obituaries

Roger William Brown was known as the "All American Boy" in his south Minneapolis neighborhood when nearly 70 years ago the slick-fielding shortstop helped his Richfield American Legion baseball team win the national championship and led his Washburn High School team to a state title.

His prowess on the diamond caught the eyes of scouts who in 1944 invited him to Esquire magazine's all-star game for boys at the former Polo Grounds in New York. He eventually landed a contract to play professional baseball, said his daughter Barb Hegenes of Edina.

Brown died of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Dec. 21 at his home in Bloomington. He was 82.

Brown had attracted attention from the former Minneapolis Millers while he led his Richfield American Legion team in hitting and to a city championship in 1943. The team won a state and regional tournament to advance to a sectional championship in Montana. He was named MVP of the sectional tournament as the team advanced to the national tournament and came home No. 1 in the nation.

"With no indoor facilities, it was almost impossible [for a northern team] to win a championship," said Don Sovell, a friend, baseball historian and former classmate at Washburn. "He was one of the best two players on that team. That was a great achievement."

Brown's finest moment might have come the following year. He had been selected to represent Minnesota in the Esquire All-Star Game. He played "errorless" ball and "that was a big experience for him," Sovell said. Immediately after the game, he took a train back to Minneapolis, where his American Legion team was in need of a win in the deciding game to capture the city title. Brown hit the winning home run, which sent his team to the regional tournament. The team qualified for the 1944 national tournament, but didn't win it.

He signed a professional contract with the New York Giants but spent the 1945 season serving in the Army, where he played for its baseball team. He returned home in 1946 and played a couple years in the minor leagues, Hegenes said.

"He was the most terrific fielder. When he picked up a ground ball, he was so smooth," Sovell said. "Anything he did, he was a competitor; he went all out."

That included endeavors he undertook after his baseball career. He studied at Macalester College and the Minnesota School of Business. He was "a natural" as a traveling salesman who hawked everything from vending machines to cookware. In the 1980s and 1990s he was a Realtor for Orrin Thompson and Rottlund Homes, his daughter said.

Brown enjoyed big-band music and was a "scratch golfer" and a big Minnesota Twins fan. His dream was to see Joe Mauer play at Target Field, the stadium that opens for the Twins' 2010 season, Hegenes said.

In addition to his daughter, Brown is survived by his wife of 58 years, Lily of Bloomington; two other daughters, Loreé O'Grady of Minneapolis and Denise Peterson of Willmar, Minn.; a brother, Milton of Newell, Iowa, and five grandchildren.

Services have been held.