Roy was born Leonard Slye , the son of Mattie ( née Womack ) and Andrew " Andy " Slye in Cincinnati , Ohio . The family lived in a tenement on 2nd Street , where Riverfront Stadium would later be constructed ( Rogers later joked that he was born at second base ) . Dissatisfied with his job and city life , Andy and his brother Will built a houseboat from salvage lumber , and in July 1912 the Slye family traveled up the Ohio River towards Portsmouth . Desiring a more stable existence in Portsmouth , they purchased land on which to build a house , but the Great Flood of 1913 allowed them to move the houseboat to their property and continue living in it on dry land
Great Flood of 1913
Great Flood of 1913
Roy Rogers