About John Roseboro
John Junior Roseboro was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. A four-time All-Star player, Roseboro is considered one of the best defensive catchers of the 1960s, winning two Gold Glove Awards. He was the Dodgers' starting catcher in four World Series with the Dodgers winning three of those. During his first season in the major leagues, Roseboro served as backup catcher for the Dodgers' perennial All-Star catcher Roy Campanella and was being groomed to be Campanella's replacement. He was the catcher on the baseball team but, preferred playing halfback for the football team and won a football scholarship to attend Central State University. Roseboro is known for his role in one of the most violent incidents in baseball history, when San Francisco Giants pitcher Juan Marichal struck him in the head with a bat during a game between the rival Dodgers and the Giants on August 22, 1965.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.