Larry Gowell, Last Pitcher To Get a Hit Before DH Rule, Passes Away at 72

Former New York Yankees pitcher Larry Gowell, the last pitcher to collect a base hit before the installation of the DH rule in 1973, has passed away at age 72.

A former 4th-round selection by the Yankees in 1967 out of Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine, Gowell made his ML debut on September 21st, 1972, pitching two perfect innings and striking out one batter. Nearly two weeks later on October 4th, in the final game of the season, Gowell started against the Milwaukee Brewers, his only ML start and final ML appearance. He went five innings while allowing one run on three hits, walking two and striking out six in the 1-0 loss. He also collected his first and only ML hit, a double, on a 3-2 fastball from Brewers pitcher Jim Lonberg in the bottom of the third inning.

It would be the final base hit for a pitcher in the American League before the Yankees and Ron Blomberg kicked off the era of the designated hitter in 1973. That ball was sent to the Baseball Hall of Fame, where it remains today.

Gowell actually became just as well known for his singing, years after his last professional game. In fact, another dream was realized when he sang the National Anthem at Fenway Park before the Red Sox faced the Orioles on July 6th, 2014, rendering a deeply-emotional performance in front of 35,811 fans. (Gowell appears in the video at the 16:00 mark.) He even maintained a YouTube channel, showcasing his renditions of "You'll Never Walk Alone", "Fascination", and "I Left My Heart in San Francisco", among other selections.

Gowell was very fond of chatting with fans on Facebook, and would readily share stories about his playing career, as well as his post-baseball pursuits. In my exchanges with him, I recall a man who was very grateful of his role in baseball history, and as someone who pursued his off-field interests with every bit of the fire and determination that he took with him onto the mound.

Even though we were barely acquaintances on a personal level, I will miss him.

I had the opportunity to speak with him for an interview in October of 2017, and he shared with me the story of a full, rewarding life. Originally on SB Nation's Minor League Ball (now defunct), here is part one of that interview. I hope you enjoy it, as much as I did when I wrote it.

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When Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Archie Bradley became the first reliever to hit a triple in the postseason, it blew a lot of us out of our ratty, Cheetos-infested recliners.

Madison Bumgarner raked, this year. Clayton Kershaw had his moments with the stick. Luis Perdomo hit four triples and a double (and that's all) this year, for crying out loud. But they were all NL pitchers; they were at least used to taking their turn in the batting order.

Before the advent of inter-league play, the American League enjoyed the advantage of having a DH in the lineup, every regular-season game of every year since 1973. Ron Blomberg was the first DH to take a turn at bat in the regular season when, on April 6^th, 1973, he stepped in against the Red Sox starter Luis Tiant. Ironically, the “designated hitter” walked, though with the bases loaded. The bat he carried to the plate in that plate appearance is now enshrined in the Hall Of Fame.

But that train of thought eventually led me to this question: who was the last AL pitcher to record a hit in a regular-season game before the DH was instituted?

Some of you already know the answer to this trivia question: on October 4^th, 1972, it would be another Yankee who would make his mark in history when rookie right-hander Larry Gowell, facing Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Jim Lonborg, stung a 3-2 fastball down the left-field line for a double. Interestingly enough, it was both his first and last ML hit, as well as the final regular-season hit by an American League pitcher until we were blessed (ahem!) with interleague play.

As it turns out, there's a lot more to his story than just one hit. I recently had a chance to sit down with Mr. Gowell, who spoke with me at length about his childhood, his early baseball years, his experiences in minor-league baseball, and his post-baseball experiences. (This is Part One of a two-part article.)

Clinton Riddle: So you were drafted right out of high school, in the 4^th round, by the Yankees. Growing up in the Auburn, Maine area, did you have expectations about what you wanted to do when you grew up? Did you always want to play baseball, or did you have a different idea as to what you wanted from life?

Larry Gowell: I really had no idea what I wanted to do growing up. I had great passion for sports and music. The sports took over my life at an early age.

My father, Lawrence Gowell Sr. was a big baseball player for his high school, playing second base and pitching. He was a baseball fanatic and got both my brother and me into organized ball at age five. From a very early age, all I wanted to do was play baseball as much as possible. I remember playing on four teams: the Police Athletic League, Colt League, Legion Baseball and a softball team to boot. At about 12 years old I started pitching after showing a great arm from center field. The coaches could see I had great potential and I had my chance to pitch a lot in those early years. My brother, Richard was also a great player, but hurt his arm at 13 throwing too many curveballs.

