Rosen, Albert L. ("Flip")
Baseball
b. Feb. 29, 1924, Spartanburg, SC
Rosen spent two years in college, two more in the Navy during World War II, and two final years in college, them made a belated start in professional baseball in 1947. He was with the Cleveland Indians for brief periods in 1947, 1948, and 1949 before becoming the team's starting third baseman in 1950.
A right-hander, the 5-10½, 180-pound Rosen led the league with 37 home runs that year, batting .287 with 116 RBI and 100 runs scored.
After leading the league with 105 RBI in 1952, when he batted .302, Rosen had his finest season in 1953. He won the AL's most valuable player award and nearly had the triple crown as well, with a league-leading 43 home runs, 145 RBI, 115 runs scored, and .613 slugging percentage. He hit .336 to finish just behind batting champion Mickey Vernon, who had a .337 average.
Rosen suffered a broken finger in 1954 and had several other nagging injuries that forced him to retire after the 1956 season. In 1,044 games, Rosen batted .285, with 1,063 hits, including 165 doubles, 20 triples, and 192 home runs. He drove in 717 runs and scored 603.