Bill Rogers, who was instrumental in developing Mid-Island Little League’s farm division and later guiding the league to national prominence after capturing the World Series crown in Williamsport, Pa., has died.
He was 86.
Prior to jumping into the LL coaching ranks, Rogers was a ballplayer himself. Having played at and graduated from Port Richmond HS (1955), Rogers turned down a baseball scholarship to Seton Hall and instead signed with the Washington Senators organization out of high school, though he didn’t stick around for long.
Two years later, he found himself at Mid-Island’s Travis loop, coaching youth baseball at 21-years-old.
In 1964, Rogers accomplished the unthinkable. He led MILL, which represented New York State, to an unprecedented 13-0 run en route to capturing the Little League World Series title -- the first in the state’s history.
“It was a chance at the brass ring,” said Rogers in a 2014 Advance story of the 13-game run to World Championship. “And very exciting; even while it was all going on you knew you’d never forget it.”
After marching the ’64 championship team down Manhattan’s Canyon of Heroes, Rogers went on to become Mid-Island’s president and eventually became Staten Island’s district administrator.
Mid-Island LL 1964 World Series winning coach Bill Rogers was a mentor to the many players who passed through the league for decades. (Staten Island Advance)
Rogers continued to frequent the loop he once guided in recent years and became a mentor to many.
Rogers, a Staten Island Baseball Oldtimers lifetime achievement award winner, had kept in touch with former players right up until his passing.
“It was all Bill,” retired NYFD firefighter and team member Jeff Paul said in a story commemorating the 50-year anniversary of the M-I team in 2014. “He sat the parents down before the All-Star season began and explained to them the way it would be. He had a plan, and they respected him. He was younger than our parents, but a lot of them called him, ‘Mr. Rogers.’”
A complete story will be published on SILive.com later this afternoon so please check back.