| Roy Welmaker | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:(1913-12-06)December 6, 1913 Atlanta, Georgia | |
| Died: February 3, 1998(1998-02-03) (aged 84) Decatur, Georgia | |
Batted: Both Threw: Left | |
| debut | |
| 1932, for the Atlanta Black Crackers | |
| Last appearance | |
| 1953, for the Hollywood Stars | |
| Teams | |
| |
| Career highlights and awards | |
|
Roy Horace Welmaker (December 6, 1913 – February 3, 1998), nicknamed"Snookie", was an American professionalbaseballpitcher in theNegro leagues. He played from 1932 to 1953.[1]
A native ofAtlanta, Georgia, Welmaker served in theUS Army duringWorld War II.[2]
Welmaker was the opening pitcher for the1942 Negro World Series. He lost his first start toJack Matchett of theKansas City Monarchs, as a late inning rally meant a 8-0 loss. He would return to start Game 1 and Game 5 of the1944 Negro World Series, winning both times against theBirmingham Black Barons and pitchersJohnny Markham andAlfred Saylor. In the1945 Negro World Series, he was the starting pitcher for Game 1 againstBill Jefferson, but he allowed the go-ahead run to score in the eighth while allowing just six hits and two runs. He returned to start Game 3 againstJeff Jefferson, but Welmaker allowed four runs to score on seven hits as Cleveland won the third game of what proved to be a sweep of the defending champions. Overall, Welmaker had a 2–3 record in the Series over five games in three years.
In 1946 while playing forSabios de Vargas, he pitched in 25 of the 30 games of theLVBP inaugural season, including 25 starts, and posted a 12-8 record with 139 strikeouts and a 2.68 earned run average (ERA) in 181⅔ innings of work. Welmaker led the league in victories, strikeouts and ERA to easily win the Triple crown.[3] He died inDecatur, Georgia in 1998 at age 84.