Our Arklahoma Heritage: The Logan County-born journeyman pitcher who struck out a Hall of Famer in 1943
- Dennis McCaslin
- 1 hour ago
- 4 min read
In the shadow of the Ozark Mountains, near the small town of Booneville, population around 4,000 in his youth, Vernie Floyd Speer was born on January 27, 1913
. He entered the world as one of twins in a large farming family rooted in the rural South.
His father, Lee A. Speer, a Texas-born general farmer who later worked as a carpenter, and his mother, Nettie Idella Cobb Speer, an Alabama native, had married in Booneville in 1901.
The 1920 U.S. Census captures the bustling household in Boone Township, Logan County.
Eleven people lived under one roof, including older siblings Robert, Thomas, Anna, and Clem; a younger sister, Lorene; paternal grandmother Betty Speer; and an aunt, Sarah Walton.
Floyd and his twin brother, Bernie Loyd, also known as Loyd or Lloyd Speer, were six years old at the time.
The family later relocated to Elk City, Oklahoma, by 1930, where Lee turned to carpentry, yet Booneville remained the heart of their story and Floyd’s.
At Booneville High School, Floyd starred as a pitcher. His battery mate was his twin brother Bernie Loyd, who caught for him.
This natural pairing drew local attention. Floyd’s boyhood hero was Dizzy Dean, the legendary Cardinals pitcher born just miles away in Lucas, Arkansas. Booneville also claimed another big-league connection: longtime Yankees infielder Aaron Ward.
Floyd married young, on February 3, 1934, to Rosadell, often called Rosia or Rosa, D. McConnell. She was born in 1915 in nearby Petit Jean. The couple settled in the Little Rock area by 1935, making North Little Rock their home base for decades.
No children are documented in available records. Rosadell provided steadfast support as Floyd chased his diamond dreams.
Professional baseball came late for Speer. At age 25 in 1938, he signed with the Hot Springs Bathers in the Class C Cotton States League, going 10-13 with a 4.24 ERA. He proved durable and effective in the minors. In 1939 and 1940 with the unaffiliated Monroe White Sox, he posted 17-10 and a career-high 20-10 records, helping the team win back-to-back league titles.
By 1942, with the Chicago White Sox-affiliated Shreveport Sports in the Texas League, he delivered a stellar 17-10 season with a 2.17 ERA and 224 innings pitched, contributing to another championship amid World War II player shortages
At age 30, he reached the majors on April 25, 1943, debuting in relief for the Chicago White Sox against the St. Louis Browns. He threw one and one-third innings in relief in a 5-1 loss to the Browns.
Ironically, on of the three strikeouts he recorded in the Majors came in his debut game against Browns catcher Ricky Ferrell, who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984 by the Veterans Committee.
Standing 6 foot and weighing 180 pounds, and throwing right-handed, Speer appeared in just three MLB games total, one in 1943 and two in 1944. He posted a 9.00 ERA in three innings with two strikeouts and no decisions.
Classified 4-F due to physical issues, he was ineligible for military service and bounced between the White Sox and high minors like the St. Paul Saints, where he went 15-12 in 1943, and the Milwaukee Brewers, where he earned an American Association All-Star nod in 1945.
Postwar, he thrived with the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League from 1946 to 1948, posting a 39-25 record and helping win the 1948 title, before later stops that included the Dallas Eagles, Little Rock Travelers, and Texarkana Bears, where he contributed to two more titles in 1952 and 1953.
Over 16 professional seasons from 1938 to 1953, mostly in the high minors, Speer compiled a remarkable 189-131 record, a .591 winning percentage, a 3.84 ERA, and more than 2,700 innings across 630 games. He pitched for five league champions and 12 first-division teams, proving himself a versatile workhorse who excelled as both starter and reliever.
His MLB cup of coffee was brief and unremarkable, wartime fill-in duty, but his minor-league consistency told the real story of grit and longevity. After hanging up his spikes following the 1953 season, a 10-12 mark at age 40, Speer returned to North Little Rock, where he and Rosadell had lived for 35 years.
He took a steady job as a pharmacy clerk near home, trading the roar of crowds for the quiet rhythm of civilian life. There was no fanfare and no second act in coaching or scouting, just
On March 22, 1969, at age 56, Vernie Floyd Speer died of coronary heart failure at University Hospital in Little Rock. He was laid to rest at Carolan Cemetery in Carolan, Logan County, just outside Booneville, the town where his story began.
His grave marker notes his major-league service with the Chicago White Sox, a modest tribute to a man who never sought the spotlight.
Floyd Speer never became a household name like his idol Dizzy Dean. He did not rack up Cy Young votes or World Series rings. Yet in an era when baseball bridged small-town America and the big leagues, especially during wartime disruptions, his 16-year odyssey embodied the unsung heroes of the game.
From twin battery mates in the Ozarks to championship contributor in Triple-A ballparks, and finally to a steady paycheck in North Little Rock, Speer lived a full, rooted life. His legacy endures not in Cooperstown plaques, but in the quiet pride of Logan County and the record books of minor-league durability.
A pitcher who proved that the long road from Booneville could lead all the way to the majors and back home again.
