Howie Haak
From BR Bullpen
Howard Frederick Haak (Howie)
- Born August 28, 1911
- Died February 22, 1998 in Palm Springs, CA USA
[edit] Biographical Information
Howie Haak, who passed away at 87 in February 1999, gained acclaim as the scout who threw open all of Latin America to major-league baseball. He was a pick-and-shovel man who practiced Branch Rickey's strategy of quality through quantity, assaying tons of raw ore through his time-honored tryout camps. The Pittsburgh Pirates owed much of their talent from the mid-1950s through the 1980s to Haak's efforts; he recommended that Pittsburgh draft Roberto Clemente from the Brooklyn system.[1] Among his other signings: Manny Sanguillen, Omar Moreno and Rennie Stennett of Panama; Julian Javier, Tony Pena, Jose DeLeon, and Cecilio Guante of the Dominican Republic; Al McBean of the Virgin Islands;[2] and Roman Mejias of Cuba.
Haak lied about his age to join the Navy in his teens. It was there he played baseball first (he did not make his high-school team). Howie mustered out at age 19 in 1931. He then turned to pro baseball, playing catcher. The Professional Baseball Players Database shows him in only three seasons (1940, 1941, and 1946), but his experience appears to be a good deal more extensive. He first came to know Rickey in the St. Louis Cardinals organization and followed him to Brooklyn, then Pittsburgh.
Haak stirred controversy in 1982 over his remarks that the Pirates needed more white players to draw fans, but African-Americans on the team such as Bill Madlock defended him.[3] After leaving the Pirates in 1988, Haak scouted for the Houston Astros for several years.
[edit] Related Sites
Sports Illustrated feature by Frank Deford, December 24, 1973
Baseball Digest: February 1994
[edit] Notes
- ↑ Frank Eck: "Haak Recalls 'Pirating' of Roberto," The Cumberland Evening Times (Friday, October 29, 1971), p. 12
- ↑ (AP): "FORTUNATE FIND: Scouting a Haak of a Job Without Knowing Language," The Oneonta Star (Thursday, June 21, 1962), p. 11
- ↑ (AP): "Pirates' Madlock Supports Comments," The Casa Grande Dispatch (Wednesday, May 19, 1982), p. 12. In addition, see:
- (AP): "Remark Not Behind Haak Assignment," The Titusville Herald (Thursday, May 20, 1982), p. 6
- Dick Young: "Young Ideas: Haak just spoke the truth," The Gettysburg Times (Thursday, May 20, 1982), p. 11
- Milton Richman (UPI), "Brown Defends Haak," The Monessen Valley Independent (Friday, May 21, 1982), p. 9
- (AP) "Buc superscout fnally in headlines," The Gettysburg Times (Friday, May 21, 1982), p. 15
