Catching up with Galen Cisco
Galen Cisco served as the Phillies' pitching coach for four seasons (1997-2000) on manager Terry Francona’s staff.
Cisco’s athletic career certainly had some interesting twists and turns. A native of St. Mary’s, Ohio, Cisco was a star two-sport athlete at Ohio State University.
On the gridiron he was a two-way starter, playing both fullback and linebacker, and served as captain of the Buckeyes' 1957 National Championship squad. He is enshrined in the Ohio State Athletic Hall of Fame.
Cisco also pitched on the baseball team in college.
His recollection of legendary football coach Woody Hayes included a memory from his very first practice with the varsity. He had been added to the roster and as he said was more than a little nervous. “Coach Hayes sent me onto the field to run a play and I ended up colliding with Howard 'Hopalong' Cassady, our star player and a future Heisman Trophy winner,” explained Cisco. “Woody screamed at me and immediately sent me off the field for a few plays. He said if I couldn’t get the plays right, I would never play for the Buckeyes”.
Apparently, Cisco figured those plays, out becoming a vital part of the team shortly thereafter.
In 1958 he signed a contract to pitch with the Boston Red Sox and made his Major League debut in 1961. A year later he was dealt to the upstart New York Mets, where he had the opportunity to play for another legendary figure, manager Casey Stengel.
“Casey was kind of a figurehead as the skipper. He was basically there as sort of a PR move, and the coaches usually ran things. I do remember when he would call team meetings and he would ramble on quite a bit, and it was quite entertaining”.
Cisco pitched for the Mets for four seasons before being traded back to the Red Sox in 1967. That was the year of “The Impossible Dream” season which found the Sox in the World Series. Unfortunately, Cisco, who spent about half of the year with the big club, was one of the guys left off the postseason roster and ineligible for the Series.
After spending the 1968 season with Louisville, Boston’s AAA club, he was acquired by the expansion Kansas City Royals. The Royals really wanted him to be the pitching coach for their Triple-A farm club in Omaha. He accepted the role, however he still felt that he had something left in the tank as an active pitcher. The Royals agreed to a unique arrangement with Cisco. He was a player/coach in Omaha but when the big league club ran thin on pitching, they summoned him to Kansas City to bolster their depleted bullpen.
Unbelievably, he made 15 appearances for the Royals while being employed as a Minor League coach! That would simply be unheard of in today’s game.
He then began coaching full-time and was the Royal’s big league pitching coach for nine years beginning in 1971, which included the Royals' great teams during the mid-to-late 70’s.
From there he went to Montreal for five seasons with the Expos, where he worked under Hall of Fame manager Dick Williams. From Canada it was on to San Diego, working with Williams again, this time with the Padres.
Then it was back to Canada for a second time. This time with the Toronto Blue Jays organization. First in Triple-A in Syracuse, and then with the parent club in Toronto, which included their back-to-back world championship seasons 1992-1993. He remained in Toronto thru 1995.
In 1997 the Phillies tabbed him to be a veteran presence on rookie manager Terry Francona’s staff. Cisco remained with the Phillies until the final day of the 2000 season, when the club decided to make wholesale changes to the staff.
He spent a couple of more years in the game as a scout for Toronto and then retired back to his native Ohio, where he still lives today.
He was married to his dear wife Martha for 62 years before she passed away three years ago. They had two sons, one of whom played professionally in the Cardinals organization.
Additionally, he and Martha had six grandchildren. One of them, Mike Cisco, played in the Phillies system and made it to Triple-A and also appeared in some Major League Spring Training games for the Phillies. Another grandson, Drew was a sixth-round draft choice of the Cincinnati Reds in 2010. They also have five great grandchildren.
Finally, Galen Cisco is the answer to a trivia question that even the Internet can’t get right. While indeed reliever Toby Borland was the last Phillies player, he wasn’t the last Phillie to wear uniform No. 42. That distinction belongs to Cisco, who was “officially” the last Phillie issued jersey No. 42 before it was universally retired throughout baseball to honor Jackie Robinson in 1997. He then switched to No. 43 after that.
It’s been great catching up with one of the nicest guys ever to wear the pinstriped. No. 42 or 43, Galen Cisco!
(Frank Coppenbarger spent 50 years in baseball, including the last 30-plus with the Phillies, first as equipment manager, then director of travel and clubhouse services. He retired three years ago and currently is coaching high school baseball in Ocean City, N.J.)