Lou
Bobo

LOU BOBO SR. was a well-known left-handed pitcher whose baseball career spanned more than three decades. A 2010 inductee to the South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame, he pitched for many local semi-pro baseball teams and had tryouts with both the Philadelphia A’s and the Phillies.

His local uniforms included Defiance and VFW 518 of the Camden City League, Westmont and Cramer Hill of the Camden County League and PACC of the Suburban League.

His outstanding pitching made Bobo the mainstay of the 12th Ward squad – an independent power in the early 30s. He also pitched for independents Saint Joseph’s and Campbell Soup in the Twilight League, and for the Lincoln Association club in the Camden Minor League.

Newspaper archives reveal game after game in which Bobo, whose son Bob was a 1998 Hall of Fame inductee, dominated his opponents. Those news clips show his teams as perennial winners. When Bobo, described as “short and skinning,” wasn’t pitching, you could find him playing a nearly flawless first base.

One article highlights a Campbell Soup relief role against the 12th Warders with Bobo throwing six relief innings striking out nine, walking none and picking up a 9-8 win.

Another clip reports Bobo starring for the Saint Joe’s team picking up three hits, driving in two runs and scoring two while leading his squad to a 6-2 over the Woodrow Wilson Democratic Club.

Bobo and his family were raised in the Cramer Hill section of Camden. With the early passing of his Mother, Lou was raised by his grandmother and a great aunt. He attended Harry C. Sharp School until the eight grade, but had to leave to work and help support the family.

He spent 10 years with Max Riehmann Roofing. Lou and his wife Mary stayed in East Camden and Cramer Hill, raised their three sons. Robert, Louis and Dana, as he worked for 33 years out of the Sheet Metal Workers Local Union 19. He also was quite involved with the Cramer Hill Boys Club. He passed away on December 25, 1972.

Camden Courier-Post
June 30, 1933

Camden Courier-Post * August 4, 1933

Camden Courier-Post * June 30, 1933

Rox Gimello - Jim McGinness - Porky Hoffman - Lou Bobo - Joe Tully - Billy Denof - Ott Laxton

Thanks to Joe Acquaro for his help in creating this page