Roger Higgins, 76; broadcaster, ex-Warren Hall of Fame athlete

02:14 AM EST on Thursday, November 13, 2003

BISMARCK, N.D. -- Roger A. Higgins, 76, of Bismarck, a legendary schoolboy Hall of Fame athlete in Warren, and later an award-winning sports broadcaster in North Dakota, died Monday at home.

He was the husband of Ramona (Bosch) Higgins. Born in Fall River on March 19, 1927, the son of Charles and Rose (Asselin) Higgins, he grew up in Warren.

An All-State baseball pitcher in his junior and senior years at Warren High School, he still holds a state high school strikout record -- 215 in the 1945 regular season. He led Warren to the state Class C championship that year.

As a senior, he was co-captain of the baseball, football and basketball teams.

He was a member of the Warren Athletic Hall of Fame.

He signed with the Boston Red Sox out of high school and pitched for several weeks for the Roanoke, Va., farm team before entering the Army for two years.

After the Army, he had pitched in the minor leagues for nine years, including two seasons with the Bismarck Barons. He finished his playing career in 1957 as a pitcher, pitching coach and assistant manager for the Las Vegas Wranglers. He married his wife, a Bismarck resident, that September.

He began his broadcasting career in Bismarck between baseball seasons in 1956. After holding various jobs in baseball and radio sales, he did his first play-by-play broadcast in 1961 and was named sports director for radio and television stations in Bismarck in 1964.

He retired in 1989, but continued to broadcast football and basketball games of the University of Mary.

He was North Dakota Sportscaster of the Year in 1971 and 1975, and was honored by a number of groups for his contributions to the community. He was a lifetime member of the American Legion and the Elks.

Besides his wife, he leaves two sons, Roger Higgins, who is working for the State Department in the Balkans, and Randy Higgins of Bismarck; and three daughters, Rosemary and Holly Higgins, both of Minneapolis, and Bobbi Higgins of Fort Lauderdale, Fla.