Jean-Pierre Roy

Jean-Pierre Roy

• Bats Both, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10", Weight 160 lb.
• High School Collège de l'Assomption
• Debut May 5, 1946
• Final Game May 11, 1946
• Born June 26, 1920 in Montreal, QC CAN
• Died October 31, 2014 in Pompano Beach, FL USA

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Biographical Information

Roy (left) with Hugh Casey in 1946

Jean-Pierre Roy had a brief major league career, a long minor league career, and a long broadcasting career.

Roy was up briefly with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1946 during a season with the Montreal Royals in which the team went 100-54. Roy was 8-5 with the Royals, and in his three games with the Dodgers had no decisions. He was a teammate in 1946 at Montreal with Jackie Robinson, during Jackie's only year in the minors.

Roy had started in professional ball in 1940 in Canada with Trois-Rivieres. He had a stint with the Rochester Red Wings in 1943. He went from Rochester to Montreal in mid-1944, then led the International League in victories with 25 in 1945. After his time in the majors, he jumped to the Mexican League and was suspended by Organized Baseball for playing in Cuba with ineligible players. During 1947 and 1948 he played and managed in Canada's Provincial League after refusing to go to Double-A ball. He returned to Montreal in 1949 and the Royals sold his contract to the Hollywood Stars, where he also performed as a nightclub singer and appeared in the 1950 movie Kill the Umpire. He continued to play in the minors from 1950 to 1955, with teams including Oklahoma City and Ottawa, as well as in the Provincial League. He also played one season of winter ball in Panama.

He became a television commentator for the Montreal Expos on Radio-Canada from 1969 to 1984, and later in the 1980s became a public relations representative for the Expos.

Most recently, he lived in Florida, where he passed away in 2014 at the age of 94. He was inducted in the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in 2021 as part of its large class of baseball pioneers.

Sources include: Jean-Pierre Roy and Players inducted into the Quebec Baseball Hall of Fame.

Related Sites

• Jean-Pierre Roy at the SABR Bio Project