George Roket

George “Sky Rocket” Roket was born in Tacoma on June 18, 1915 and attended Lincoln and Bellarmine high schools where he pitched and played first base on the baseball team in addition to playing basketball.

Roket was one of Tacoma’s top fastpitch players having participated in two ASA national champions. Playing for the Tacoma Teamsters in 1943, the club defeated Kauffman Buick of Spokane, 9-3, to win the Washington State softball championship behind the pitching of Woodrow Red. First baseman Roket was named to the all-star team along with teammates Woodrow Red, catcher Hype Jensen, second baseman Bill Ruehle, and outfielder bob Huegel. Roket won the tournament batting title with an .833 batting average to go his two rbi’s and five runs scored. The club represented the Pacific Northwest Region at the ASA national championship tournament in Detroit.

The 1944-45 season found George a member of the Stores-Machinists fastpitch club which featured another top hurler in Kermit Lynch, another Oldtimers Hall of Fame member. The team won the Tacoma City League and were also crowned County, State and Regional champions, thus earning a trop to the national tournament in Cleveland, OH where the team finished third. 

A fine all-around athlete, Roket also excelled in basketball as a member of the 1944 Sheetmetal team of the City League basketball program which included noted hoopsters Bill Lemmon, Lornie Merkle, and Bob Heugel.