Baseball - Art Fowler Dies At 84

Art Fowler pitched for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1959 championship team. He went on to become the pitching coach for five major league clubs. It was announced by his son, John, that Art Fowler, the player and pitching coach, passed away at the age of 84 at his residence.

As the pitching coach, Fowler won the World Series rings with the New York Yankees in 1977 and then again in 1978. He was hired as the pitching coach by then Yankees manager Billy Martin, who was his longtime friend.

During Fowler’s second season with Yankees, Ron Guidry won the Cy Young Award for his 25-3 and 1.74 ERA.

Fowler worked as a pitching coach for 14 years. Besides being the pitching coach for Yankees, he was also the pitching coach for Minnesota, Detroit, Texas and Oakland. Yankees spokesman Jason Zillo said in an announcement after hearing about Fowler’s demise that he was a person who loved life and baseball. He would be remembered for his humor and fun loving nature by all the people who had dealings with him as a friend, teammate and coach.

Fowler played in the major league for 9 years with Cincinnati and Los Angeles Dodgers and Angels. He pitched in 362 games and had a career record of 54-51 with a 4.03 ERA. He pitched mostly in relief.

Fowler is survived by his wife, two sons and a daughter. He and his wife, Ruth Burch Fowler, were married for 66 years.

Art Fowler’s funeral service was held at Floyd’s Funeral Home on February 1, 2007.