Frank Roth

Francis Charles Roth

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 160 lb.

• Debut April 18, 1903
• Final Game October 9, 1910
• Born October 11, 1878 in Chicago, IL USA
• Died March 27, 1955 in Burlington, WI USA

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Biographical Information

"It was while Frank Roth . . . was at bat . . . that (three policemen) stepped up to Roth and told him that he was under arrest." - from an article in the N.Y. Times of April 25, 1904, about the arrest of Frank Roth and a couple of other Philadelphia players for playing ball on Sunday, in spite of the police commissioner's prior statement that Sunday ball would be permitted in Brooklyn

Frank Roth played six years in the majors for four different teams. Primarily a catcher, he was not a particularly strong hitter, with his best year being his rookie year when he hit .273.

Roth played for a number of minor league teams from 1900-02, and came up to the majors in 1903. As a rookie, he was the regular catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, quite a feat given that the manager was Chief Zimmer, a long-time catcher who also played in 37 games in 1903.

Frank had even more at-bats in 1904, but became the second-most utilized catcher behind Red Dooin. He played half a season for the 1905 St. Louis Browns and then was traded to the Chicago White Sox organization. He was in the minors for half of 1905 with Indianapolis, and then spent most of 1906-08 with Milwaukee in the minors. He came up for 16 games in 1906 with the White Sox.

Eventually he came back to the majors with the 1909 Cincinnati Reds, backing up Larry McLean at catcher. He stayed with the Reds in 1910.

In total, he had a major league batting average of .250.

He played in the minors from 1911-1913 with Montreal, Buffalo and Louisville. In 1923 he umpired one American League ganme; he was a coach for the Cleveland Indians at the time.

Frank was the much-older brother of Braggo Roth, who came to the majors several years after Frank left.

A website about baseball in Burlington, WI says that Frank lived for 40 years in Burlington and died there in 1955. His brother Braggo also moved there. The site says that Frank, after his playing days, became the first pitching coach of the New York Yankees.