Dick Fowler

Richard John Fowler

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4½", Weight 215 lb.

• Debut September 13, 1941
• Final Game September 1, 1952
• Born March 30, 1921 in Toronto, ON CAN
• Died May 22, 1972 in Oneonta, NY USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Before the 1940 season Dick Fowler was obtained by the Philadelphia Athletics from the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League as part of a minor league working agreement. The Athletics assigned him to the class C Oneonta Indians of the Canadian-American League where he went 16-10 with a 3.57 ERA. The Canadian born righthander was with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1941, went 10-10 with a 3.30 ERA and got called up to the Athletics late in the year, appearing in four games with a 1-2 record.

Dick was with the Athletics in 1942 and had an impressive outing against the St. Louis Browns before entering the Army when he threw 15 scoreless innings before losing 1-0 in the 16th. He went 6-11 with a 4.95 ERA that year.

He was then inducted into the Canadian Army in January of 1943 and was discharged in August of 1945. One of the first things the 6'5" hurler did on his return from the service was to become the first Canadian-born pitcher to throw a no-hitter in the majors. He did it on September 9, 1945, against the St. Louis Browns. It was also the only time in big league history that a pitcher's only victory in a season was a no-hitter as he finished 1-2. The no-hitter was also the first in the American League in five years since Bob Feller's on Opening Day in 1940. One other note about Fowler's gem is that he wasn't on the mound at the end of the game, which was played at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia, PA in one hour and fifteen minutes. The game had remained scoreless until the A's scored in the bottom of the 9th. He was the first Canadian pitcher to throw a no-hitter, and there would not be a second until James Paxton turned the feat on May 8, 2018 - on Canadian soil no less.

A stalwart in the Philadelphia Athletics' rotation in the post-war era, he and Joe Coleman Sr. stopped the New York Yankees cold in a Memorial Day doubleheader in 1947 with back-to-back shutouts. The big Canadian, who won a career-high 15 games in both 1948 and 1949, closed out his 10-year major league stay, all with the A's, in 1952 with a 66-79 record and a 4.11 ERA.

Fowler died May 22, 1972 at age 51 in Oneonta, NY, where he had been employed as a hotel clerk. His grandson, Khalid Ballouli, played professionally until 2006.

Notable Achievements

• 15 Wins Seasons: 2 (1948 & 1949)
• 200 Innings Pitched Seasons: 4 (1946-1949)

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page

Further Reading

• Gary Belleville: "Dick Fowler," SABR Baseball Biography Project.
• Gary Belleville: "September 9, 1945: Dick Fowler becomes first Canadian to toss a major-league no-hitter," SABR Baseball Games Project.
• Gary Belleville: "August 17, 1947: Canadian pitchers Fowler, Marchildon win both ends of doubleheader for Philadelphia A’s," SABR Baseball Games Project.

Related Sites

• Dick Fowler at the SABR Bio Project
• Story on Fowler's no-hitter