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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Gene "Boc" Bacque (Deceased)
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Home Phone: 337-984-2170 Please click on any news story in the news box, then the archives link in the upper left which appears on the new page. Click on the September and 2019 tabs in the format on the Archives Page, then click on his obituary once that page appears. It includes photos and footnotes by the Athletic Network. * * * * * * Gene Bacque Bats Right, Throws Right The Tigers finally released Bacque in 1962 after he had pitched for the Hawaii Islanders. After playing semipro ball for a while, the 25-year old hurler got a workout with the Hanshin Tigers in July. Though he tried out for the Tigers’ minor league club, they were impressed with his performance as a pitcher and as a batter (he hit just .171/.189/.251 in Japan, but slugged 9 homers in 537 AB). Hanshin signed Bacque and put him on their roster as soon as he could arrange a visa for him and his wife. He was 0-3 that year with a 4.70 ERA and pitched briefly in the Tigers’ Japan Series victory. Bacque improved in ’63 and went 8-5 with a 2.49 ERA; he would have been fifth in the Central League in ERA had he pitched enough innings to qualify. In 1964 Bacque was given a more prominent role after the team traded Masaaki Koyama and had a career year. He went 29-9 with a 1.88 ERA in 353.3 innings. His ERA was .35 ahead of the next competitior and he led the league in wins. His 200 strikeouts ranked second to Masaichi Kaneda and he led the league in innings and complete games (24 in 38 starts). He was named to the Best Nine and became the only American ever to win the Sawamura Award (as of 2005 at least). He made the first of five consecutive All-Star teams. The Tigers won a second Japan Series that season; after that no Central League team was able to beat the Yomiuri Giants until 1974. Bacque slipped in ’65 to 18-14, 2.28 after his magical ’64; he finished 7th in the league in ERA. He had what he calls “[t]he highlight of my career in Japan” that year when he pitched a no-hitter against Yomiuri. The next-to-last batter was Sadaharu Oh in the nationally televised game. 1966 represented a 14-16, 2.78 season for Gene and he led the league in hit batters (9) due to his preference to work inside. The next year he was 18-12, 2.30. He was 5th in the league in ERA and led in complete games (19) as well as hit batsmen (16). In 1968 Bacque made his final All-Star team. He finished 4th in the Central in ERA (2.19, his second best in Japan) and his 142 strikeouts were his second-best for Hanshin but he went just 13-14 with continued poor support. Bacque also got into his biggest controversy in Japan that year. With Oh at the plate in a key situation, Bacque went ahead 0-1 then threw one inside. He came inside with the following pitch as well and Oh began criticizing Bacque. The Giants’ dugout then began to empty and Bacque was knocked down in the fight and broke his thumb punching a Yomiuri coach. Masatoshi Gondo relieved Bacque – and promptly hit Oh to restart the melee. Bacque was fined and after the season he was traded to the Kintetsu Buffaloes. Bacque went 0-7 for Kintetsu and was one of many Buffaloes to complain about the managerial tactics of Osamu Mihara. He ruptured a disc that year, ending his career. In Nippon Pro Baseball Bacque had gone 100-80 with a 2.34 ERA; he is tied for the most wins by an American with Joe Stanka. After retiring from baseball, Bacque returned to the states with his wife and kids and became a teacher in Louisiana. After he retired from teaching, he ran a cattle ranch in his home state. Sources: Remembering Japanese Baseball by Rob Fitts, the Professional Baseball Player Database, www.japanbaseballdaily.com by Gary Garland
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