Early Life and Minor League Career
Fingers was born in Steubenville, Ohio to George Michael Fingers and Edna Pearl (née Stafford) Fingers.
His father (who had also played minor league baseball for the St. Louis Cardinals and roomed with Stan Musial), worked in a Steubenville steel mill. George Fingers came home from work fed-up one day, said "That's it, we're moving to California," and sold the house for $1,500 and bought a car and took the family to Cucamonga. They could not afford hotels so they slept in sleeping bags beside the highway. After getting to California George Fingers had to eventually go back to work in another steel mill.
Fingers attended Upland High School in the Californian city of Upland, and then one semester at Chaffey Junior College.
The Los Angeles Dodgers offered Fingers a signing bonus of $20,000, but because they had a solid pitching staff, that included Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, were already winning pennants, and their farm system appeared to be full of talented players, he felt he would not make it the major leagues for years. He turned them down and signed for less money, $13,000 signing bonus, with the Kansas City Athletics, on Christmas Eve 1964. At first the A's did not know whether to make him a pitcher or outfielder, but after deciding on pitcher, he was sent to Leesburg, Florida (Florida Southern League) for the 1965 season, then Modesto, California (California Athletic League) in 1966, and finally to Birmingham, Alabama (Southern League) for two seasons, 1967 and 1968.
Just nine days after he got married to his high school sweetheart and the Upland High School team statistician (Jill), on minor league opening day 1967 in Birmingham (with the Birmingham A's), a ball hit Fingers in the face, breaking his cheekbone, jaw, and knocking out some teeth. His jaw was wired shut for five weeks and when he returned he jumped every time the ball was hit; it took him about half the remaining season to get used to being on the mound again.
Read more about this topic: Rollie Fingers
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