Roe to Nowhere

Elwin Charles “Preacher” Roe, whose beatific nickname belied pitches wetter than Sergeant Toomey at the end of Biloxi Blues, has died of colon cancer at the age of 92. A 4-time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers with a career-best 22-3 record in 1951, Roe pitched for the never quite good enough Dodgers in three World Series, losing to the Yankees each time. Roe acknowledged using the spitball, but insisted that the suspicion that a spitball was coming was almost as effective: "You don't have to throw it . . . just make 'em think you're going to throw it."