Denver baseball memories: Art Fowler died Monday

denverbearsfan · February 1st, 2007, 10:37 PM

Longtime Denver baseball fans may remember Art Fowler, a pitching coach with the Denver Bears in the 60's. He died Monday - read about Art here:

A Lifetime of Art | GoUpstate.com | Spartanburg, S.C.

I remember going to Bears games as a kid in the 60's. Art Fowler was the pitching coach who came out of retirement to pitch again when the pitching staff had some injuries (kindof like baseball's version of George Blanda - the above article says Fowler's record one season with the Bears was "9-5 with 15 saves and a 1.59 ERA … at age 48"). Guess pitching at altitude didn't bother Art. After his minor league stint in Denver Fowler became a successful major league pitching coach.

Billy Martin, before he became a big league manager, had his first managing job in Denver. In his partial year in Denver Martin turned around an average Bears team into a contender with Fowler as his pitching coach.

As a 12 year old I wondered how a mediocre minor league team with the same players could turn into a powerhouse just with a change of manager. I wonder how much better the Rockies would be this year if they had Martin and Fowler in the dugout.

BigRapidsJackass · February 2nd, 2007, 08:16 PM

Thanks. Nice memories, Bearsfan.

I never knew about Fowler's age 48 comeback. That's a great story.

February 1st, 2007, 10:37 PM	#1 (permalink)
denverbearsfan Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 17	Denver baseball memories: Art Fowler died Monday Longtime Denver baseball fans may remember Art Fowler, a pitching coach with the Denver Bears in the 60's. He died Monday - read about Art here: A Lifetime of Art \| GoUpstate.com \| Spartanburg, S.C. I remember going to Bears games as a kid in the 60's. Art Fowler was the pitching coach who came out of retirement to pitch again when the pitching staff had some injuries (kindof like baseball's version of George Blanda - the above article says Fowler's record one season with the Bears was "9-5 with 15 saves and a 1.59 ERA … at age 48"). Guess pitching at altitude didn't bother Art. After his minor league stint in Denver Fowler became a successful major league pitching coach. Billy Martin, before he became a big league manager, had his first managing job in Denver. In his partial year in Denver Martin turned around an average Bears team into a contender with Fowler as his pitching coach. As a 12 year old I wondered how a mediocre minor league team with the same players could turn into a powerhouse just with a change of manager. I wonder how much better the Rockies would be this year if they had Martin and Fowler in the dugout.

February 2nd, 2007, 08:16 PM	#2 (permalink)
BigRapidsJackass Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 1,175	Thanks. Nice memories, Bearsfan. I never knew about Fowler's age 48 comeback. That's a great story.