Soap Stars’ Hidden Talents: Did You Know Drake Hogestyn Once Did This?

Days of Our Lives (DOOL) star Drake Hogestyn is one of the most iconic leading men in daytime, making his mark in the soap world in the dual roles of John Black and Roman Brady for over 30 years.

Hogsestyn was introduced to fans of the long-running NBC soap as the fictional character of The Pawn in 1985. He was later revealed to be the presumed dead Roman Brady with plastic surgery and amnesia.

When Wayne Northrop, who originally played Roman returned in 1991, Hogestyn’s character was revealed to be John Black again, establishing the supercouple pairing of John and Marlena.

Hogestyn was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He graduated from North Side High School and attended the University of South Florida in Tampa. Everyone knows that the actor was a successful baseball player but did you know that Hogestyn majored in pre-dentistry?

He ended up being drafted by two professional baseball organizations: the St. Louis Cardinals and the New York Yankees.

He later signed with the Yankees and played third base for one of their farm teams until he was injured in 1978, ending his baseball career but opening him up to acting — for which we are all extremely grateful.

Days of our Lives (DOOL) airs weekdays on NBC. Check your local listings for airtimes.