I must admit I hadn’t thought much about Al Holland, the former MLB pitcher until his passing on July 4 was announced by the Philadelphia Phillies.
“The Phillies are saddened to learn of the passing of Al Holland, who spent parts of three seasons with the club from 1983-85,” the Phillies’ statement read. “As a dominant closer, Al was an integral part of the team’s winning the National League pennant in 1983 and was an All-Star in 1984. The club and fans are forever grateful for his contributions and the legacy he leaves behind in Philadelphia.”
Before I go any further, I want to extend condolences to Holland’s family, friends and former teammates. For those that are at least 55-60 years old, one will remember that part of Holland’s journey to the big leagues took place in none other than (drumroll please) … Niagara Falls.
Holland was the pride of Roanoke, Virginia, but excelled at North Carolina A&T University. He led the nation in strikeouts (143), including a 25-strikeout game versus North Carolina Central, and finished second nationally in ERA (0.54). Holland never had an ERA above 1.03, and he pitched a no-hitter in each of his four seasons at A&T. His prowess would lead him to the school’s hall of fame and the College Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Texas Rangers drafted Holland in 1974, then the San Diego Padres, in the January phase of the 1975 draft, but opted to stay in school. After graduation, Holland went undrafted in the summer of 1975.
However, Branch Rickey III, the grandson of baseball deity Branch Rickey, signed him to play for the Pittsburgh Pirates in June 1975. That summer he pitched for the Bucs’ single-A team in Niagara Falls, going 4-2 with a 2.57 ERA. Also on that ‘75 team was Dale Berra, the son of the one-and-only Yankees legend Yogi Berra.
Holland made his debut with the big Bucs, pitching in two games in 1977. After scuffling around a bit, Holland’s career wouldn’t take off until a 1979 trade that sent him, along with another former Niagara Falls Pirate and eventual big leaguer, Fred Breining, to the Giants for the “Mad Dog,” Bill Madlock, the one-time National League batting champion who would be a huge part of Pittsburgh’s “We Are Family” championship team of that season. Holland emerged as an effective reliever of the Giants before being on the move again.
Holland, along with eventual Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, were dealt to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1983. Al saved 25 games, becoming a vital part of the 1983 National League pennant-winning team.
Former Reds teammates of Morgan’s Tony Perez and Pete Rose were part of this ancient roster and were referred to as “The Wheez Kids,” a play on their 1950 pennant-winning team called “The Whiz Kids.”
The Phillies beat the Los Angeles Dodgers in four games in the NL Championship Series, with Holland saving Games 1 and 4. They reached the World Series, where they lost to the Baltimore Orioles in five games, although Holland earned the save in Game 1. Holland’s career year earned him the NL Rolaids Relief Man of the Year Award. He also finished in the top-10 of the Cy Young and NL MVP voting. The following season, he earned his first and only MLB All-Star Game appearance.
It wasn’t all great for Holland, as he was eventually called to appear in baseball’s drug trial of 1985-86. In March 1986, Holland said he would accept MLB commissioner Peter Ueberroth’s alternatives to suspension, acknowledging that he used cocaine during two baseball seasons in the early 1980s.
The Ueberroth alternative was a donation of 5% of players’ 1986 salaries to a drug-prevention facility or program, random drug testing for the rest of their careers and 50 hours of drug-related community service that year. Holland, who eventually closed his playing career with the Yankees in 1988, remained in baseball as a minor-league pitching coach, including time in the St. Louis Cardinals organization.
While the Niagara Falls Americans are the current incarnation of baseball in the city, the days of the Pirates and White Sox were a big part of my youth. Getting to see the likes of Berra, Holland, Rick Honeycutt, Omar Moreno and Ed Ott among others eventually make the big leagues was a sense of identification and pride, knowing I used to go to the games seven blocks from my house.
I hope the 1972 NY-Penn Championship team is remembered. When the White Sox came aboard, eventual big leaguers John Cangialosi and Joel Davis passed through the city, with a title in 1982.
When I interned at WJJL, I had the chance to interview longtime big-league manager and coach Bobby Winkles, who was in the ChiSox player development department, as well as a young executive by the name of Dave Dombrowski, who would win World Series titles in the Marlins and Red Sox front offices.
Of course, some notable big leaguers from other teams include: shortstop of the Newark Co-Pilots (Milwaukee Brewers affiliate) and eventual hall of famer Robin Yount, as well as Don Mattingly and some guy named John Elway, of the Oneonta Yankees, were memorable as well.
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the one guy I didn’t see that I would have wanted to, as I was all of 18 months old at the time: Johnny Bench, considered by many to be the greatest catcher of all-time.
Because of the unrest in Buffalo in 1967, the Bisons, who were the Reds’ Triple-A team at the time, played games at Hyde Park Stadium. Bench appeared in 98 contests that year, hitting 23 homers, including the only grand slam allowed by Bench’s eventual teammate Jim Palmer, who was in the minors on a rehab assignment for the Orioles, before Bench’s callup to Cincinnati, where he revolutionized the catching position.
Al Holland and what used to be. Quite the history I had the honor of watching in Niagara Falls.
Zig Fracassi is a Niagara Falls native who has worked as a national, regional and local broadcaster for over 40 years. He can currently be heard on SiriusXM radio.