Hemsley drank himself off four clubs before whipping alcoholism with the help of Alcoholics Anonymous. Early on, his speed was above average for a catcher. Platooned in Pittsburgh, he was traded to the Cubs in 1931 to back up Gabby Hartnett, and then to the Reds in 1933. Waived to the Browns in 19933, he became a top AL receiver, hitting .309 in 1934. Despite a .222 batting average in 1937, Cleveland traded three players to get him, and he handled the bulk of the Indians' catching chores in 1939 after an injury to Frank Pytlak. He caught Bob Feller's 1940 Opening Day no-hitter, and drove in the game's only run with a triple. He became a backup after his December 1941 sale to the Reds. Hemsley was TSN Minor League Manager of the Year in 1950 and 1963. Rollie Hemsley is one of just 75 catchers who have served in the military. [See MILITARY CATCHERS.] Rollie served in the U.S. Navy during WWII in 1945.

[The story of Rollie Hemsley and Alcoholics Anonymous]
The first case of an anonymity break at the national level occurred in May 1940.
Ralston Burdett "Rollie" Hemsley was born June 24, 1907, in Syracuse, Ohio. His debut as a catcher was April 13, 1928.  He was the catcher for the Cleveland Indians, and had just caught a no-hit game pitched by Bob Feller when publicity about his alcoholism hit the papers.  Rollie had been sober for about a year at that time.  It was big news, not only in Cleveland and Ohio, but in the sports sections of newspapers throughout the country.
Rollie had once been called "Rollicking Rollie," during his drinking days.  He had set fire to a car, raised hell on trains, caught a ball dropped from Cleveland's Terminal Tower when drunk (and did it again sober), and was on the way out of the big leagues when he finally received help.
Dr. Bob called John R. in April 1939 and said: You're the only one around here who knows anything about baseball.  Do you know a player named Rollie Hemsley?
John replied: "Yes, sure I do.  He's a catcher for the Cleveland team."
Dr. Bob said: "Well, someone brought  him down  here, and we've got him over at the hospital.  You come up and talk to him." 
They had put him in the hospital under a false name which reportedly made a sportswriter at the Beacon-Journal very angry that Dr. Bob wouldn't reveal it.  When Rollie was released from the hospital he joined the Oxford Group in Akron.  When the Akron A.A.s left the Oxford Group, Rollie stayed with the Oxford Group for a time, but then joined the A.A. group in Cleveland.
So when the story of his alcoholism broke in 1940, credit for his recovery was given to the Oxford Group.  Then Rollie broke his silence for the first time, and gave the credit for his sobriety to Alcoholics Anonymous.  This caused some concern among AA's, but Rollie could hardly be blamed, and the story of his recovery in A.A. brought many new recruits.

The first story about A.A. that appeared in the Cleveland Plain Dealer (see Post 17) spoke "a former big league ball player who is recruiting officer ..."
Rollie explained the difference between the Oxford Group and A.A. like this: "You know, if someone gave me tips about baseball and I found out he never played, I wouldn't pay much attention to him.  It's the same thing with alcohol."
In the Dr. Bob collection at Brown University is a 1948 Cleveland Indians World Series baseball, signed by player and A.A. member Rollie Hemsley and his teammates.

Rollie died July 31, 1972, in Washington, DC.

Sources: Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers. A.A. Comes of Age.