By Doc McElroy
Longtime Orioles Scout Dick Bowie Named Herb Armstrong Award Winner
May 3, 2024
The Orioles today announced that former right fielder NICK MARKAKIS and former hitting coach and first baseman/designated hitter TERRY CROWLEY have been elected to the Orioles Hall of Fame. Additionally, longtime former Orioles scout DICK BOWIE will be inducted as this year’s Herb Armstrong Award winner.
The three honorees will be recognized on Friday, August 23, at a luncheon at Oriole Park hosted by the Oriole Advocates, founders of the Orioles Hall of Fame. The on-field induction ceremony will be held on Saturday, August 24, prior to the 4:05 p.m. ET game against the Houston Astros. Information on purchasing tickets for the Oriole Advocates Hall of Fame luncheon will be announced soon. To purchase tickets for the induction ceremony and game, visit Orioles.com/Tickets.
Markakis spent the first nine years of his 15-year career in Baltimore after being selected with the seventh overall pick of the 2003 First-Year Player Draft. He ranks among the all-time Orioles leaders in doubles (6th, 316), hits (7th, 1,547), extra-base hits (8th, 473), runs (9th, 749), and RBI (10th, 658). He won two of his three career Gold Gloves in right field with the O’s (2011 & 2014). He led American League outfielders with 17 assists in 2008 and is tied with ADAM JONES for second on the Orioles all-time list with 93 outfield assists, behind PAUL BLAIR (105). His .994 fielding percentage ranks first all-time among MLB right fielders. He led the AL in times on base (283) and bWAR (7.4) in 2008. He was voted Most Valuable Oriole in 2007 after leading the team in average (.300), slugging (.485), OPS (.848), home runs (23), doubles (43), RBI (112), and hits (191).
Crowley had two stints as Baltimore’s hitting coach, spanning a total of 16 years, the second-longest coaching tenure in club history behind ELROD HENDRICKS (28). His first stint was from 1985-89. Crowley returned to the club in 1999 and coached through 2010. His 12 years as coach from 1999-2010 is the fourth-longest continuous coaching stretch in club history behind Hendricks (28), HARRY BRECHEEN (14), and BILL HUNTER (13 ½). The team records for batting average (.281 in ‘04), doubles (322 in ‘08), and on-base percentage (.353 in ‘99) were all set while he was hitting coach. In his second term as hitting coach, individuals established club records that still stand in batting average (MELVIN MORA, .340 in ‘04), doubles (BRIAN ROBERTS, 56 in ‘09), and hits (MIGUEL TEJADA, 214 in ‘06). Overall, Crowley spent 24 years as a big-league hitting coach, including eight years with Minnesota (1991-98). He also spent three years as a minor league hitting instructor, including 1984 in the Orioles farm system.
Crowley had a 15-year playing career, mostly as a first baseman/designated hitter and pinch hitter. He spent 12 seasons with the Orioles and also played for Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Montreal. He was the first designated hitter in Orioles history on April 6, 1973. He appeared in three World Series as a player, two with the Orioles and one with the Reds, winning a title with each club. He also won a ring as hitting coach of the World Champion Twins in 1991. After stepping down as hitting coach following the 2010 season, Crowley continued to work in an advisory capacity with the Orioles through 2018.
Bowie, the winner of the Herb Armstrong Award given to non-uniformed Orioles personnel, joined the Orioles as an associate scout in 1958 and was made a full-time area scout in 1968. He served 13 years as a full-time scout and was also Mid-Atlantic supervisor from 1978 until his passing on August 31, 1981. Bowie recommended the team sign Orioles Legend and National Baseball Hall of Famer CAL RIPKEN, JR. as an infielder, while others who scouted him viewed him only as a pitcher. He also discovered Orioles Hall of Famer AL BUMBRY playing college basketball and signed LARRY SHEETS, among more than 100 other players. Bowie was named to the inaugural class of the Mid-Atlantic Scouts Hall of Fame in 1990.
A complete list of members of the Orioles Hall of Fame and Herb Armstrong Award recipients can be found at Orioles.com/HallOfFame.
COURTESY ORIOLES MEDIA RELATIONS
