Bahamas News
12-16-04, - 10:09 PM
Andre Rodgers 1934-2004
Fred Sturrup
The Bahama Journal
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/data/images/news/categories/andre.jpg
(Andre Rodgers, the first Bahamian to play professional baseball and also the first Major Leaguer from this country, is dead. Rodgers died on Sunday at the Princess Margaret Hospital. He was 70. Last week, the Bahama Journal printed a special tribute to Rodgers, saluting him on his 70th birthday. The tribute is reproduced below in its entirety)
Happy Birthday Andre Rodgers!
Rodgers the Bahamian professional baseball trailblazer, one of the most gifted athletes ever, turned 70 on Thursday. How quickly the years pass.
For many of the more seasoned members of the Bahamian sports fraternity, it must seem like a short while ago when the slender personification of athleticism was roaming the infield in Major League arenas for the New York Giants, the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Rodgers is challenged at this time with the recovery from recent surgery to his right leg but according to his daughter Debra, he is in good spirits.
“I spoke with him yesterday and he said the pain comes and goes but he’s facing the situation,” she told the Bahama Journal.
Rodgers is presently in Room No. 5 in Private Surgical at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
A living legend, he literally caused many in North America and Latin America to focus attention on the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. They wanted to know about this country that produced such a talented ballplayer.
Rodgers actually signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1954. He was called up to the big club officially in 1957, played 32 games that year, collecting 22 hits, three of which were home runs. He was to compete on that level for another 10 years until the end of the 1967 season.
He stayed in the Giants’ system through 1960 before moving to Chicago for the 1961 season. He was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for Alvin Dark at the end of the 1960 season. The Braves then traded him with Daryl Robertson to the Cubs for Moe Drabowsky and Seth Morehead.
In 1964, he was traded by the Cubs to the Pirates for Roberta Pena and cash. As aforementioned he finished his ML career with Pitttsburgh.
It was particularly in Chicago that his exploits at the shortstop position became most noticeable. There he teamed with the rookie Ken Hubbs in 1962 to form the most formidable double play combination in the Major Leagues. Hubbs was killed in an accident in 1963 to put an end to an infield combination that would have ranked among the best in the history of baseball.
Rodgers’ best power season was 1964, when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 46 runs. In 1962, 1963 and 1964, he had hit totals of 128, 118 and 107. He hit 287 in 1965. At the age of 32 in 1967, he played his last game in the big leagues.
Fred Sturrup
The Bahama Journal
http://www.jonesbahamas.com/data/images/news/categories/andre.jpg
(Andre Rodgers, the first Bahamian to play professional baseball and also the first Major Leaguer from this country, is dead. Rodgers died on Sunday at the Princess Margaret Hospital. He was 70. Last week, the Bahama Journal printed a special tribute to Rodgers, saluting him on his 70th birthday. The tribute is reproduced below in its entirety)
Happy Birthday Andre Rodgers!
Rodgers the Bahamian professional baseball trailblazer, one of the most gifted athletes ever, turned 70 on Thursday. How quickly the years pass.
For many of the more seasoned members of the Bahamian sports fraternity, it must seem like a short while ago when the slender personification of athleticism was roaming the infield in Major League arenas for the New York Giants, the San Francisco Giants, the Chicago White Sox and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Rodgers is challenged at this time with the recovery from recent surgery to his right leg but according to his daughter Debra, he is in good spirits.
“I spoke with him yesterday and he said the pain comes and goes but he’s facing the situation,” she told the Bahama Journal.
Rodgers is presently in Room No. 5 in Private Surgical at the Princess Margaret Hospital.
A living legend, he literally caused many in North America and Latin America to focus attention on the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. They wanted to know about this country that produced such a talented ballplayer.
Rodgers actually signed with the New York Giants as an amateur free agent in 1954. He was called up to the big club officially in 1957, played 32 games that year, collecting 22 hits, three of which were home runs. He was to compete on that level for another 10 years until the end of the 1967 season.
He stayed in the Giants’ system through 1960 before moving to Chicago for the 1961 season. He was traded to the Milwaukee Braves for Alvin Dark at the end of the 1960 season. The Braves then traded him with Daryl Robertson to the Cubs for Moe Drabowsky and Seth Morehead.
In 1964, he was traded by the Cubs to the Pirates for Roberta Pena and cash. As aforementioned he finished his ML career with Pitttsburgh.
It was particularly in Chicago that his exploits at the shortstop position became most noticeable. There he teamed with the rookie Ken Hubbs in 1962 to form the most formidable double play combination in the Major Leagues. Hubbs was killed in an accident in 1963 to put an end to an infield combination that would have ranked among the best in the history of baseball.
Rodgers’ best power season was 1964, when he hit 12 home runs and drove in 46 runs. In 1962, 1963 and 1964, he had hit totals of 128, 118 and 107. He hit 287 in 1965. At the age of 32 in 1967, he played his last game in the big leagues.