Charles Wilber Rogan

Charles Wilber Rogan in his 1924 Kansas City Monarchs baseball uniform

Library of Congress

Quick Facts

Significance:

Buffalo Soldier and Hall of Fame Baseball Player

Place of Birth:

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Date of Birth:

July 28, 1893

Place of Death:

Kansas City, Missouri

Date of Death:

March 4, 1967

Charles Wilber Rogan, also known as “Bullet” Joe, was a pitcher and outfielder who played most of his baseball career for the Kansas City Monarchs in the Negro Baseball Leagues. He was also a veteran of the Twenty-Fourth and Twenty-Fifth Infantry of the famed Buffalo Soldiers.

Rogan was born on July 28, 1893, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. His mother died when he was a child, and his father remarried in 1908. The family then moved to Kansas City, where Rogan attended Sumner High School. He played on his segregated high school baseball team as a catcher. Friction with his stepmother spurred Rogan to drop out of high school. Lying about his age, he enlisted in the Twenty-Fourth Infantry on October 19, 1911.

Rogan served in the Philippines with the Twenty-Fourth Infantry regiment. In 1914, he was honorably discharged from the Twenty-Fourth but reenlisted with the Twenty-Fifth Infantry, another Buffalo Soldier regiment. Stationed at Schofield Barracks in Hawaii, he was recruited to play for the regiment’s famous baseball team, known as the “Wreckers.” He made his debut with the Wreckers on July 4, 1915.

The team included other future Negro League stars such as William “Big C” Johnson, Lemuel Hawkins, Bob Fagan, Heavy Johnson, and Dobie Moore. Over the next three seasons, the Wreckers won the Post League championship, the United States Army Series, and the Oahu League. The Wreckers twice defeated the Pacific Coast League’s Portland Beavers, who were visiting Hawaii for Spring training in February 1917. Rogan was honorably discharged from the Twenty-Fifth Infantry in 1920.

After leaving the military, Rogan, along with fellow Buffalo Soldier Dobie Moore, joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro League in 1920. Rogan was an all-star pitcher and outfielder for the Monarchs. His pitching record was 120 wins to 52 loses. He also threw 136 complete games out of his 157 career starts. Rogan also compiled a career batting average of .338, a .521 slugging percentage, and a .934 OPS. He hit 50 home runs, stole 106 bases, and scored 413 runs. He also notched 419 RBI. Rogan helped the Monarchs win three straight pennants from 1923-1925, and a Negro League World Series championship in 1924.

In 1926, Rogan was named manager of the Kansas City Monarchs, replacing Jose Mendez. As manager, Rogan coached the Monarchs to the Negro National League Championship in 1929 and 1938. He retired from coaching after the 1938 season and worked as an umpire in the Negro American League until 1946.

Rogan died in Kansas City, Missouri, on March 4, 1967, at age 73. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1998.