Having a brother to play with and pitch to every other day helped a lot. Set up a pitcher's mound in the back yard and worked on our curveballs, changeups and fastballs. So, I really did not have any other direction in my life. I played no other sports in high school. So, the bottom line is I did not have any other plans in life or a desire to go on to college, because I really did not like going to school. Being signed as a 4th round draft pick, the 61st player in the nation, was a really big deal coming from our area of the country. It was a great honor to be picked.

At my high school graduation the school gave me a made-up contract sent from the Yankees to recognize me at the graduation. That meant more to me than the diploma. So, the Yankees gave me the chance of a lifetime and without that chance I would have been working next to my father in the shoe shop.

CR: Tell me a bit about the town in which you grew up.

LG: The city of Auburn is about 30,000 people. We call our area L/A area. That stands for the L/A of the northeast, since Lewiston is across the river. They have about 25,000 in Lewiston. It was a mill town in those early years, shoe factories. A lot of blue-collar labor was needed to keep things going. A very friendly town and people, and they would really get behind you. Great sports and arts area. A lot of sports and music. My whole family played music; my brother was a songwriter, singer and guitar player and I was a trumpet and organ player and sang in the choir. I've been a professional singer for more than nine years now.

I was going to a Seventh day Adventist private school where I sang in the choir and played in the band. They had no sports programs of which to speak. I was told by people that I had to go to public high school to been seen. So, I switched to Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine. It had a very good baseball team and its history was great. We had the late Artie Belivieu, who was a Bates College graduate. He was a very good coach that happened to be a huge Yankees fan. So, in my first year I did not pitch that much as I was a new young buck on the team. I went 3-0. I was wild that first year. I threw very hard but walked a few too many. I still won all my games. After having a great Legion baseball year I was a front-runner, pitching my team to a 6-0 season, breaking some strikeout records and pitching some close no-hitters. During the summer of my junior year was when I made my mark as a major prospect. Our New Auburn Legion team, under Jim Bouchles, went for the Maine State Championship in Augusta. Since I did not pitch on Friday night and Saturday, I started the first game on Friday and pitched a 1 hit shutout. With one day rest on Saturday, I pitched on Sunday and pitched a no-hitter. That was 18 innings, with one hit, against the best in Maine. 

We had nine scouts at the game, and on that day I was on the radar of many teams. So, now comes my senior year with scouts showing up like Frank Malzone for the Red Sox, the Cubs and Phillies scouts, and on and on. In my last season I was 7-0 with several one-hitters. I also was a great hitter in high school and hit .390 or so over my three years. I had the home run record (14) over three years until the metal bats came out and they broke it. Now, one of the later games of the year my coach got the big scouts from the Yankees in to see me pitch against our rival, Lewiston High. 

Pat Cogan showed up to see me pitch for the first time just before the draft. In that game, I was throwing bullets. I knew he was sitting right behind the cage. I struck out 19 out of 19 hitters, then several tried to bunt on me and got some bunts down but we got them out. I ended up with 22 strikeouts, 3 walks and my first no-hitter in high school. It was the best I had ever thrown and the scout was all smiles, talking with me and my father. At that point my value went way up. I was not going to be a fourth round pick before that game. 

The Cubs were the other team most interested in me, along with many others. Since my coach was a huge Yankees fan and he got the big scouts to come to what was the very best game of my life, I ended up picked 61st out of the whole nation. I was told many years later by some scouts that the 1967 draft was the most talented group of players in the history of baseball. So, my competition way very high. Yes, I was undefeated and had the home run record for the school in 1967.

CR: The Yankees signed you in '67, and sent you to Oneonta. What was it like adjusting to your first year in pro ball? Are there any experiences that stand out from that season?

LG: My father was a tough negotiator. We worked the Yankees hard to get a $20,000 bonus and he got my brother signed with me to watch over me my first year. My brother's name is Richard. He was on the bench, but did get up a few times and then they released him. Yeah, we had the fiery Frank Verdi, a little like Billy Martin. A great guy. I went 3-0 my first year.

