Les Rohr: The Only Mets Player To Be Born In England & A Former Number One Pick (1967 - 1969)

Leslie Norvin Rohr was born on March 5, 1946 and is the only Mets player to be born in England. He was born in the county of Suffolk at Lowestoft, the most easterly town in the United Kingdom, at its home to Ness Point.

The Rohr family moved to the United States settling in Billings, Montana when Les was a young boy. He went to high school in Billings, Montana and became a star pitcher there.

The big six-foot five lefty was chosen by the New York Mets in the first round of the 1965 draft, the number two pick overall behind Oakland’s Rick Monday.

Rohr was a big hard throwing, strikeout pitcher, whom the Mets legendary scout Red Murff compared to Ray Sadecki saying, “he should be a twenty-game winner in the majors”. The Mets chose Mr. Rohr ahead of their #12 pick- Nolan Ryan.

Mets Career: The six-foot five lefty made his debut at Shea Stadium on September 19, 1967, against the Los Angeles Dodgers. He went six innings earning the victory, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out six Dodgers.

In his next start he only lasted three innings taking a loss to the Houston Astros.

Rohr was fantastic in his next outing, which came at Dodger Stadium. He pitched eight innings of shutout ball, striking out seven while beating Dodger pitcher Don Drysdale. 

Rohr would go 2-1 with a 2.12 ERA striking out 15 batters in 17 innings pitched. The future looked bright for him as he was being penciled in as a starter on the 1968 Mets team.

1968: But in his first appearance of April 1968, he pulled a tendon in his pitching arm which pretty much ended his career. 

On April 15th, 1968, Rohr came into one of the longest games in MLB history. He was the eighth pitcher of the day for the Mets, at the Astrodome entering in the 22nd inning. He would pitch 2.1 innings & take the loss, when Bob Aspromonte reached base on an Ed Charles error, as the winning run crossed the plate, in the bottom of the 24th inning. Rohr would pitch in one more game but missed the rest of the season.

1969 Championship Season: The former number one draft pick only made one more MLB appearance, and that was in 1969. He pitched one game in September, as the Pittsburgh Pirates hammered him for four runs in just over an inning of work.

Rohr never recovered from his injury and when the Mets tried to trade him to the Atlanta Braves, it was discovered he had a ruptured disc in his lower back.

 His career was over at age 23. He was with the team, although not in uniform during the 1969 World Series & celebrated with the team in the clubhouse.

Retirement: After baseball he went into the concrete business and became a high school pitching coach. He then operated the Big Rohr Pitching School in Billings, Montana. 

For many years now, he was seen driving around town in a 1972 pickup truck with a license plate that reads “69 Mets”. 

Honors: Rohr was invited to the 40th anniversary ceremonies of the 1969 Championship team in 2009 & they even offered to pay all expenses.

The humble Rohr declined because he felt he did not contribute enough to the 1969 team. 

"Sure, I'd love to see those guys again, but I don't know whether they want to see me," Rohr said with a laugh. 

"They probably would. I didn't do much, but it's still an honor to be associated with the '69 Mets."

He did not attend the 50th Anniversary of the 1969 Champs either.

Passing: Rohr passed away on November 6th, 2020, at the age of 74 at his home in Billings, Montana.