Frank Eugene Bowerman (December 5, 1868 – November 30, 1948) was an American

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

with the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

, and the

Boston Doves The Atlanta Braves, a current Major League Baseball franchise, originated in Boston, Massachusetts. This article details the history of the Boston Braves, from 1871 to 1952, after which they moved to Milwaukee, and then to Atlanta. During it ...

, as well as a player-manager for the Doves in his last season in professional baseball. While always playing in the shadows of

Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson (June 29, 1864 – August 8, 1934), nicknamed "Uncle Robbie", was an American catcher, coach and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played in MLB for the Philadelphia Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinal ...

and

Roger Bresnahan Roger Philip Bresnahan (June 11, 1879 – December 4, 1944), nicknamed "The Duke of Tralee", was an American player and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, Bresnahan competed in MLB for the Washington Senators (1897), Chicago ...

, he was a solid player who could play any position in the diamond, and he even pitched an inning for the Giants in . He was also the first to catch Hall-of-Famer

Christy Mathewson Christopher Mathewson (August 12, 1880 – October 7, 1925), nicknamed "Big Six", "the Christian Gentleman", "Matty", and "the Gentleman's Hurler", was a Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher, who played 17 seasons with the New York Giant ...

. Bowerman was known for having a short fuse, as he repeatedly got into fights with players, umpires, and fans. In one such case in , he punched a heckler in the face and was arrested. He also started a fight with manager

Fred Clarke Fred Clifford Clarke (October 3, 1872 – August 14, 1960) was an American Major League Baseball player from 1894 to and manager from 1897 to 1915. A Hall of Famer, Clarke played for and managed both the Louisville Colonels and Pittsburgh Pirat ...

while with the Pirates and gave him a black eye. The Doves hired him as manager during the season, but his fiery temper did not go well with his team, and he was relegated to player-only status after only 76 games. In 1037 games over 15 seasons, Bowerman posted a .250

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(853-for-3410) with 345 runs, 13

home runs In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team. A home run i ...

, 393 RBI and 81

stolen bases In baseball, a stolen base occurs when a runner advances to a base to which they are not entitled and the official scorer rules that the advance should be credited to the action of the runner. The umpires determine whether the runner is safe or ...

. He finished his career with a .965

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

. Bowerman died in his birthplace of

Romeo, Michigan Romeo is a village in Macomb County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,596 at the 2010 census. The village is situated at the southeast corner of Bruce Township, with a portion extending south into Washington Township. Armad ...

five days shy of his 80th birthday.

External links

The Deadball Era
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowerman, Frank 1868 births 1948 deaths Sportspeople from Metro Detroit Baseball players from Michigan Major League Baseball catchers Baltimore Orioles (NL) players Pittsburgh Pirates players New York Giants (NL) players Boston Doves players Boston Doves managers Major League Baseball player-managers Michigan Wolverines baseball players People from Romeo, Michigan Minor league baseball managers Detroit Creams players Twin Cities Hustlers players Scranton Miners players Norfolk Braves players Indianapolis Indians players Kansas City Blues (baseball) players 19th-century baseball players

See also

External links