I was in awe of the players. Many of them from major universities like Florida State, Arizona Stare, Clemson and so on. You say to yourself, “I have to be better than these big college players to get noticed?” It is overwhelming when you talk to a pitcher from Florida State who went 10 and 2 for Division I! I just came from a small school in Maine.

Anyhow, I did have a lot of pride in myself and I was told by Verdi that they all put their pants on the same way. “You are here because you have great talent, or we would not have taken you in the 4th round,” he told me. “We have faith in your abilities, so just go out and do your best.” Well, I did, with a 3-0 season after coming to the team in late-middle July because of a late signing.

The town of Oneonta is a great town, and the people really took you in like family. The one experience I had was on one night when I was throwing really hard. My brother was in the dugout looking in, and I threw a pitch and several people said they never saw it come out of my hand.

They just heard it hit the mitt.

(Stay tuned for Part Two, as Gowell speaks about friends he made as a minor-league newbie, how control issues led to a change in his delivery that led to his ML call-up, and his moment in history after less than two weeks in the bigs.)

On This Day-May 1st, 1920-Oeschger, Cadore Duel in 26-Inning Marathon

Better late than never...

PLACE: Braves Field; Boston, MA
EVENT: Oeschger, Cadore Set Record For Longest Single Game, Most Innings Pitched

The first day of May marked the one-hundred-year anniversary of what was arguably one of the greatest pitching performances of the 20th century. In a game that would stagger the imagination of the average baseball fan, the Brooklyn Robins faced off against the Boston Braves on May 1st, 1920, in a game that...just...kept...on...going.

Boston RHP Joe Oeschger took the mound against Brooklyn righty Leon Cadore, and each pitcher went the distance in a twenty-six-inning marathon that ended in a 1-1 tie.

Twenty-six. Think about that. One inning less than three standard complete games. And it lasted three hours and fifty minutes.

Around 4,000 fans (the Brooklyn Daily Eagle estimated the crowd at 2,500; Baseball-Reference says 4,500) turned out on a cloudy, damp day to see the match-up, and it was posited by Boston Globe sportswriter James O'Leary that “every one of the 4,000 remained to the end. They saw the most wonderful pitching stunt ever performed, and some classy playing in thrilling situations, such as one sees only once in a lifetime.” Here's the rundown:

-Oeschger allowed only nine hits and four walks, striking out seven, while Cadore gave up fifteen hits and five walks, while striking out seven batters as well.

-A total of 186 batters came to the plate. Neither pitcher hit a batter or committed a balk, and only one wild pitch was thrown (by Oeschger).

-Fifteen batters between the two teams made ten or more plate appearances. Braves 2B Charlie Pick went 0-11 (that has to be a record, right?)

-Oeschger finished the game with nine no-hit innings. So he pitched the equivalent of a standard-length no-hitter at the end of a 26-inning performance.

-Brooklyn scored their only run in the top of the fifth. Oeschger kept them scoreless for the next 21 innings. Cadore put up 20 goose eggs against Boston.

While Oeschger said that “I won't say I wasn't a little tired” at the end of the game, Cadore said he felt this game affected him over the remainder of his career.

With the game closing in on the four-hour mark, as well as lingering cloud cover and fading sunlight, home plate umpire Barry McCormick erred on the side of caution and called an end to this seemingly-endless battle. According to news reports of the time, most of the crowd stayed through the entire game.

From The Brooklyn Daily Eagle; May 2nd, 1920:

The laws of the time in many cities in the US prohibited baseball on Sunday, as it was the Sabbath (for Christians, anyway), and thus was considered a day of rest. This was one of several activities disallowed on Sunday, and it fell under the “blue law” statutes. As a primer on the subject, and a very good one, Bob Warrington wrote a very nice article on the legal battles for and against Sunday baseball in Philadelphia. There would be no continuation of the game the next day, since they played on Saturday. Brooklyn had to hop a train and head straight back home, in any case.

On top of this Herculean labor, the Robins returned home by train to lose to the Phillies 4-3, in a game that went thirteen innings. Then they had to come back to Boston to play the Braves, once more. On May 3rd, Boston beat the Robins, 2-1, in another marathon game that went nineteen innings.

