Larry Bowa---1975
Scout Tales....
For Phillies fans in the 1970s and
early ‘80s, they share a memory of a
feisty infielder who helped lead their
team to the 1980 World Series. For
former Phillies scout Eddie Bockman,
it is a remembrance of a shortstop he
secretly signed in 1965. Lawrence
Robert Bowa.
“For an infielder, he had the quickest
hands and feet of any kid that I had
run into,” noted Bockman of the wiry
young man out of Sacramento City
College. “He did everything quick. He
walked fast, he ate fast, he did
everything fast.”
He even signed fast, however
unintentional that may have been. At
the urging of part-time scout Bill
Avila, Bowa attended a tryout camp
run by Bockman in the early fall of
1965. The scout liked what he saw
and arranged for Bowa to join his fall
scout team. Watching him regularly,
Bockman warmed up to the physically
weak, yet feisty shortstop.
Early October came and with it, the
World Series that featured the
Minnesota Twins and the Los
Angeles Dodgers. Then-Phillies
general manager Paul Owens invited
Bockman down to Los Angeles for
the Series games, but the veteran
scout was reluctant.
“I was scared to leave him (Bowa)
alone, that someone would come and
sign Larry while I was in Los
Angeles,” recounted Bockman. “So
before I got to L.A., I decided that I
needed to go sign him.”
Without the required permission from
the Philadelphia offices, Bockman
negotiated a deal with a $2,000
signing bonus for Bowa to join the
Phillies’ organization the following
Spring Training. The one thing the
scout didn’t do was put a date on the
contract, a detail that the Bowa family
failed to notice in all of the excitement
of the 30-minute signing. With the
contract in his back pocket and an
8mm film of his newly signed
shortstop, Bockman traveled to Los
Angeles to watch the series, but
more importantly, to sell Owens on
the player he secretly signed.
In the privacy of the GM’s room at the
Ambassador Hotel, Bockman located
a projector and with a bed sheet as a
screen, the two baseball men
watched their future five-time All-star
shortstop. Owens liked what he saw
and gave Bockman permission to
sign Bowa for no more than $2,000.
With that, Bockman relaxed and
enjoyed the World Series, secure in
the knowledge that he had his player.
Upon returning home, Bockman
dated the contract and with tongue in
cheek made the call to Owens with
the word that the deal was done.
Bowa went on to spend four years in
the minors before embarking on a 16-
year major league career. All totaled,
Bowa played 2,274 games, finished
with a .260 average, a .980 fielding
percentage and won two Gold Gloves.
While the first Major League Free
Agent Draft held in 1965 featured
Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and
Nolan Ryan; the little shortstop that
everyone passed on went on to a
marvelous career… thanks to Eddie
Bockman.
(6/4/08)
For Phillies fans in the 1970s and
early ‘80s, they share a memory of a
feisty infielder who helped lead their
team to the 1980 World Series. For
former Phillies scout Eddie Bockman,
it is a remembrance of a shortstop he
secretly signed in 1965. Lawrence
Robert Bowa.
“For an infielder, he had the quickest
hands and feet of any kid that I had
run into,” noted Bockman of the wiry
young man out of Sacramento City
College. “He did everything quick. He
walked fast, he ate fast, he did
everything fast.”
He even signed fast, however
unintentional that may have been. At
the urging of part-time scout Bill
Avila, Bowa attended a tryout camp
run by Bockman in the early fall of
1965. The scout liked what he saw
and arranged for Bowa to join his fall
scout team. Watching him regularly,
Bockman warmed up to the physically
weak, yet feisty shortstop.
Early October came and with it, the
World Series that featured the
Minnesota Twins and the Los
Angeles Dodgers. Then-Phillies
general manager Paul Owens invited
Bockman down to Los Angeles for
the Series games, but the veteran
scout was reluctant.
“I was scared to leave him (Bowa)
alone, that someone would come and
sign Larry while I was in Los
Angeles,” recounted Bockman. “So
before I got to L.A., I decided that I
needed to go sign him.”
Without the required permission from
the Philadelphia offices, Bockman
negotiated a deal with a $2,000
signing bonus for Bowa to join the
Phillies’ organization the following
Spring Training. The one thing the
scout didn’t do was put a date on the
contract, a detail that the Bowa family
failed to notice in all of the excitement
of the 30-minute signing. With the
contract in his back pocket and an
8mm film of his newly signed
shortstop, Bockman traveled to Los
Angeles to watch the series, but
more importantly, to sell Owens on
the player he secretly signed.
In the privacy of the GM’s room at the
Ambassador Hotel, Bockman located
a projector and with a bed sheet as a
screen, the two baseball men
watched their future five-time All-star
shortstop. Owens liked what he saw
and gave Bockman permission to
sign Bowa for no more than $2,000.
With that, Bockman relaxed and
enjoyed the World Series, secure in
the knowledge that he had his player.
Upon returning home, Bockman
dated the contract and with tongue in
cheek made the call to Owens with
the word that the deal was done.
Bowa went on to spend four years in
the minors before embarking on a 16-
year major league career. All totaled,
Bowa played 2,274 games, finished
with a .260 average, a .980 fielding
percentage and won two Gold Gloves.
While the first Major League Free
Agent Draft held in 1965 featured
Hall of Famers Johnny Bench and
Nolan Ryan; the little shortstop that
everyone passed on went on to a
marvelous career… thanks to Eddie
Bockman.
(6/4/08)
