp; “The Man behind the Mask,” handout at John Roseboro funeral, August 24, 2002.

  206. off the heart transplant waiting list.: Mansfield (OH) News Journal, August 20, 2002; Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2002; Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  206. Johnny had hit another bottom.: Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2002.

  206. you don’t make any long-range plans.”: Roseboro video interview with Sharp.

  206. But he also smiled sincerely.: Ibid.

  207. though he remained in the hospital.: Los Angeles Times, June 30, 2002.

  207. by the Giants’ star pitcher Juan Marichal . . .”: Ashland Times-Gazette, August 20, 2002; Los Angeles Times, August 20, 2002; USA Today, August 16, 2002; New York Times, August 20, 2002.

  208. on and off the baseball diamond.”: Congressional Record, US House of Representatives, September 10, 2002.

  208. first flight he could to Los Angeles.: 108 Magazine, Summer 2007.

  210. I could have had John Roseboro as my catcher.”: MLB.com, August 27, 2002; author interview with Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, September 8, 2006; author interview with Mark Langill, November 15, 2012; author interview with Marichal, July 19, 2013; author interview with Tony Roseboro, November 15, 2012; author interview with Shelley Roseboro, July 26, 2013; “The Man behind the Mask,” handout at John Roseboro funeral, August 24, 2002; author interview with Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, August 1, 2013; author interview with Jeri Roseboro, August 28, 2013.

  BIBLIOGRAPHY

  A note about sources: Game accounts are re-created from box scores, MLB daily logs, and Baseball-Reference.com play-by-plays. Player statistics are derived from MLB daily logs and Baseball-Reference.com.

  Articles and Pamphlets

  Bjarkman, Peter C. “Dandy, Sandy and the Summer of ’65.” Elysian Fields Quarterly, Winter 1998.

  Laughlin, Bob, with Budd Theobald. Meet the Dodger Family: John Roseboro, the Boy Who Took Over for Campy. Los Angeles: Union Oil Company, 1960.

  ———. The Dodger Family: John Roseboro, Hard-working Dodger Backstop. Los Angeles: Union Oil Company, 1961.

  Regalado, Samuel J. “Latinos within Baseball Purgatory: The Latin Experience in the Minor Leagues, 1950–1968.” Paper delivered to North American Society for Sport History conference at University of Louisville, 1984.

  Turtis, Richard Lee. “A World Destroyed, a Nation Imposed: The 1937 Haitian Massacre in the Dominican Republic.” Hispanic American Historical Review 82, no. 3 (2002): 589–635.

  Audiovisual Materials

  Interview with Shag Crawford by Larry Gerlach. Sound recording, three cassettes.

  Interview with John Roseboro by Bonnie Bender Sharp. Video recording. Ashland High School 50th Reunion, Class of 1951. Los Angeles, 2001.

  Nightline. ABC News. New York: April 6, 1987. Viewed on youtube.com.

  Studio 42 with Bob Costas. MLB Network. Secaucus, NJ: MLB Productions, November 24, 2009.

  This Week in Baseball. MLB Network. Secaucus, NJ: MLB Productions, June 1987.

  Books

  Adelman, Tom. Black and Blue: The Golden Arm, the Robinson Boys, and the 1966 World Series That Stunned America. New York: Little, Brown and Co., 2006.

  Alston, Walter, with Jack Tobin. A Year at a Time. Waco, TX: Word Books, 1976.

  Bjarkman, Peter C. Baseball with a Latin Beat. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, 1994.

  Brosnan, Jim. The Long Season. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2002.

  ———. Pennant Race. Chicago: Ivan R. Dee, 2004.

  Claire, Fred. My 30 Years in Dodger Blue. Champaign, IL: Sports Publishing, 2004.

  Cohen, Jerry, and William S. Murphy. Burn, Baby, Burn! The Los Angeles Race Riot, August 1965. New York: Dutton & Co., 1966.

  Cordova, Cuqui. Juan Marichal: El Monstruo de Laguna Verde. Santo Domingo: Omnimedia, 2005.

  Dark, Alvin, and John Underwood. When in Doubt, Fire the Manager: My Life and Times in Baseball. New York: Dutton, 1980.

  Devaney, John. Juan Marichal: Mr. Strike. New York: Putnam, 1970.

  Díaz, Junot. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. New York: Riverhead, 2007.

  Ellison, Jim. “Juan Marichal: After the Incident.” In Baseball Stars of 1967, edited by Ray Robinson, New York: Pyramid, 1965.

  Gerlach, Larry R. The Men in Blue: Conversations with Umpires. New York: Viking, 1980.

  Hano, Arnold. “Juan Marichal: Can He Forget?” In Baseball Stars of 1966, edited by Ray Robinson. New York: Pyramid, 1965.

