Bobo Osborne

Larry Sidney Osborne

• Bats Left, Throws Right
• Height 6' 1", Weight 205 lb.
• High School West Fulton High School
• Debut June 27, 1957
• Final Game September 24, 1963
• Born October 12, 1935 in Chattahoochee, GA USA
• Died April 15, 2011 in Woodstock, GA USA

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Biographical Information

Larry "Bo" Osborne was born on October 12, 1935 in Chattahoochee, GA. He was involved in professional baseball for over 45 years. The sixth of eight kids, Bo was destined to be an athlete. His father, Tiny Osborne, played for the Augusta team in 1919, posting a 8-17 record as a pitcher. Tiny later made it to the major leagues with the Chicago Cubs and Brooklyn Robins before taking a job as a timekeeper and paymaster at a textile mill. Three of Larry's brothers also played professional baseball, although none of the three made it to the major leagues.

Following graduation from West Fulton High School in Atlanta, Georgia in 1953, Larry Osborne signed a professional contract with the Detroit Tigers, turning down a football scholarship to play at Auburn University. His first professional experience started that summer with the Montgomery Grays of the South Atlantic League. He struggled at Montgomery, batting just .187 in 58 games.

After hitting 22 home runs for the Class B Durham Bulls in 1954, Bo was back in the South Atlantic League in 1955, this time with the Augusta Tigers. He showed less home run power but did well by hitting .260 with 11 home runs, while adding 25 stolen bases. Bo led the S.A.L. with 17 triples, 94 RBI and 124 strikeouts. 1955 was also memorable for Osborne, as he married his girlfriend, Sandra, at the rooming house where several of the ballplayers stayed during the season.

Detroit wanted to convert Osborne from a first baseman to a third baseman, so Osborne was once again in Augusta for the 1956 campaign. During the season, Osborne played in a 20-inning marathon game against his former Montgomery team, going 3 for 8 with a double in the contest. It would not be the longest game he played in, however, as he was involved in a 22-inning affair in 1961 as a member of the Detroit Tigers against the New York Yankees. Bo hit .251 with 16 home runs for Augusta in 1956 and was named to the S.A.L. All-Star team.

Following the 1956 season, Osborne remained in Augusta over the winter and managed the apartment complex where he was living. He kept in shape by playing in a recreation basketball league for Hal's Place bar.

Osborne was sent to the AA Birmingham Barons for the 1957 season. While there, Bo continued to wallop pitchers and was leading the Southern League in home runs and runs batted when Detroit's Bill Tuttle was injured. Due to the injury, Osborne was called up to Detroit. In his MLB debut on June 27th, he started in right field against the Washington Senators. He grounded out against Camilo Pascual his first at-bat and finished the day 0 for 3 with a walk and a run. Hitting 5th the next day, he got his first hit, an 8th-inning single off Tom Brewer. His stint in the major leagues was brief, as he appeared in 11 games, batting .148 with a double and an RBI in 27 at-bats. Following Tuttle's return, Osborne was sent to the Class AAA Charleston Senators. His 1957 season ended early after he broke his wrist after being hit by a ball.

After a full recovery, Osborne was back in Charleston for the 1958 season. The Senators took the American Association crown that year, and Osborne led the league with 97 RBI. He received another brief call-up to the big leagues, appearing in 2 games for the Tigers, going hitless in two trips to the plate.

In 1959, Bo made the big league club out of spring training and spent the entire season in the majors. He appeared in 86 games for Detroit, hitting only .191/.254/.278. Of his 40 hits, he amassed 7 doubles, 1 triple, and 3 home runs. He also drove in 21 runs, scored 27 runs, and stole a base. His first homer came against Arnie Portocarrero with Eddie Yost aboard on April 29th.

Osborne was sent to the Denver Bears of the American Association in 1960, where he was once again on a pennant-winner. By going 5 for 7 at the plate in the final two games of the season, Bo beat out future Hall of Famers Carl Yastrzemski and Billy Williams to win the league’s batting championship, at a .342 clip. His 35 home runs and 119 runs batted in were also tops in the American Association, giving Osborne the rare and prestigious Triple Crown. Ab Wright and Ted Williams had been the prior Triple Crown winners in the AA's history.

Bo spent the following two seasons with the Detroit Tigers. In 1961, he hit .215/.354/.355 in 71 games, with 7 doubles, 2 home runs, and 13 RBI. He is the answer to the question "who is the only other major league player who appeared at first base for the 1961 Tigers in the year that Norm Cash hit .361 and slugged .662?" Bobo, although he always had a low batting average, showed moderate power and drew lots of walks. In 1962, he appeared in 64 games, batting .230/.374/.273 with a double and 7 RBI. Both years, he was primarily a pinch-hitter, rarely taking the field.

Following the 1962 season, Bo was sold to the Washington Senators for $25,000 (the B-R trade database says he was sent for Wayne Comer). For the Senators in 1963, Osborne played in 125 games, batting .212/.308/.358 with 76 hits, 14 doubles, 1 triple, and 12 home runs. He also scored 42 runs and drove in 44. He was Washington's most-used first baseman, splitting time with Dick Phillips. It was to be his final season in the major leagues.

In 1964, the Senators sent Bo to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League. During the season he was loaned out to the Atlanta Crackers, also of the I.L. The Crackers were affiliated with the Minnesota Twins. During the winter of 1964, Osborne was traded to the Twins for pitcher Don Williams and infielder Jim Snyder.

Osborne spent the next three seasons with Denver of the I.L. before joining the Kansas City A's organization. In 1968, he began scouting and also managed the A’s New York-Penn League team in Corning, NY, going 27-49 for a 8th-place finish with the Corning Royals. During the winter, he served Kansas City as a coach in its instructional league.

In 1969, Bo was a player/coach for the Omaha Royals under the management of future big league skipper Jack McKeon. He was used mainly as a designated hitter, but also saw time at first and third base. Osborne achieved another league championship that season.

Overall, Osborne had hit .206/.304/.317 for a 70 OPS+ in 882 major league plate appearances, spread out over 359 games. He had 30 doubles, 17 home runs, 93 runs and 86 RBI. He fielded .987 in 159 games at 1B and .894 in 37 games at 3B, also seeing a little action in RF and at C. He hit 190 homers in the minors.

Osborne turned to scouting full time for Kansas City in 1970. Over the next six years he scouted for the A’s, Boston Red Sox, Montreal Expos and Twins. In 1976, he took a position as a crosschecker for the Major League Baseball Scouting Bureau. This organization supplies teams with a variety of information, including background and scouting reports of players and teams. Bo remained in the Bureau for 17 years before taking another scouting job with the San Francisco Giants.

Bo and his wife Sandra were married for more than 45 years and had three children: Larry Sidney (Sid), Jr., Tim, and Kim. Sid played collegiate ball at Davidson College, while Tim Osborne played at Georgia State University before taking a job with the Major League Scouting Bureau like his father.

Larry Sidney "Bo" (or "Bobo") Osborne passed away in Woodstock, Georgia on April 15, 2011. He was 78 years old.