bernie stowe, who had worked for the reds from 1947 until his retirement in 2013, passed away shortly before the start of the 2016 season. the reds added a memorial patch for stowe to their right sleeves for the season, as seen on this 2016 topps update joey votto team franklin advertisement card
stowe began his career as a bat boy the same year that jackie robinson debuted for the dodgers and worked his way up to the role of clubhouse manager. he worked for the reds in crosley field, riverfront stadium, and the great american ballpark, and by all accounts was well respected by everyone in the organization and fully embraced as a member of the team, as evidenced by pete rose's statement that stowe was always voted two world series shares each time the reds made the fall classic - one for himself and one to split amongst the rest of the clubhouse staff.
The dichotomy of an earnest, heartfelt tribute to a beloved member of the Reds organization being prominently displayed on what is essentially a hollow advertisement makes this card a mixed bag of emotions. Nice catch!
ReplyDeleteIt always seems like clubhouse managers stay in their position forever.
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