Joe Bowman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Emil Bowman (June 17, 1910 - November 22, 1990) was pitcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1932 through 1945. Bowman batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Kansas City, Kansas.
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 (1934), Philadelphia Phillies (1935-37), Pittsburgh Pirates (1937-41), Boston Red Sox (1944-45) and Cincinnati Reds (1945). 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 (141-for-639) with two home runs and 75 RBI in 430 games.
Bowman died in Kansas City, Missouri, at the age of 80.
