Bill Coswell

William Coswell pitched from 1961 through 1976 in Tampa. He played on several World Championship teams and won a numerous games. In '61, he sat on the bench and watched his team beat the San Diego Chargers four games to two to win the Championship. Tampa would return to the Championship Series again in '67, but lose to Toledo in six games. Coswell was 19–15 during the season with a 2.80 ERA. He pitched well in the CS, but his two wins didn't lead to popping the champagne.

In '68, he was virtually unhittable. He pitched 330 innings, threw 29 complete games, struck out 295 hitters, and had a 1.64 ERA. He won 28 games. His year was incredible. Tampa beat Detroit in four games to be the Champions. The Tampa crew won it all again in '69 and '71. They returned in '73, but lost to Los Angeles in six games, despite Coswell's two wins (and 27 during the season). The team was getting old and changes were imminent. Coswell led them to one last title in '74. He tossed 16 complete games, was 19–12 with a 3.03 ERA on a team that won the series in seven games against San Diego. Coswell won three games in the Series.

The Buccaneers were old and began to fade after '74. It didn't matter, though, because the Dallas Sky Giants took over and won three straight Series. In the summer of '76, with hopes fading fast, the Bucs traded Coswell, shocking the world. The team that acquired him shocked everyone even more: the conservative Toledo Tigers picked up Coswell for a pretty good price. He would win 13 games down the stretch for the Tigers, who ended the season with 87 losses.

"It would have been about 100 if we hadn't made the trade. When we made the trade, things weren't as bad as they must have really been," commented manager Hal Newman. "Things were on the downswing."

Coswell was the ace in '77, winning 21 games. He finished the year with 285 wins and had a chance to go over 300 in '78.

"Bill Coswell will be our ace this season. We don't necessarily expect him to throw 30 complete games like he did in '67, but if he started 30 games that would be great," Manager Bill Maxwell said.