Skel Roach

Article summary

Rudolph Charles "Skel" Roach (born Rudolph Charles Weichbrodt; October 20, 1871 – March 9, 1958) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played professional baseball from 1895 to 1905, including one game in Major League Baseball with the Chicago Orphans on August 9, 1899. He was also a college baseball coach for the Lewis Institute (now part of Illinois Institute of Technology), the University of Michigan, and Indiana University. He later became an attorney practicing in the Chicago area.

Key claims

1. date of birth: 1871-10-20 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
2. date of birth: 1871 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95
3. date of death: 1958 — source: Wikipedia · confidence 0.95

Discussion questions

1. Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
2. The record states that the date of birth is "1871-10-20". What evidence would count against this claim?
3. The record states that the date of birth is "1871". What evidence would count against this claim?
4. The record states that the date of death is "1958". What evidence would count against this claim?
5. Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
6. If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?

Bibliography

1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=1369679573