Al Widmar
Albert Joseph Widmar was an American starting pitcher, pitching coach, and scout in Major League Baseball. He batted and threw right-handed. As a big league coach, Widmar worked with the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers, and Toronto Blue Jays. For three seasons, he also played professional basketball.Career
Widmar was born in Cleveland, Ohio, attending Cleveland's Cathedral Latin High School. He was originally signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1942, and played Minor League Baseball throughout the war years. Between 1947 and 1952, Widmar played for the BoSox, St. Louis Browns, and Chicago White Sox.
In a five-season major league career, Widmar posted a 13–30 record, with 143 strikeouts, and a 5.21 earned run average, in innings pitched.
Widmar played part of two Major League seasons as a reliever with the Boston Red Sox and St. Louis Browns. He made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 1947, and was sent to the Browns before the 1948 season in the same trade that brought Vern Stephens to Boston. After an unspectacular year with the Browns, he was demoted to the MiLB International League Baltimore Orioles, St. Louis' Triple-A affiliate team.
Beginning in the late-1940s, Widmar began to play professional basketball in the off-season — in order to keep himself in shape. He played for the Binghamton Triplets of the Eastern Professional Basketball League, and the Scranton Miners and Allentown / Carbondale Aces of the American Basketball League.
In 1949, Widmar won 22 games with Baltimore. A year later, he returned to the Browns as a starter. After going 11–24 in two seasons, Widmar was traded to the Chicago White Sox, along with Sherm Lollar, for Dick Littlefield, Joe DeMaestri, Gus Niarhos, and Jim Rivera. Widmar finished the 1952 season with the Seattle Rainiers of the Pacific Coast League, and remained with the team through half of the season. At that point, he donned a Tulsa Oilers uniform; Widmar became the team's player/manager from through.
Following his playing career ended, Widmar became a successful minor league manager, spending six seasons at the helm. He also was an MLB pitching coach for the Philadelphia Phillies and Milwaukee Brewers.
After the season, Widmar was named the Toronto Blue Jays’ pitching coach; he kept the job for the next ten seasons. In, Widmar was guiding a rotation that featured Dave Stieb, Doyle Alexander, Jim Clancy, and Jimmy Key, as the Jays won their first American League East title. After spending a year as a Blue Jays’ special assignment scout, team management promoted Widmar to special assistant to the vice president and general manager in.
On October 15, 2005, Widmar died of colon cancer in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at age 80.
