Roy Deal: Hobby Coach of Thirteen Major Leaguers

Abstract

Roy DealHobby Coach of Thirteen Major Leaguers Royse M. Parr (bio) The man referred to as "Mr. Baseball" in Oklahoma is not, as you might guess, a native son Hall of Famer who grew up playing baseball in the state, such as Mickey Mantle, Carl Hubbell, Dizzy Dean, Johnny Bench, or the Waner brothers. In the golden era of sandlot baseball, Roy Deal stood out as the most knowledgeable and caring baseball coach that the Sooner State has ever produced. As a hobby for over forty years, he coached amateur baseball in Oklahoma. Any coach should be fulfilled if just one of his boys signed a professional baseball contract. An astounding thirteen of Roy Deal's boys, including one of his sons, became Major Leaguers.1 Thirteen other players, including another son and home run record holder Joe Bauman, played in the Minor Leagues.2 Many of Deal's other former players did not sign professional baseball contracts but became successful in their chosen fields. Early Days Roy Deal was born in 1897 in Missouri Valley, Iowa. His farming parents moved to Aledo, in the short-grass country of southwestern Oklahoma Territory in 1899, eight years before Oklahoma became a state. Roy first enrolled in college in 1915 but did not complete his degree until 1925, when he was the senior class president and a four-sport letterman. He served in the U.S. Army in World War I as an officer and was the boxing champion of his division. He married Ruth Fergason in 1917, and they raised three sons and a daughter, born between 1919 and 1925, all of whom currently live in Oklahoma City. To support his growing family Roy initially taught school and coached baseball, football, basketball, and track.3 While in his twenties, Roy was the playing manager for various sandlot baseball teams in southwestern Oklahoma during the summers. In 1922 he also played and managed one season of professional baseball for Clinton in the [End Page 94] class D Oklahoma State League.4 In 1926 at Lone Wolf he helped develop pitcher Art Herring, who played for four Major League teams, the Tigers, Dodgers, White Sox, and Pirates. Herring had a career record of 34 wins and 38 losses in eleven seasons, 1929-1947.5 Like his mentor, Herring was short and wore a size 4 shoe, which he sent to the Hall of Fame. Herring's philosophy was that there are plenty of ballplayers who are small and good.6 Only five feet four inches, Deal once commented that his pint size helped him in coaching his pitchers, who included three Major League pitchers with lengthy careers—Lindy McDaniel, Eddie Fisher, and Cal McLish.7 Oklahoma Natural Gas Company At age thirty Roy Deal moved his family to Oklahoma City in 1927, where he initially worked for Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company. He also starred for the company's teams in baseball and basketball commercial leagues. In 1931 he became the office manager in Oklahoma City and later the personnel manager for Oklahoma Natural Gas Company ( ONG), the gas utility company for most of Oklahoma. He worked for ONG until his retirement in 1965.8 One morning in 1937 Roy inspected a small hamburger stand in the African-American section of Oklahoma City. He cited the owner, Jimmy Stewart, for using a nonregistered gas meter. The next day Stewart arrived at the ONG office to leave a deposit for his hamburger venture. While there he politely lodged a complaint about the lack of African-Americans working for ONG. This contact eventually led to Stewart being hired on June1, 1937, as an ONG janitor, with Roy as his supervisor.9 Roy often sought Stewart's advice on how to handle sensitive employee problems. Stewart's love for a good discussion on almost any topicworked to his advantage at ong. He was encouraged by Roy and others at ong to stand up for what he believed and to get involved in local political campaigns. Stewart became well known in political and civic club circles in Oklahoma City. Upon Roy's recommendation Stewart was appointed manager of the ong branch office on the Eastside of...