Saint Michael's College

"Brownie" was an outstanding three-sport scholar-athlete in the earliest days of the College's history. A team captain in all three sports, he played shortstop in baseball, forward in basketball, and was a back for the football team. He led the basketball team to the Vermont State Championship in 1915 -- the first recognized championship in any sport in the College's history. After graduating from Saint Michael's, he enrolled in law school at Georgetown in 1916, but left a year later to join the Army as World War I was escalating. He completed his service in 1919, and began an exemplary 48-year career in juvenile probation and counseling -- first as Juvenile Probation Officer for the city of Springfield (Mass.) District Court, and eventually as Chief Probation Officer for the Hampden County (Mass.) Probation Department. A two-time National President of the Saint Michael's Alumni Association, he was a Charter recipient of the College's Alumni Award in 1950. In 1954, the College further honored Roger by establishing the Roger F. Keleher Award in his honor, which is presented annually to the College's most outstanding scholar-athlete(s) of the senior class. At the time of his induction, the Hall of Fame's membership includes 19 recipients of the prestigious award that bears his name.