RiverDogs Rename Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame After Roland Hemond

By: RiverDogs Media

In a pre-game ceremony on Friday, the Charleston RiverDogs will induct the late Roland Hemond into the Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame located on the concourse at Joseph P. Riley, Jr. Park. In addition, that area of the ballpark will be renamed in his honor. Going forward, it will be known as the Roland Hemond Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame.

The baseball lifer, and one of the most respected and loved men in the game began his career in the Minor Leagues in 1952 following a four-year tour of duty in the United States Coast Guard from 1947-51. After two months with the Hartford Chiefs in 1951, Hemond was hired by the Boston Braves in 1952 and stayed with the team until the relocated to Milwaukee. He helped contribute to their National League pennants in 1957 and ’58 and to a ’57 World Series title.

Hemond was hired by the California Angels in 1961 as a scouting director for their debut season. He stayed with the organization until 1970. When he joined the Chicago White Sox as Director of Player Personnel, eventually becoming their General Manager. He won the first if his three Executive of the Year Awards in 1972 when he helped increase their win total by 31 over a two-year span. He stayed with the organization until 1985, putting an imprint on a franchise that won the 1983 American League West Division.

Hemond’s work under White Sox owner Bill Veeck includes a famous Winter Meetings story in which he set up a table in the hotel lobby with the sign “Open for Business Anytime.” They made four trades in an hour.

In 1988, Hemond took over as General Manager of the Baltimore Orioles producing a 33-win improvement in one season. He served as the Senior Executive Vice President for the Arizona Diamondbacks from 1996-2000, guiding the franchise through its debut season in 1998.

He worked as an executive advisor for the White Sox from 2001-07, winning a 2005 World Series championship before returning to the D-backs as a Special Assistant to the President.

Along with being credited for developing the Arizona Fall League, Hemond served as the president of the Association of Professional Baseball Players of America, which provides financial assistance and college scholarships to current and former players, scouts and others connected with pro baseball. He also helped found the Professional Baseball Scouts Foundation, designed to give assistance to longtime scouts in need of special support.
In 2011, Hemond was awarded the Buck O’Neil Lifetime Achievement Award, becoming the first person aside from the Hall of Famer O’Neil to achieve the honor.

Hemond passed away on December 12, 2021.

The Roland Hemond Professional Baseball Scouts Hall of Fame includes the following members:

Lon Orrilee Joyce
Donny Rowland
Howard McCullough
Tom Burns
Jax Robertson
Mike Toomey
Bill Lajoie
Paul Snyder
Jim Lester
Tony Demacio
Danny Montgomery
Jack Bowen
Ellis Dungan
Ed Screech
Rob English

Tickets for all RiverDogs games are still available! Visit riverdogs.com to secure your seats now.

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