Three days. Fifty-eight innings. No wins for Brooklyn. It sounds insane, but once again, both Brooklyn and Boston starters went the distance on May 3rd. LHP Sherry Smith allowed only two runs on thirteen hits in 18 1/3 innings, walking five and striking out three, while RHP Dana Fillingim gave up one run on twelve hits in 19 innings, walking four and striking out four. Of note: Fillingim went 12-21 with a 3.11 ERA in 1920 (ERA+ 97), then 15-10 with a 3.45 ERA in 1921 (ERA+ 105) in one of his best seasons in the majors, but was only 7-18 with a 5.06 ERA over the rest of the short remainder of his ML career.

Smith put up an 11-9 record in 1920 (33 games, 13 starts, 16 closing appearances) with a sparkling 1.85 ERA (ERA+ 173), and was slightly better than average over the rest of his career (56-67, 3.92 ERA, ERA+ 107).

Still, neither of these pitchers are names which will come to mind, for most fans of the game's history. But the nature of the game being what it is, anything can happen on the field. Had the Smith-Fillingim game happened earlier or perhaps even later in the year, it may not have been overshadowed by the Oeschger-Cadore history-making performance.

Lawrence “Scoop” Beal of The Times-Standard interviewed Oeschger on the 50th anniversary of this game in 1970. Oeschger was, at the time, a retired high-school teacher living in Ferndale, California, near Centerville Beach, on a road that bore his name. Indeed, in 1977, Joseph C. Oeschger Field was dedicated in his honor in Ferndale. He would throw out the first pitch of the Giants-Braves game on May 29th; that game went extra innings, with San Francisco pulling out the 3-2 win.

Many of his five siblings (three brothers, two sisters) lived nearby. At the time of his interview, his mother had only recently celebrated her 100th birthday.

As he tells it, there were around 2,000 fans at the game initially, then as the game progressed:

“...the word got around town on what was happening and more fans began showing up. At the end, the ballpark was two-thirds full.”

From The Times-Standard; May 1st, 1970:



He had a so-so 15-13 record in 1920, with a 3.46 ERA (ERA+ 87) for a Braves team that won only 62 games. He had his only twenty-win season the following year (20-14, 3.52 ERA, ERA+ 103), as Boston finished 79-74, good for fourth place in the NL. He spent the remainder of his career with the Giants, Phillies, and Robins, but faded fast (16-45 in 140 games, 5.14 ERA). All in all, a twelve-year ML career is impressive, in its own right.

Oeschger was still getting the occasional fan letter because of that game. He often sent back mimeographed copies of the box score, autographed at the bottom. (ed. Note: I have one of my own.) He would pass away on July 28th, 1986, in Rohnert Park, California, after a heart attack. He was 94 years old.

Cadore became a salesman and went through tremendous ups and downs, after baseball, but was able to regain stability in his personal and professional life by the 1950's. He passed away on March 16th, 1958, in Spokane, Washington, of stomach cancer. In Fred Lieb's obituary for Cadore in The Sporting News, he mentioned an exchange between Cadore and one of the VA nurses during his hospital stay. She reportedly told him that she didn't care much for baseball. He replied, “I don't care much for hospitals, either.” He was 66 years old.

On This Day-April 26th, 1912-First Homer Hit Over The Green Monster

PLACE: Fenway Park; Boston, MA

EVENT: First Home Run Over The Green Monster 

Fenway Park opened in 1912, and the massive rampart in left field probably seemed insurmountable to most hitters of the time. As it turns out, it didn't take long for someone to break the mystique of the Green Monster. 

The Boston Globe's illustration, accompanying the
A's-Red Sox recap. These old illustrations are just the best. 

With the Philadelphia Athletics visiting Boston at The Fens on April 26^th, bench player Hugh Bradley hit a blast over the wall with two on and two out in the seventh inning in a 7-6 Red Sox win. Bradley was getting a rare start that day, taking the place of first baseman Jake Stahl, who was out of the lineup with an upper respiratory infection. Bradley would only play 40 games that season. 

It was also his only homer of the year, and one of only two for his career (277 games, 913 AB). 

Bradley went 2-4 with a double in the first, as well as the aforementioned homer in the seventh, driving in four runs and scoring two. He also made a notable play when he sprinted between RHP Hugh Bedient and 2B Steve Yerkes to snag a pop-up off the bat of A's LF Amos Strunk in the ninth inning, taking away the last chance for the A's to put the potential tying run on base. 

