Arnie Bowe

Catcher
Tilden Tigers 1972-86

One of the best hitting catchers in CRBL history, Arnie Bowe’s offensive production and strong defensive presence were game changing attributes during his 15 seasons of baseball for the Tigers of Tilden.
A hard-swinging left-handed batter, Bowe was a model of consistency at the plate. In crafting a .338 lifetime average, Arnie batted over .300 in 11 seasons, including the last 10 of his CRBL career. Within that streak, Bowe eclipsed .400 twice, hitting a career high .481 (25 for 52) in 1980, and .448 (26 for 58) in 1982.
The portside catcher was also a regular with the long ball, popping 2 or more homeruns in seven different seasons, with his career high of 5 attained in three different years (1979, 1982, 1984)). Accordingly, Arnie was a consistent run producer in the middle of Tilden’s line-up, driving in 10 or more runs in nine seasons, with his personal high of 23 coming in 1982. From the base paths, Arnie was able to top 10 or more runs scored in 11 seasons, crossing the plate a career best 20 times in 1977. Within his superlative 1982 campaign during which he hit .448 with 5 home runs, 5 doubles, 23 RBI’s, and 15 runs scored, the slugging catcher struck out a grand total of one time.
Bowe’s relentless production helped the Tigers bolster its place as the most successful franchise in CRBL history. During Arnie’s time on the squad, Tilden won 11 North Division titles, including nine in a row from 1974 to 1982, claimed six CRBL crowns (1972, 1974, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986), played in the WBA each season except 1983, appeared in seven Final 8’s (1972, 1973, 1974, 1976, 1979, 1984, 1986), and lost to Schofield 7-6 at Abbotsford in the 1984 WBA championship. In total, Bowe had the pleasure of playing in 12 CRBL championship games within his 15 years of competition.
A respected defensive receiver who was known for his adept handling of pitchers as well his stonewall approach to blocking home plate, Bowe played in three all-star games (1980, 1981, 1985) and was named All-CRBL catcher in three seasons (1979, 1980, 1982).
Upon induction, the catcher’s highest offensive rankings can be found in slugging percentage (25th), batting average (28th), and homeruns (31st).