Time Machine: Dick Rozek, Hal Trosky Jr. went from Cedar Rapids to MLB

Editor's note: This is a continuing series of Eastern Iowa sports history 'Time Machine' articles. Mark Dukes worked at The Gazette from 1973 to 1998, the last 14 years as sports editor. 

Despite being born more than nine years apart before World War II, Dick Rozek and Hal Trosky Jr. strangely had much in common.

Both were products of Cedar Rapids parochial high schools that are now defunct.

Both authored no-hitters in the minor leagues.

Both became successful businessmen in Eastern Iowa.

And both had a 1-0 won-loss record in their major-league pitching careers, each earning his victory on Sept. 28, the last day of the regular season.

Rozek and Trosky are two of only a few Cedar Rapids high school products to reach the major leagues, and the first two to do so after World War II.

DICK ROZEK

Rozek attended Immaculate Conception High School in Cedar Rapids. The school closed when Regis opened in 1958. In addition to excelling at baseball, Rozek also was an all-state basketball player.

He was recommended to the Cleveland Indians by Bob Feller, a Hall of Famer from Van Meter, Iowa. Feller and Rozek were teammates on the Great Lakes Navy team during the war. Feller had already pitched six years in the majors before going off to service, then returned to Cleveland for 12 more seasons.

Feller and Rozek both were signed by Cy Slapnicka, who lived only a couple blocks from the Rozeks in Cedar Rapids.

The left-handed Rozek made his minor league debut in 1947 at age 20 with Meridian, Miss., in the Southeastern League. After 17 appearances, he earned a promotion to Wilkes-Barre in the Class A Eastern League.

He won 10 games for Wilkes-Barre in 1948, including a no-hitter against an Elmira team that had 12 players eventually make the major leagues.

Rozek tossed another no-hitter in 1949 for Oklahoma City against San Antonio. An outfielder on the San Antonio team was Pat Seerey, who smashed 33 home runs for Cedar Rapids in 1942.

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In 1950, Rozek joined a powerful pitching staff with Cleveland. It included a starting rotation of four 20-game winners — Bob Lemon, Early Wynn, Mike Garcia and Feller. From 1950 to '52, Rozek made 29 appearances, all but four in relief. Cleveland won 92, 93 and 93 games during that stretch, but never could overtake the Yankees.

In 1951, Rozek became part of baseball history. After Phil Rizzuto reached on a two-out error in the ninth inning, Rozek gave up Mickey Mantle's first career home run at Yankee Stadium.

Rozek became a pitcher of record on the final day of the 1952 season. He started and got the victory against Detroit, allowing five singles and one run in six innings.

Rozek was traded to Philadelphia in December 1952. He spent most of the next two seasons in the minors, but made four appearances with the Athletics.

Upon retirement from baseball, Rozek founded Centro, Inc., in 1970. The North Liberty company makes custom molded products. His son, Gary, former Cedar Rapids City Amateur golf champion, ran the company for more than two decades and is its chairman of the board and majority owner. The baseball his dad used to earn his only big-league victory sits in Gary's office.

Dick Rozek died in 2001 at age 74 in Indio, Calif.

HAL TROSKY JR.

Trosky was born in 1936, two days after his father, Hal Trosky Sr., finished a remarkable season with Cleveland in which he hit 42 home runs and drove in 162 runs.

Trosky grew up in Norway and played pickup games with other local boys almost every day until sundown. But with no organized baseball offered in Norway at the time, Hal was moved to St. Patrick's High School in Cedar Rapids in 1945.

St. Patrick's also closed in 1958 with the formation of Regis. Trosky starred in baseball and basketball for the Shamrocks. While in school he worked part-time for the railroad with his cousin, Harold 'Pinky'' Primrose, an Iowa high school Hall of Fame coach. Primrose also played in those pickup games.

With Trosky on the team and Joe Kenney as its head coach, St. Patrick's never had a losing season. Trosky batted .667 in his senior season and also starred on the Cedar Rapids American Legion team that won the state championship.

Trosky was intent on going to college at Notre Dame, but scouts flocked to see him play in high school. The Sporting News reported in 1954 that 12 major-league teams were scouting him.

With the help of his famous father, Trosky sorted through baseball offers and determined one from the Chicago White Sox was too good to pass up.

Trosky took the exact opposite route to the major leagues as his father. Hal Sr. had started as a pitcher, then converted to first base. Hal Jr. was a corner infielder before being convinced to try pitching while in the minor leagues.

Trosky hit a home run in his first professional at-bat for Colorado Springs in 1954. But in his second game, he was hit by a pitch and broke three fingers. It was one of a series of injuries he endured during his career.

He converted to pitching in 1956 and nearly made the big club out of spring training in 1958. Trosky was with Colorado Springs in June 1958 when the club made a trip to Des Moines for a series. Hal Sr. and his wife, Lorraine, traveled to Des Moines to spend some time with their son.

Colorado Springs and Des Moines played a doubleheader on Father's Day 1958 but Hal Jr. was unlikely to pitch because he had gone nine innings one day before the team arriving in Des Moines.

Halfway through the first game, Hal's parents decided to head back to Cedar Rapids, convinced their son wouldn't pitch. But Trosky was asked to take the ball for the second game when the scheduled starter became injured.

In the nightcap, Trosky pitched the only no-hitter of his life while his parents were traveling back home on Highway 30.

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Trosky was called up to Chicago in September 1958 and made two appearances. In his last, on the final day of the regular season, he pitched two innings in relief and got the victory in an 11-4 White Sox win.

Trosky pitched parts of two more minor league seasons. But in 1960, with injuries having taken a toll and his family growing, he retired at age 23.

The White Sox continued to send contracts to Trosky until 1972, and all were declined. Hal had earned an insurance license in 1955 and became a full-time agent in 1961. Gary Rozek said he purchased his first life insurance policy from Trosky while he was still in college at Coe.

Trosky died in 2012 at age 76.

From C.R. to MLB

NAME

HIGH SCHOOL

MLB CAREER

MLB TEAMS

Bill Hoffer

*

1895-1901

Baltimore, Pittsburgh, Cleveland

Cy Slapnicka

** 

1911-1918

Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh

Earl Whitehill

* 

1923-39

Detroit, Washington, Cleveland

Dick Rozek

Immaculate Conception

1950-54

Cleveland, Philadelphia

Hal Trosky Jr.

St. Patrick's

1958

Chicago White Sox

Ben Ford

Washington

1998, 2000, 2004

Arizona, New York Yankees, Milwaukee

Shawn Sedlacek

Kennedy

2002

Kansas City

Ryan Sweeney

Xavier

2006-14

Chicago White Sox, Oakland, Boston, Chicago Cubs

Scott Schebler

Prairie

2015-

Los Angeles Dodgers, Cincinnati

*Hoffer and Whitehill were born and died in Cedar Rapids but their high school careers could not be confirmed

** Biographical information indicates Slapnicka spent three years in Cedar Rapids high schools

• Contact Dukes at markdukes0@gmail.com with your Time Machine thoughts and ideas