Robert Lee Howsam was an American professional sports executive and entrepreneur.
22 Facts About Bob Howsam
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Bob Howsam then became a prominent MLB executive, primarily known as the highly successful general manager and club president of the Cincinnati Reds during the Big Red Machine dynasty from January 23,1967, through February 15,1978, when his team won four National League pennants and two World Series titles.
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Bob Howsam was the son-in-law of Edwin C Johnson, a three-term United States Senator and two-term governor of Colorado.
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Bob Howsam made a name for himself as a highly successful baseball executive.
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Bob Howsam led the family-owned Denver Bears of the Western League and Triple-A American Association from 1947 to 1962.
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Bob Howsam built one of the most successful minor league franchises of the 1950s and was twice named Minor League Executive of the Year by The Sporting News.
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Bob Howsam was slated to become owner of the Denver franchise, one of the league's eight charter members.
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Bob Howsam even went as far as expanding Bears Stadium to a capacity of over 34,000.
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Bob Howsam had taken on a large amount of debt in hopes of bringing the majors to Denver.
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Bob Howsam concluded the only way to get additional revenue was to extend his stadium's season by bringing in a football team.
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White later charged that, at the time of the trade, Bob Howsam had falsely claimed that White was six years older than his stated age to reporters, and White stated after his career ended that he had no respect for Bob Howsam.
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In 1966, Bob Howsam acquired future Hall of Fame first baseman Orlando Cepeda from the San Francisco Giants on May 8 and right fielder Roger Maris from the Yankees on December 8 during the winter interleague trading period.
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In 1970, he replaced a popular incumbent manager, Dave Bristol, with a then-unproven but a future Hall-of-Fame skipper in Anderson, 35, whom Bob Howsam had earlier hired as a manager in the Cardinals' and Reds' farm systems.
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Bob Howsam acquired record-setting reliever Wayne Granger and two talented young outfielders, Bobby Tolan and Alex Johnson, from the Cardinals.
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Bob Howsam reportedly had considerably more authority than most general managers of the time.
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Bob Howsam was especially known for his conservatism regarding labor relations; under him, the Reds were among the hardliners during the 1972 strike.
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Many players, along with Anderson and Bob Howsam himself, believed that the loss of Perez in the clubhouse played a key factor in the decline of the team in the following years.
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Bob Howsam returned to the club presidency in 1983 replacing a fired Wagner.
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Bob Howsam traded for an aging Pete Rose in 1984 and installed him as a player-manager.
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Bob Howsam was elected to the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame in 2004.
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Bob Howsam had been elected to his home state's Sports Hall of Fame in 1971.
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Bob Howsam died from complications of heart disease on February 19,2008, nine days short of his 90th birthday, at his Sun City, Arizona, home.