Rosen was born in Toronto, Canada, to Russian Jewish immigrants from Minsk (now, Belarus), Samuel and Rebecca Rosen, was the fifth of eight children, and was Jewish. Rosen played in the city\'s playground leagues—including two years with the Elizabeth Playground team under Bob Abate—and attended Parkdale Collegiate Institute. His older brother Jake was a boxer who fought out of New York and Chicago in the 1920s under the name Johnny Rosen. Another brother, Willie, had a tryout with the Syracuse Chiefs in 1941. As a teenager, Rosen was a top player in Toronto\'s Jewish Fraternal Softball League. Rosen drove to Tampa, Florida, to try out with some minor league professional baseball teams, but he was told he was too small (5 ft 9 in) and returned to Toronto to play for the St. Mary\'s senior team.\n', '

Rosen turned professional in 1931, signing a contract with the Rochester Red Wings of the International League, but did not stick with the team. In 1933, while weighing only 135 pounds, he hit .301 while playing for the Louisville Colonels of the AAA American Association, and played under manager Burleigh Grimes. He batted .309 For Louisville in 1934, .293 in 1935, .314 in 1936, and .312 in 1937.\n', '

When Grimes joined the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1937, he convinced the team to acquire Rosen in August for $10,000 ($174,000 today) and a player. Rosen hit .312 in 22 games with the Dodgers. \n', '

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