Roger Sawyer certainly accumulated some unbelievable accomplishments both in and out of high school. Not many individuals can claim they were an outstanding 4-sport athlete in high school. Well – this man can as he excelled in football, basketball, baseball, and table tennis. For 4 consecutive years – 1949-1952, he was the LCAA and Section Five Table Tennis champion. He was also a leading member of the varsity basketball team who won the Livingston County title in 1951. As great as he was in all sports, his major talent was in baseball. He was an unbelievable pitcher who had his first start as a sophomore on May 29, 1950 against Livonia. In that game he threw a 5-hitter in the final game of the season, which capped off the team winning the Livingston County title. In 1952, he led the Mt. Morris baseball team to an undefeated 13-0 record while winning both the LCAA and Section Five Championships in 1952. During that 1952 season, Roger pitched 3 no-hitters and was the winning pitcher in 12 of the team’s 13 wins. His second no-hitter came in the Sectional quarter-final game with a 2-0 victory over Red Jacket. Roger struck out 18 batters in this game and also had an RBI single. He topped off his high school career in a huge way a week later by pitching his third career no-hitter in the Sectional finals against Letchworth on June 9th. In this tight 1-0 victory, Roger was stellar. Not only did he strike out 16 batters, he also had the team’s only RBI. His accomplishment of 3 no-hitters in one season is still tied for 2nd best in both Section V and State history. Pitching 3 no-hitters in a career is also tied for 2nd best in both Section V and State history. Immediately after high school, this inductee went to Brunswick Georgia where he began a professional baseball career in Class D of the minor leagues. One of his teammates at this time was Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York State. In the fall of 1962, he entered Ohio State University where as only a freshman; he finished as the runner up in the Big 10 table tennis championships losing only to the Chinese champion at that time. China was not in the Big 10, but had been invited to this tournament simply as a guest that year. His time at Ohio State was very brief as he was drafted in to major league baseball by the Pittsburgh Pirates. His incredible talents led him to an 8-year career in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. During this 8-year time span, he played at every single minor league classification and ended up on the official roster of the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1958. While in the minor leagues, he compiled a pitching record of 66 wins and only 30 losses. His most outstanding professional season was his very first minor league season in 1953 when he finished with a 24-5 record for the Hutchinson Elks. Following this 1953 season, he was named league Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player. Prior to his last professional baseball season he entered the United States Army in 1958 where he served 6 months in the Honor Guard. While in the Army, he continued playing baseball. In 1959, the United States Army baseball team won the overall championship. The winning pitcher in the championship game was none other than our 4th inductee tonight. 1959 ended up being his last season in professional baseball as well as he played in the St. Louis Cardinals organization for the Tulsa Oilers.
On July 1, 2018, Roger was inducted into the Section V Baseball Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place before a Red Wings game at Frontier Field in Rochester.