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Doc Edwards enters his fifth year as the Colts Skipper. Edwards has been in baseball for over half a century as he enters his 53rd year in professional baseball. Edwards, who earned the nickname “Doc” from being a former Navy Medic, real name is Howard Rodney Edwards. Doc, who turned 73 this past December, has not softened with age so don’t ever call him Howard Rodney. Much like Dangerfield he feels it gives him no respect, no respect at all. Even the love of his life, his wife Gay, calls him Doc. Although Doc met Gay many years ago they met again later in life and have been married now for 15 years. They moved permanently here to San Angelo a few years ago and are now year round residents.
Cleveland Indians scout and former Pirates great Ralph Kiner signed Doc as an amateur free agent in 1958. The Red Jacket, West Virginia native made his Major League debut on April 21, 1962 in Yankee Stadium. In his first plate appearance, he drew a walk against the legendary Whitey Ford, who would become a teammate later on in his career. Doc, who went on to hit .273 in his rookie year, also played for the Kansas City Athletics, New York Yankees, and the Philadelphia Phillies. Doc has always touched different parts of baseball history. He was part of a few prominent trades featuring some well-known names, such as when he was sent to the A’s in 1963 for catcher Joe Azcue and Dick Howser (Howser would later become a Major League manager himself with the Royals and Yankees). In 1965, Doc was traded to the Yankees for Johnny Blanchard and Roland Sheldon and while in New York, he played with such Yankee greats as Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford, Elston Howard, and Jim Bouton who wrote the controversial book “Ball Four” amongst others. Edwards played his final game while with the Philadelphia Phillies on August 23, 1970 and finished his last season hitting .269, leaving the game as strong as when he started. The Colts skipper while still playing caught Negro League legend Satchel Paige once in an old timer’s game. Paige, who also played for Cleveland became the oldest rookie ever in the majors at 41 years old. Doc was also a solid defensive catcher posting a career fielding percentage of .985.
Although it may have been the end of his playing career, his coaching and managerial careers were just beginning. Doc went on to coach for the Indians, Mets and Phillies, and managed in the minor leagues for various organizations including the Yanks, Cubs, Expos, Phillies and Orioles. While in the Orioles organization he managed their Triple-A team the Rochester Redwings in 1981. There, he was at the helm for the longest game in professional baseball history, a 33-inning marathon against Pawtucket. Just a few years later, the Indians fired Pat Corales, and Doc received his shot as a Major League manager with the team he started his baseball career with. He led Cleveland from 1987-1989, managing in 380 games and finishing with a record of 173-207 (.455). One of his players while there, was former Texas Longhorns standout Greg Swindell who was drafted in the 1st Round (2nd overall) in 1986.
One of many interesting claims to fame Doc owns is he was the real manager of the Cleveland Indians when the movie, now a baseball classic, “Major League” came out. Although he was no “Lou Brown” the fictional manager in the movie who vows to win despite the lack of support from his owner, Doc says there is no truth that the character was based off of him. With the excitement the movie generated for Indians fans Doc always jokes that the movie may not have gotten him fired, but it didn’t help. His Indians went 65-78 the year the movie came out and was not able to finish the season as the Indians manager.
After serving as a bench coach with the Mets in the early 1990’s, Doc became a Major League expansion scout for the Arizona Diamondbacks. He was instrumental in putting the original Diamondbacks team together with Buck Showalter and just handful of others during their 1997 expansion draft. The Diamondbacks went on to be the quickest team to win a World Series in only their fourth season of existence as a franchise in 2001.
During his career, Doc has managed the likes of Hall of Famers Phil Niekro, Cal Ripken Jr., Joe Carter, Bruce Sutter, and current Red Sox manager Terry Francona. Even with all of the players and teams he has been with he is extremely proud of the Colts currently being two-time defending regular season champs in the United League. Since the regular season is more of a marathon rather than the playoffs sprint.
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