Joe Bowman

Who was Joe Bowman?

Joseph Emil Bowman was pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1932 through 1945. Bowman batted left-handed and threw right-handed.

A starter most of his career, Bowman also filled various relief roles coming out from the bullpen, as a closer or a middle reliever, and as a set-up man as well. He reached the majors in 1932 with the Philaldelphia Athletics, spending one year with them before moving to the New York Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Red Sox and Cincinnati Reds. He was one of two 20-game losers with the last-place 1936 Phillies, but won 39 games in five seasons for Pittsburgh. He went 12–8 with Boston in 1944 and won 11 games for Cincinnati in 1945, his last major league season. Often used as a pinch hitter, he hit .333 in 1938 and .344 in 1939.

In an 11-season career, Bowman posted a 77–96 record with a 4.40 ERA and 11 saves in 298 appearances, including 184 starts, 74 complete games, five shutouts, and 1465 ⅔ innings pitched. As a hitter, he collected a .221 batting average with two home runs and 75 RBI in 430 games.

After his playing career, Joe Bowman was a minor league player and manager before becoming a successful baseball scout. Bowman was the Scouting Director for Charlie Finley's Kansas City A's from 1960 to 1968. In that role, Bowman was instrumental in assembling a scouting staff and finding the players who would become the core of the Oakland Athletics' three World Series Champion teams from 1972 to 1974. When the A's moved to Oakland in 1968, Bowman decided to stay home in Kansas City where he became a regional scout first for the Atlanta Braves for a brief time before a long stint scouting for the Baltimore Orioles.