Early Life
Wilber Rogan was born in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. After the death of his mother and his father's remarriage, he moved with his family to Kansas City, Kansas. He began his baseball career there in 1911 as a catcher with Fred Palace's Colts, a semipro team composed mostly of teenagers. Also joining the Colts that season was Dick Whitworth, who would, like Rogan, go on to pitch for many years in the Negro leagues.
Friction with his stepmother and unhappiness with the segregated high school he attended led Rogan to drop out of school before graduation and enlist in the Army on October 19, 1911. He lied about his age to do so. This would cause later confusion about Rogan's age, as some records (along with his Hall of Fame plaque) give his birth year as 1889, others as 1893; recent histories, such as Phil Dixon's, conclude that the latter date is correct.
Read more about this topic: Bullet Rogan
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or life:
“[In early adolescence] she becomes acutely aware of herself as a being perceived by others, judged by others, though she herself is the harshest judge, quick to list her physical flaws, quick to undervalue and under-rate herself not only in terms of physical appearance but across a wide range of talents, capacities and even social status, whereas boys of the same age will cite their abilities, their talents and their social status pretty accurately.”
—Terri Apter (20th century)
“A serious problem in America is the gap between academe and the mass media, which is our culture. Professors of humanities, with all their leftist fantasies, have little direct knowledge of American life and no impact whatever on public policy.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)