  Hirsch, James. Willie Mays: The Life, the Legend. New York: Scribner, 2010.

  Kaplan, Jim. The Greatest Game Ever Pitched: Juan Marichal, Warren Spahn, and the Pitching Duel of the Century. Chicago: Triumph, 2011.

  Klein, Alan M. Sugarball: The American Game, the Dominican Dream. New Haven, CT: Yale, 1991.

  Knapp, H. S. A History of the Pioneer and Modern Times of Ashland County. Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1863.

  Kurlansky, Mark. The Eastern Stars: How Baseball Changed the Dominican Town of San Pedro de Macoris. New York: Riverhead, 2010.

  Lanctot, Neil. Campy: The Two Lives of Roy Campanella. New York: Simon and Schuster, 2011.

  Leavy, Jane. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty’s Legacy. New York: Harper­Collins, 2002.

  Marichal, Juan, with Charles Einstein. A Pitcher’s Story: The Greatest Pitcher in the Major Leagues Tells the Inside Story of His Rise to the Top. New York: Doubleday, 1967.

  Marichal, Juan, and Lew Freedman. Juan Marichal: My Journey from the Dominican Republic to Cooperstown. Minneapolis: MVP Books, 2011.

  Markusen, Bruce. The Orlando Cepeda Story. Houston: Piñata, 2001.

  Murray, Jim. The Best of Jim Murray. New York: Doubleday, 1965.

  ———. The Sporting World of Jim Murray. New York: Doubleday, 1968.

  Plaut, David. Chasing October: The Dodgers-Giants Pennant Race of 1962. South Bend, IN: Diamond Communications, 1994.

  Regalado, Samuel O. Viva Baseball! Latin Major Leaguers and Their Special Hunger. Urbana: University of Illinois, 1998.

  Roseboro, John, with Bill Libby. Glory Days with the Dodgers and Other Days with Others. New York: Atheneum, 1978.

  Ruck, Rob. The Tropic of Baseball: Baseball in the Dominican Republic. Lincoln: University of Nebraska, 1991.

  Shiner, David. Baseball’s Greatest Players: The Saga Continues. Bridgewater, NJ: Bridgewater Books, 2001.

  Tygiel, Jules. Baseball’s Great Experiment: Jackie Robinson and His Legacy. New York: Oxford University Press, 1983.

  Wendel, Tim, and Jose Luis Villegas. Far from Home: Latino Baseball Players in America. Washington, DC: National Geographic, 2008.

  Wills, Maury, and Mike Celizic. On the Run: The Never Dull and Often Shocking Life of Maury Wills. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1991.

  Interviews Conducted by Author

  Rafael Avila, Charlie Blaney, Chris
Box, Fred Claire, Gordon Conrad, Cuqui Cordova, Barbara Fouch-Roseboro, Morgan Fouch-Roseboro, Ted Jacobs, Jack Kelley, Mark Langill, Bruce Macgowan, Juan Marichal, Joe Mason, Roy McHugh, Ross Newhan, John Odell, Jim Perry, Betty Plank, Ron Rapaport, Marc Risman, Jeri Roseboro, Shelley Roseboro, Tony Roseboro, Rob Ruck, Lon Simmons, Roger Guenveur Smith, Gordon Verrell

  Journals and Magazines

  108 Magazine

  All-Star Sports

  Americas

  APF Reporter

  Black Sports

  Elysian Fields Quarterly

  Life

  The Nation

  Newsweek

  Primera Fila

  SABR: The National Pastime

  Saturday Evening Post

  Sport

  Sports Collectors Digest

  Sports Illustrated

  Time

  Miscellaneous

  Armour, Mark. Society for American Baseball Research biography project on Jim Brosnan. http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b15e9d74.

  Ashland (OH) High School yearbook, 1951.

  Congressional Record, US House of Representatives, September 10, 2002.

  Costello, Rory. Society for American Baseball Research biography project on Sam Jones. http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/b2f99b7e.

  Los Angeles Dodgers 1959 souvenir yearbook.

  Los Angeles Dodgers 1964 official yearbook.

  Marichal, Juan. Induction speech, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY, July 31, 1983.

  Marichal, Juan. Interview with Bruce Markusen, English transcript. Viva Beisbol program, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY, November 12, 2008.

  Marichal, Juan. MLB daily log, pitching, 1960–75. A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY.

  Marichal, Juan. Transaction records, 1957–75. A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY.

  McKenna, Brian. Society for American Baseball Research biography project on Joe Cambria. http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/4e7d25a0.

  Roseboro, John. Birth certificate. Department of Health, State of Ohio, June 10, 1933.

  Roseboro, John. MLB daily log, batting, 1957–70. A. Bartlett Giamatti Research Center, National Baseball Hall of Fame, Cooperstown, NY.