Negro Leagues / 1920s
Bullet Rogan's Arsenal
Everything, from no windup, both arm slots
Documented
Most pitchers have a pitch. Bullet Rogan had a toolbox: a fastball that gave him the nickname, an array of curves, a forkball, a palmball, and a spitball — and he threw all of it from a no-windup delivery, switching between overhand and sidearm to change the angle on the hitter. His own catcher said he had every kind of ball, and threw a master curve right out of his palm.
What it was
An unusually deep repertoire — fastball, multiple curves, a forkball, a palmball, and a spitball — delivered with no windup and from both overhand and sidearm angles, letting Rogan vary movement and release point against any hitter.
Why it is lost
Rogan's two-way brilliance — he both pitched and hit at an elite level — and the disappearance of the spitball and emery ball from the rulebook left his finesse-heavy, doctored-ball arsenal without a legal home once the white majors integrated.
“His catcher Frank Duncan said Rogan threw hard and had everything — forkballs, spitballs, any kind of ball — plus a master curve he threw right out of his palm, and could drop down sidearm so it jumped in on right-handed hitters.”
Frank Duncan recollection as recorded in Rogan's SABR biography; teammate testimony relayed through the bio.
The surviving record
Rogan used a no-windup delivery and threw from both overhand and sidearm motions, working in an array of curveballs, a spitball, a palmball, a forkball, and the fastball that earned his nickname.
Seamheads' reconstruction credits Rogan with roughly 130 wins against 61 losses, a 2.70 ERA, and over 1,000 strikeouts across his career; he was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1998.
Every line here is what the recovered record can actually support, labeled by its source and its confidence. Where the legend says more than the record can prove, the gap is shown, not filled.