February 15, 2023

Remembering the Paul (The Pope) Owens … born Feb. 7, 1924

By Larry (Baron) Shenk

Philadelphia Phillies

It can be said that he single-handedly turned the Phillies franchise around and may well be the best “baseball” man in club history.

“He” is Paul (The Pope) Owens who was born 99 years ago this month in Salamanca, N.Y. After one year at Rider College, he joined the Army and became a sergeant of an engineering company, serving in Europe during WWII. He met his wife in Belgium during the war, Marcelle.

He transferred to St. Bonaventure University upon returning home. With a degree in hand, a teaching career was interrupted by pro ball in Olean, N.Y., about 19 miles from his home.

Invited for a tryout in 1951 and paying 75 cents to get into the park, the Olean Oilers manager Orval Cott put him in the game. Owens got a couple of hits and signed a contract for $175 per month. Four years later, the Phillies purchased the Olean club in the Pennsylvania-Ontario-New York League (PONY), which had been an independent team.

At age 33, Owens was a player-manager for the 1955-57 seasons, hitting .368 and .407 the last two seasons. Gene Martin (director of minor league clubs) moved Owens to Bakersfield, Calif., to manage that team in 1958 and 1959. Martin then convinced Owens to become a scout, giving him the entire southwest territory.

Considering himself a “field person,” he reluctantly changed his career path to scouting. In 1965, he was the coordinator of the Phillies spring training camp for Class A players in Leesburg, Fla. Early that same season, he was brought to Philadelphia to oversee player development and scouting. Changes were made in the 20-man scouting staff. Many long-time scouts were let go and new blood was brought in.

“We weren’t signing big league players,” he explained.

The Pope loved grassroots baseball, scouting and developing and now he was in charge. He convinced owner Bob Carpenter a training complex was needed in Clearwater, Fla. The four-diamond Carpenter Complex opened in 1967 and housed all the Phillies minor league players. The previous year, the triple-A and double-A clubs were in Dade City, Fla., and the class A players were in Leesburg, with Owens.

Neither was near Clearwater where the big club trained. Centralized, consistent instruction and player evaluation was now possible.

Owens career changed again when he became general manager, June 3, 1972. A little more than a month later, he replaced his friend, Frank Lucchesi, as manager. Paul’s mission: to find out who could play and who couldn’t. At age 59, he returned to the dugout in the middle of the 1983 season and led the Phillies to the National League pennant.

As the GM, he traveled most of the time with the team. He felt he could get to know his players better. He’d get to the ballpark early and sit in the stands, observing both teams’ batting practice. The Pope made mental notes of players who worked hard or loafed in going through the motions. He had a rare sense to see not only the physical tools of a player but what is inside. He sought players that would go to war in a fox hole as he had done for his country.

The farm system began producing quality big-league players forming a strong foundation ... Larry Bowa, Greg Luzinski, Mike Schmidt, Bob Boone, John Vukovich, Dick Ruthven, Larry Christenson. He made trades for Garry Maddox, Bake McBride, Manny Trillo, Tug McGraw, Del Unser, Greg Gross.

At the winter meetings, he was a man of extreme patience when talking trades. Many of his deals came after midnight. He had no clock. The next day he was back at it on little sleep.

“You gotta have bounce ability,” he’d simply say.

There were times he couldn’t always explain his decisions. He’d just say, “Sometimes you fly by the seat of your pants.”

While he was tough and willing to challenge anyone including his players, there was also a huge soft spot in his heart. When he traded Willie Montanez to the Giants for Maddox in 1975, he called Willie to his office. When told he was traded, Willie began to cry. Pope joined him. He wept when the 1980 World Series trophy was presented to the Phillies.

Pope loved his own family but also loved another family, the Phillies. He had a special way of making everyone feel part of that family, from an All-Star player to a summer intern. If he didn’t know your name, he simply said, “Hey, big guy” or “Hello, young lady.”

When planning for the Vet’s closing ceremonies in 2003, Ed Wade said he would bring back the Pope whose health was failing. We didn’t know until late that day if he would make it. Everyone was touched that he was there. The ovation the Pope received was one of the many highlights that afternoon. He got to step on home plate one last time and was part of the victory lap after the ceremonies, sharing a golf cart ride with Ed and Dallas Green while the large group of players walked.

Wade said it best ... “Without the Pope, there wouldn’t have been anything to commemorate.” Owens died on Dec. 26, 2003, three months after the closing ceremonies. Veterans Stadium will forever be remembered as the home of the World Champion Phillies, a team built by the Pope. It is his legacy.

His legacy was also documented in Clearwater. In spring training of 2012, a memorial bust of “The Pope” was dedicated at Carpenter Complex. The clubhouse was officially named the “Paul Owens Training Facility.”

Minor league player, minor league manager, scout, camp coordinator, farm director, general manager ...

The Pope did it all.