Roger Ferrie must have understood the science of softball. Either that or he just plain loved it and had a career filled with success and fun. Or maybe (probably) both.

Roger has passed away at the age of 85 and you can read his full obituary here.

I went to the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame website to see just how good this guy was with a softball in his hand. What I found out is this:

He wasn't good, he was great, one of the greatest of all time in our state.

He pitched from 1948-1977, winning 455 games including 26 no-hitters and 5 perfect games. He led his teams to nine state titles, averaging 12 strikeouts a game. I mean really, think about those numbers...we're into Cy Young territory here!

It was in 1969 the Rapid City Journal named Roger the 'Player of the Decade'. No argument about that.

Oh, and after his retirement he went on to umpire fastpitch softball games for 21 years.

And one more thing I read on the Hall of Fame website: He accomplished all this after an early bout with polio.

Roger is one of those guys I never met, but sure wished I had.

My heartfelt sympathies to his family and what I'm sure are many, many friends.

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