The Road Not Taken: How Dale Roder’s Toughest Decision Led to a Lasting Legacy

By Eli Meschko

Media & Communications Coordinator

Dale Roder still remembers the exact moment he found out he was drafted. Not from a phone call, not from a scout knocking on his door, but in the most unexpected way — a telegram in the mail.

In June of 1985, long before cell phones made instant news possible, Roder learned that the Chicago White Sox had selected him in the 26th round of the MLB Draft.

All the hours of practicing and traveling to tournaments — everything he had put into baseball — finally paid off. It was a dream come true.

He declined the offer — a decision that seemed blasphemous to some but made sense to him.

He had heard rumors of being drafted, but as a pitcher from a small school, he wasn’t sure what to believe. News traveled slower back then, so he had no immediate way of knowing he’d been drafted.

To many, walking away from a shot at the big leagues seemed unthinkable. But for Roder, the decision was clear.

“I’m in my new apartment after graduating [in May of 1985], and I was starting my job at a local financial institution in Sioux City,” Roder said. “My mom and dad were on the farm struggling at the time, and the last thing I wanted to do was hand them a student loan payment.”

Before he faced that difficult decision, Roder had already made a name for himself on the mound. The 1991 Briar Cliff Hall of Fame inductee was a star pitcher for Spalding Catholic High School in Granville, Iowa.

Initially, he had no plans to pitch for Briar Cliff. His original plan was to walk on at Creighton University, an NCAA Division I program in Omaha, Nebraska.

His plans changed when Spalding came to Sioux City to play against East High School. He had a pretty good day hitting and pitching, including a shutout, which is unusual for a kid from a 1A school playing a 4A. But he always believed he could beat anyone.

In fact, Spalding swept the likes of Bishop Heelan and Sioux City North earlier that year with Roder leading the way. His play throughout that season got the attention of the late Coach Jim Ellwanger, who was waiting for Roder by the team bus.

“We talked a little bit, and he said he had a little scholarship money and wanted me to join Briar Cliff’s program,” Roder said. “I consider that a little divine intervention.”

This wasn’t just divine intervention for Roder, but for the Briar Cliff baseball program as well. Coach Ellwanger founded the program just four years earlier, and it was still finding its footing.

However, Ellwanger’s decision to bring Roder in proved to be the best choice for the young program, as Dale blossomed into a star for the Chargers on the diamond.

From 1982 to 1985, he was named a three-time NAIA All-District 15 selection and earned two most valuable player distinctions. He finished his career with school records in games (41), complete games (39), innings pitched (273), ERA (3.56) and wins (25).

Roder was also an exceptional batter for The Cliff. He batted over .300 in three seasons and finished his career with a .312 batting average, including a .326 showing as a sophomore.

By coincidence, in his freshman year, the Chargers traveled to Omaha to face Creighton. Roder took the mound and pitched a complete game, narrowly losing by one run, but he showed that he and BCU could compete with anyone.

“I remember my sophomore year, we were playing teams like Iowa State and beating them,” Roder said. “You wouldn’t think a little NAIA school in Sioux City would do those kinds of things.”

With him as the ace of the team, Briar Cliff finished as NAIA District 15 championship runners-up three times. Despite his success, he gave all the credit to Ellwanger for the program’s early achievements.

“Coach Ellwanger recruited the Siouxland area hard,” Roder said. “We had a lot of kids from Spalding and other surrounding schools. When you have a bunch of those guys, success is the result.”

After his playing career, Roder stepped away from baseball for six years. Though his playing days were behind him, his connection to Briar Cliff baseball was far from over.

In 1991, he received a call from the sports information director informing him that he was going to be inducted into Briar Cliff’s inaugural Hall of Fame class.

He had no idea this was being put together. This brought him back into the loop a little bit, and he became involved in a few different booster clubs throughout the years. However, the game changer for him came in 2009 when 1997 Briar Cliff alum and 2011 Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Capece reached out.

Capece also played baseball for the Chargers, but he wasn’t reaching out about reliving their glory days. He wanted Roder to be part of the board of a new booster club he was putting together — the Touch ‘Em All Club.

He accepted the offer and, in time, was named president in 2016 — a position he still holds today.

“I’ve been part of a capital campaign that raised almost $1 million to put into the baseball facilities,” Roder said. “The Touch ‘Em All Club has donated over $140,000 for other upgrades, and we nearly raised $38,000 at our annual golf tournament this past fall.

“We’ve become the financial arm that allows the baseball program to do some things that maybe they wouldn't be able to do without us,” Roder said.

While he continues to stay involved off the field, he’s also found a way to be involved on the field.

He currently authors an email blog covering the baseball team. His followers receive pre-game prep on whoever the Chargers are playing and post-game analysis, including what happened, scores and statistics.

His wife might chuckle at him when he calls it a blog, but it’s amassed over 150 followers, most of whom are alumni of BCU. These alumni can’t find this type of information anywhere else, and now they are tuned into the baseball program and look forward to Dale’s updates.

“I call it a labor of love,” Roder said. “I don’t need to be paid for it because I enjoy doing all of that.”

Now deeply involved in the game once again, does he ever regret walking away after being drafted 40 years ago?

“As I look back on 62 years of life, it was probably one of the hardest decisions I’ve made,” Roder said. “But at the same time, probably the best because of everything that has transpired since.”