:Larry Gowell
{{Short description|American baseball player (1948–2020)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Larry Gowell
|position=Pitcher
|image=
|caption=
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date={{Birth date|1948|5|2}}
|birth_place=Lewiston, Maine
|death_date= {{death date and age|2020|5|11|1948|5|2}}
|death_place=Auburn, Maine
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=September 21
|debutyear=1972
|debutteam=New York Yankees
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=October 4
|finalyear=1972
|finalteam=New York Yankees
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=Win–loss record
|stat1value=0–1
|stat2label=Earned run average
|stat2value=1.29
|stat3label=Innings pitched
|stat3value=7
|stat4label=Strikeouts
|stat4value=7
|teams=
- New York Yankees ({{mlby|1972}})
}}
Lawrence Clyde Gowell (May 2, 1948 – May 11, 2020) was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher who played in two games for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball in {{Baseball year|1972}}.
Gowell was drafted by the Yankees in the fourth round of the 1967 Major League Baseball draft on June 6, 1967. After winning every game he appeared in at Edward Little High School in Auburn, Maine,{{cite web |title=Baseball biography of Larry Gowell and part of the Yankees history |url=http://www.footopedics.com/yankees.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080807164617/http://www.footopedics.com/yankees.html |archive-date=2008-08-07 |website=www.footopedics.com}} he was signed by the Yankees to a professional contract. He pitched in the minor leagues for six years before making his major league debut, after winning 11 games in a row in Double-A. Gowell was listed at {{convert|6|ft|2|in}} tall and {{convert|182|lb}}.
Major league career
The Yankees called up Gowell from their minor league organization in 1972 to play as a September call-up. Gowell made his major league debut on September 21 against the Milwaukee Brewers.{{cite web |date=September 21, 1972 |title=The New York Yankees against the Milwaukee Brewers on September 21, 1972 |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/MIL/MIL197209210.shtml |accessdate=2008-08-08 |website=Baseball-Reference.com}} The game was held at County Stadium, with 4,185 people attending the game. After Rusty Torres pinch hit for Fred Beene in the sixth inning, Gowell came in to replace Beene on the mound in the bottom of the sixth. He pitched two innings with one strikeout before Felipe Alou was called on to pinch-hit for him in the top of the eighth inning. The Yankees lost the game 6-4. On October 4, as a starting pitcher (again facing Milwaukee) Gowell hit a double on a 3–2 count, hitting a fastball by pitcher Jim Lonborg for his first and only Major League hit and the last hit by a pitcher in a regular season American League game before the start of the designated hitter rule.{{Cite web |title=Famous Firsts in the Expansion Era of Major League Baseball |url=https://www.baseball-almanac.com/firsts/first5.shtml |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Baseball Almanac}} The baseball that Gowell hit now resides in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, in Cooperstown, New York. Although Gowell allowed only one run during that game, the Yankees lost 1–0. It was Gowell's only MLB decision.
Personal life and death
Gowell played in the minor leagues until 1975, when he then retired to become a life insurance agent, which he did for 35 years. He also spent time with his other passion in music, playing the horn and piano.{{Cite web |last=Orso |first=Matthew |date=2020-03-28 |title=Yankees Interview with Larry Gowell: The last AL pitcher to record a hit before the DH |url=https://yanksgoyard.com/2020/03/28/yankees-interview-larry-gowell/ |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Yanks Go Yard |language=en-us}}{{Cite web |last=Blasi |first=Tony |date=2020-05-13 |title=Larry Gowell left it all out on the field and behind a mic |url=https://www.sunjournal.com/2020/05/13/larry-gowell-left-it-all-out-on-the-field-and-behind-a-mic/ |access-date=2025-03-08 |website=Lewiston Sun Journal}}
Gowell died while playing golf on May 11, 2020, aged 72.{{cite web |url=https://www.pressherald.com/2020/05/13/sports-digest-el-grad-former-yankee-gowell-dies-at-age-72/ |title=EL grad, former Yankee Gowell dies at age 72 |newspaper=Portland Press Herald |date=May 13, 2020 |accessdate=May 15, 2020}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
{{Baseballstats |mlb=114999 |br=g/gowella01 |brm=gowell001law |retro=G/Pgowel101 |almanac=gowella01}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gowell, Larry}}
Category:Major League Baseball pitchers
Category:New York Yankees players
Category:Oneonta Yankees players
Category:Kinston Eagles players
Category:West Haven Yankees players
Category:Manchester Yankees players
Category:Fort Lauderdale Yankees players
Category:Syracuse Chiefs players
Category:Baseball players from Androscoggin County, Maine
Category:Sportspeople from Lewiston, Maine
Category:Sportspeople from Auburn, Maine