Who is Roger Marquis? He's the first of the true "Cup of Coffee" Orioles, those hearty men whose major league experience lasted all of one game appearance. "Noonie" was a Holyoke, MA native who signed with the O's out of high school at about the same time that the club inked young Brooks Robinson to a deal. With Paul Richards going full-tilt on a rebuild, Marquis became one of 54 players to get a look during the 1955 season. The 18-year-old entered the
September 25 game against the Senators in the bottom of the eighth inning, replacing Angelo Dagres (himself only 20) in right field. Washington went 1-2-3 and no ball left the infield, so Roger's glove went untested. In the top of the ninth, he led off against reliever Bob Chakales and grounded out to shortstop. He was replaced in the field by Cal Abrams for the bottom of the ninth, and his place in the baseball encyclopedia was etched in stone. After batting .225 and slugging .308 in the glamorous Class D locales of Thomson, GA and Paris, TX (he also took the mound for six games with Thomson), Marquis retired from baseball at age 20. Don't feel too badly for Noonie, though. He returned home to Holyoke and eventually started an oil business that he was able to sell in the 1980s. He passed away at age 67 in 2004, survived by his wife Alice, two sons, and four grandchildren.
If you're curious about the rest of the Orioles' half-dozen one-game wonders, here's an up-to-date list. If I keep at this silly blog long enough, I will probably feature each and every one of them:
- Roger Marquis, RF: September 25, 1955
- Gordie Sundin, P: September 19, 1956
- George Werley, P: September 29, 1956
- Tom Patton, C: April 30, 1957
- Jeff Rineer, P: September 30, 1979
- Radhames Dykhoff, P: June 7, 1998
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