Larry Bowa, power hitter

Larry Bowa has one grand slam among the 15 homers he hits during a 16-year career in the majors, and that slam comes 47 years ago today in the Philadelphia Phillies’ 15-9 victory over Cincinnati before a Wednesday night crowd of 47,148 at Veterans Stadium.

The Phillies find themselves in a 9-9 tie with the Reds when Joe Hoerner – Bowa’s teammate in Philadelphia from 1970-72 – enters this 1977 game with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

Hoerner promptly issues a run-scoring wild pitch with Ted Sizemore batting to give the Phillies a 10-9 lead and then gives Sizemore an intentional walk to face Bowa, the No. 8 hitter who already is 3-for-3 in the game with two singles and a double.

The 5-foot-10, 155-pound Bowa quickly adds to that total, drilling Hoerner’s first pitch to him over the fence in left field for a 14-9 lead.

Naturally, Bowa celebrates with a hand in the air as he rounds the bases on what is his career-high fourth homer of the 1977 season.

“Joe is an old buddy and I didn’t want to embarrass him,” an exuberant Bowa says after the game, “but I just had to raise my hands.”