John Roseboro, 69; Dodgers All-Star Catcher Gained Notoriety Following Melee in 1965

John Roseboro, an All-Star catcher for the Dodgers and a key figure in one of the most violent brawls in baseball history, has died. He was 69.

Roseboro died Friday evening at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles of complications from a stroke. He had been hospitalized for most of the last two months.

During his final days, he received calls from many former Dodgers and other former players, among them Sandy Koufax and Juan Marichal, with whom his name will forever be linked.

“He was a Dodger until the end,” said his wife, Barbara Fouche-Roseboro. “He was a man of dignity and class, and it was a distinct honor to be his wife.”

Roseboro was hit over the head with a bat by Marichal, then a pitcher for the San Francisco Giants, during a game Aug. 22, 1965, setting off a bloody, 14-minute melee. For many, that fight exemplified the bitterness of the Dodger-Giant rivalry, which began long before both teams had moved to California from New York after the 1957 season.

Roseboro acknowledged the incident’s place in baseball history in the first two sentences of his 1978 autobiography, “Glory Days with the Dodgers and Other Days With Others.”

He wrote: “The thing I’m remembered best for is the Juan Marichal incident. It’s too bad, because a ballplayer would like to be remembered for something better than a bloody brawl, but that’s what everyone always remembers, even those who weren’t there or who weren’t even following baseball back in 1965.”

Former Dodger owner Peter O’Malley remembered Roseboro for his toughness, which was exemplified in the way Roseboro handled the Marichal incident and his approach to the game in general.

“He didn’t have to say anything,” O’Malley said. “His presence, his leadership by example--he had the respect of teammates and opposing teams because of his toughness. When the name Roseboro came up, it got everybody’s attention.”

Roseboro played in the major leagues from 1957 to 1970 with the Dodgers, Minnesota Twins and Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers).

He was named to All-Star teams in 1958, 1961, 1962 and 1969, and won Gold Gloves for his defensive play in 1961 and 1966.

Roseboro, who succeeded Roy Campanella as the Dodgers’ catcher, was behind the plate for two of Koufax’s four no-hitters and caught more than 100 games in 11 of his 14 seasons.

Roseboro, a left-handed hitter, batted .249 with 104 home runs and 548 runs batted in during his career.

In 1961, he hit a career-high 18 homers and in 1964 had a career-best .287 average.

Despite his modest productivity on offense, Roseboro was regarded as one of the Dodgers’ best clutch hitters. He hit only .157 in 21 World Series games, but won Game 1 of the 1963 World Series with a three-run homer against Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees, then won Game 3 of the 1965 World Series with a two-run single against Camilo Pascual of the Minnesota Twins.

“He was always like that,” former Dodger first baseman Wes Parker said. “He didn’t hit for a high average, but he always seemed to come through when we needed it most. He was a professional.”

Roseboro was born May 13, 1933, in Ashland, Ohio. His father, John Roseboro Sr., was a mechanic, and his mother, Cecil Geraldine, took care of John and his older brother, Jim, and worked for a department store.

Roseboro played football and baseball at Ashland High and earned a football scholarship to Central State College--now University--in Wilberforce, Ohio. He played one season of football before signing with the Dodgers for $5,000 after a workout at Crosley Field in Cincinnati in 1952.

Roseboro began his pro career as a catcher, switched to the outfield in his second season in the minor leagues, then went back behind the plate. However, he made his major league debut for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1957 as a first baseman when he was summoned, at 24, to temporarily replace Gil Hodges.

Roseboro, nicknamed “Gabby” because he went about his business quietly, became the Dodgers’ starting catcher in their first season in Los Angeles, after Campanella had been paralyzed in an off-season automobile accident.

“John emulated Roy in a lot of ways,” said former Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe, who roomed with Roseboro in 1957 and part of 1958. “He gave his target the same way, and he was very smart calling pitches. He knew what he was doing, so you never had to shake him off, but both he and Roy made sure pitchers did that on purpose in order to confuse hitters. He became very successful with that.”

But Roseboro’s permanent place in baseball history was secured the moment Marichal swung a bat at Roseboro’s head.

Marichal had earlier knocked down Maury Wills and Ron Fairly with brushback pitches when he came to bat against Koufax in the third inning at Candlestick Park.

“We had to retaliate,” Roseboro told The Times in 1997. “When Marichal came up to bat, I tried a knockdown from behind the plate, throwing the ball close to his nose when I returned it to the pitcher.

“I expected Marichal to attack me in some way. If he had said anything to me, I had studied karate, and I was ready to annihilate him.”

The players exchanged words, though Marichal said he’d questioned Roseboro about his intent, then reacted in self-defense because he thought Roseboro was going to hit him with the catcher’s mask. Roseboro said Marichal had told him, “ ‘You better not hit me with that ball,’ so I got up ... and here came the bat.”

Roseboro forgot about karate as a melee ensued. He suffered a two-inch gash in the head that required 14 stitches.

“I remember Willie Mays telling me to stop fighting, because my eye was out,” Roseboro said.

When the brawl ended, most of the 42,807 booed Roseboro as he was escorted to the Dodger clubhouse, a bloody towel wrapped around his head, by trainer Bill Buhler.

Marichal was suspended for eight days and was fined $1,750, a National League record at the time. Roseboro later sued Marichal for $110,000, but settled for $7,500.

Marichal also suffered damage to his reputation. Despite 243 victories and 2,303 strikeouts, he was not voted into baseball’s Hall of Fame until his third year of eligibility, thanks to an assist from Roseboro.

Roseboro, who had not spoken to Marichal in 17 years, spoke up for him in 1982, saying that he thought the pitcher, who had finished his career with the Dodgers in 1975, was being unfairly kept out of the Hall of Fame.

“There were no hard feelings on my part, and I thought if that was made public, people would believe that this was really over with,” Roseboro told The Times in 1990. “So I saw him at a Dodger old-timers’ game and we posed for pictures together and I actually visited him in the Dominican [Republic]. The next year, he was in the Hall of Fame.

“Hey, over the years, you learn to forget things.”

Roseboro was traded to the Twins after the 1967 season and helped Minnesota reach the American League playoffs in 1969. He made the American League All-Star team in 1969 but was released by the Twins after that season. He played part of the 1970 season with the Washington Senators before finishing that season as a coach with the team.

Roseboro was the Angels’ bullpen coach from 1972-74 and later worked for the Dodgers as a minor league instructor.

He also worked for the National League.

In addition to his wife, he is survived by daughters Shelley, Staci and Morgan Nicole; son Jaime; and five grandchildren.

A public memorial service will be held Saturday at 11 a.m. at Forest Lawn Hall of Liberty, 6300 Forest Lawn Drive.

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Times staff writer Bill Plaschke contributed to this report.