Oscar Roettger

The native of St. Louis, Missouri, was the eldest of three brothers who made baseball their profession; the others were Wally Roettger, an outfielder who played in 599 games over eight seasons (1927–1934) with four National League teams, and, later, a college baseball head coach; and Harold, a front-office executive who worked for Branch Rickey with both the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates.
Oscar's playing career lasted from 1921–1939. He broke into the Majors with the Yankees of Babe Ruth as a pitcher, but he struggled on the mound in a six-game trial spread out over two seasons. Sent back to the minors, he returned to the big leagues with Brooklyn as a position player in 1927, starting one game as a right fielder and making four appearances as a pinch hitter. Then, five years later, he got into 26 games for the 1932 Athletics, starting 13 games at first base in April and May wh…