Bob Bowman (bowmabo01)

Robert James Bowman

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 10½", Weight 160 lb.
• High School Elkhorn District High School
• Debut April 21, 1939
• Final Game May 25, 1942
• Born October 3, 1910 in Keystone, WV USA
• Died September 4, 1972 in Bluefield, WV USA

BR page

Biographical Information

West Virginia native Bob Bowman spent seventeen active seasons in professional baseball from 1929 to 1954. He spent the tail end of the 1929 season with the Class D Goldsboro Goldbugs at 18, appearing in 4 games with a 1-3 record. He did not take the mound again in the pros until five years later, at age 23, with the Mt. Airy Graniteers, going 7-9 in 28 games, and left the scene again until 1938, now 27, when he settled in going 11-7 with a 3.11 ERA for the Rochester Red Wings of the International League.

Bowman's good effort in 1938 got him a shot at the major leagues and he spent the next two seasons with the St. Louis Cardinals, going 13-5 in 1939 and 7-5 in 1940. Bowman was then purchased by the New York Giants on December 5, 1940. The Giants kept him for the 1941 season, but he fell to a 6-7 record. Bob was traded to the Chicago Cubs for Hank Leiber on December 3, 1941, and made one appearance for the Cubs in 1942. He ultimately ended his major league career on May 5th with a 26-17 record and 3.82 ERA in 109 games.

Bowman dropped back into the minors, finishing the 1942 season with the Nashville Volunteers and the Toronto Maple Leafs in a split-season affair with a composite 8-2 record in 31 games. He spent until 1954 down on the farm and put together four double-digit winning seasons, going 18-10 in 1946, 17-4 in 1947, 14-3 in 1949 and 17-6 in 1951. Bob finished his minor league career in 1954 at the age of 43 with the Fargo-Moorhead Twins of the Class C Northern League. In the minors he was 125-63 (.665) in 374 games. Bowman also acted as player-manager for the Jenkins Cavaliers of the Class D Mountain States League in 1950 and the Norton Braves of the Class D Mountain States League in 1951.

After baseball, Bowman worked twelve years for the Fort Lauderdale recreation department. He died after a brief illness on September 4, 1972, in Bluefield, WV at 61.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Playoffs	Notes
1950	Jenkins Cavaliers	Mountain States League		--	--	replaced by Wayne Stewart

Related Sites

• Bob Bowman at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Minors page