From The Boston Globe; April 27^th, 1912:

From The Philadelphia Inquirer; April 27^th, 1912: 

On This Day-April 24th, 1917-First No-Hitter in Yankees' History

Place: Fenway Park; Boston, MA

Event: Mogridge Out-duels Leonard for First No-Hitter in Yankees' History

LHP George Mogridge took the mound against fellow lefty Dutch Leonard on a Tuesday afternoon at Fenway Park and pitched what surely had to be the game of his life, shutting down the Yankees in a 2-1 no-hitter. It was the first-ever no-hitter by a Yankees' pitcher, as well as the first pitched at Fenway.

Mogridge allowed only four balls to be hit beyond the infield, the only Boston run coming in the seventh inning on a combination of a walk to Boston second baseman Jack Barry, a bad throw to SS Roger Peckinpaugh from 2B Fritz Maisel in an effort to start the double play, an intentional walk to OF Tillie Walker, and finally a sacrifice fly from the bat of PH Jimmy Walsh.

Indeed, the Yankees themselves went into the sixth inning with only one hit, and scored their first run of the day on a two-out double off the bat of Angel Aragon, who would play only 15 games in 1917. Aragon had two RBI in 45 AB, that year.

Peckinpaugh reached on a miscue in the top of the ninth by Boston third baseman Mike McNally, who entered to play the hot corner after Walsh's pinch-hit appearance. Boston catcher Hick Cady threw the ball past shortstop Everett Scott when Peckinpaugh stole second (advancing to third on the throw), and McNally made a low throw to first off a grounder from Les Nunamaker that Del Gainer had to dig out of the dirt, allowing Peckinpaugh to score.

Boston and New York made seven errors between them, three by the Yankees (two by Maisel).

Mogridge walked three and struck out three in winning his second game of the year.

From The New York Times; April 25^th, 1917: 

On This Day-April 22nd, 1876-First National League Game Played

Place: Jefferson Street Grounds; Philadelphia, PA

Event: First Game in National League History

Approximately 3,000 fans show up for what turned out to be the very first National League game, after the weather led to rain-outs elsewhere. The Boston Red Stockings (later to become the Atlanta Braves) beat the Philadelphia Athletic Base Ball Club (the future Philadelphia Athletics) by a score of 6-5.

Jefferson Street Grounds had been home to differing versions of ball since 1864, but was only established for use by professional teams in 1871, when the Philadelphia Athletics of the National Association played there. The Athletics won the NA pennant that same year, and would join the newly-formed NL in '76. Poor performance in the inaugural year, as well as their refusal to make Western road trips (in this case, “West” meant Louisville, Cincinnati, and St Louis), led to their expulsion from the NL at the end of their first year.

Former Cincinnati Red Stockings SS George Wright was the first batter. He and Boston entrepreneur Henry Ditson formed Wright and Ditson Sporting Goods in 1871. Interestingly, the first run was scored not on a hit, but on an errant throw by Philadelphia third baseman Ezra Sutton, though the two teams combined for twenty-six errors. This wasn't all that uncommon in the early days of the game, as field conditions were often less than ideal.

The winning pitcher, righty Joe Josephs, was playing under an alias that day; his real name was Joe Borden, and he had tossed a no-hitter in the National Association for Philadelphia against Chicago on July 28^th, 1875. “Joe Josephs” was one of several aliases that Borden was known to use. He was sometimes referred to in contemporary newspapers as “Josephus the Phenomenal”, though his career, while solid, would be over soon after.

The honor of the first hit in NL history went to CF Jim O'Rourke, the only player on either roster to appear as an active player in the 20^th century. “Orator Jim”, as he was sometimes called, was much more than a baseball player. He graduated from Yale Law School in 1887, and was a practicing lawyer between seasons. At a time when the average ballplayer was seen as unrefined, ignorant, and boorish, O'Rourke stood out as articulate and erudite. Though he certainly didn't need to rely on baseball to earn a living, it seems he had a hard time removing himself from the game, permanently. Even after retiring as a major-league player in 1893, he would remain in the minors for years to come.

From The Times (Philadelphia, PA); April 24^th, 1876: