Evening star., 1960-08-25
WIN, LOSE OR
DNAW By FRANCIS s1ANN
Joe EnqeI's Greatest Prospect

YOU MIGHT NOT believe what I'm going to say"
Joe Engel whispered hroay but the greatest baseball
prospect ever dug upever saw, for that matter-was
Gil Coan."
The silence pregnant. The hour late during
this weeks visit of the colou and distinguished exScout
for the Washington Senator's Enge always has been
man Of the night He the hours Of the average
professional man. He is sharpeSt in the hours
Joe" somebody at the sparsely settled table finally
reminded you found Bucky Harris You discovered Joe
Cronin. You came up with Joe Judge. :"
And lot of Others" Enge interrupted but still
the greatest prospect Coan You may laugh be-
cause Gil didn't measure up. You say-and know you're
thinking it, anyway-that getting sievers in trade for
Coan was maybe of the best deals the Washington club
swung
But you never saw Coan as scout saw him."
ENGEL SHOOK HIS HEAD in regret when I first
Gil Coan he said IT looking one of hand
soonest and best built athletes And he had the
perfect disposition. too.
He ran like striped ape Pnson Mantle :.
George Case he could with all of them. He had
beautiful swing at the hit the long ball and he
hit the on the ground that fast guys beat out.
Il told Griff the late Clark Grif1th that I'd found
the boy to make him forget the Others Harris and
Cronin The one thing that wrong with Gil-and it
was only small physical thng-was piece of finger that
was missing He got hand caught in machinery in
North Carolina and maybe he didn't have real good
hands, like Terry Moore.
But Gil all balplayer and Griff agreed when he
him. And Coan did have few good seasons but
dunno, something happened.
There's snapper to the story" Joe said, struggling
At time the Cubs and Giants offered so much money
for Coan that Gri couldn't refuse although
did Yet Gil just faded away half years ago and
now people just remember that Washington got evers for
him."
ROY SEWERS WAS sore-armed in the winter of
4 that February the Orioles who had lust succeeded
the old St Louis Browns traded him even up for Coan
surgeon had cut open his right shoulder as to hold his
throwing arm together. And Ray couldn't run like
Coan But it was to turn out historic trade.
Roy rewroe most of the Senators sluggng records In
ST he became Washington's first home run champion
with AZ undtrppers Before Severs traded to the
White Sox last spring for Earl Battey Don Miller and
Sl5O,OOO he had slammed more homers and hit for more
total bases than Senator in history And he's his
way toward setting couple of alltime Chi
cago
Roy is great hitter guy with a classic swing"
Engel conceded, but do slow burn when hear people
say the SieversCoan trade steal for Washington
You see, remember when Gil just told you he
was the most promising young ballpayer I'd ever
signed.
II found him like found Cecil Travis and Buddy
Lewis kid in the South burning up every league and
IN every department. don't know what happened but he
was the best of all the prospects. :"
THE THOUGHT OCCURS that Engel himself was a
prospect who made good not pitcher but as scout
and steward of the Chattanooga farm for so long
But 1t was pitcher that Grff first signed him. and then
only at the behest of Engels poppa.
When Griffith first came to Washington he was in a
habit OF stopping at Poppa Enges saloon cool
on occasion MY boy Choe" Poppa Enge would enthuse
hes some pitcher! You should be signing him."
Joe turned out to be husky handsome, convivia and
absolutely at loss to find the strike He pitched parts
OF seven with the Senator's Redegs and Indians
winning the grand total of IT and losing 22 And then
Grill made him scout role he to fill for years with
signal success.
Grif was pinching pennies during much of that time
but Enge his road representative ate high off the hog and
entertained lavshy More than once Griff demonstrated
but Joes reply was You gotta put front to get the
players Since Engel invariably delivered Grf forgave
his expense accounts
IT'S AN OFT-TOLD tale but Engel once thought he'd
gooted when he turned in bad report on Paul Strand
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