Former Blue Jays coach John Felske dies at 82

January 30, 2025

By Kevin Glew

Cooperstowners in Canada

Former Toronto Blue Jays bullpen coach John Felske passed away on November 30 at the age of 82.

There has been no official announcement of his death, but his son, Mike, has been responding to autograph requests sent to his mailing address with the following message:

“This is Mike Felske, John Felske‘s son, and I received your request to sign some baseball cards,” the note reads. “Sorry to inform you that my father passed away on 11/30/24. He enjoyed signing cards and sorry he couldn’t get to yours.”

Felske was the Blue Jays’ bullpen coach under manager Bobby Mattick in 1980 and 1981. He was also in charge of working with the team’s catchers.

His two-season tenure in Toronto was his third pro stop in Canada. He managed the Milwaukee Brewers’ Double-A affiliate in Thetford Mines, Que., in 1975 and the Brewers’ Triple-A Vancouver Canadians in 1979.

He had piloted the Canadians to a second-half division title in 1979 before accepting his position with the Blue Jays that November.

“It was a good opportunity for me,” Felske told the Vancouver Sun of his new position with the Blue Jays that fall. “I’m about 100 days short of four years for my [MLB] pension.”

Felske’s two seasons with the Blue Jays were his first as a major league coach, but he had previously been to the big leagues as a catcher with the Chicago Cubs (1968) and Milwaukee Brewers (1972-73).

Raised near Wrigley Field

Born on May 30, 1942 in Chicago, Felske went to Lane Tech High School, which was not far from Wrigley Field.

After high school, Felske attended the University of Illinois until he was signed by his hometown Cubs in 1961.

The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Felske was an outstanding defensive catcher in the Cubs’ organization for seven seasons before he finally received his first big league call-up in July 1968. He played in just four games with the Cubs prior to being sent back to the minors where he remained through the 1969 season.

On December 1, 1969, he was selected by the Milwaukee Brewers in the minor league draft.

He spent all of the 1970 and 1971 seasons in the Brewers’ minors before he was promoted for 37 big league games in 1972 and 13 more the ensuing campaign. Following the 1973 season, he retired to become a manager in the Brewers’ system.

Becomes minor league manager

Felske would manage in the Brewers’ organization for six seasons from 1974 to 1979. As noted earlier, he made a Canadian stop with the Eastern League’s Thetford Mines Miners in 1975, where he helped hone the skills of Jim Gantner.

Four years later, he was the skipper of the Triple-A Vancouver Canadians. That season, he witnessed right-hander Mark Bomback put together one of the best minor league campaigns ever. In 33 starts, Bomback went 22-7 with a 2.56 ERA with 16 complete games and five shutouts. For his efforts, he was named The Sporting News Minor League Pitcher of the Year. Despite his performance, Bomback was not called up by the Brewers.

“I just hope someone in the major leagues hands him a baseball every four days next year and lets him pitch,” said Felske of Bomback after the season. “He has command of four pitches, but more importantly, he has the best idea on the staff about how to pitch.”

*Writer’s Note: Not coincidentally, the Blue Jays, with Felske as their bullpen coach, would acquire Bomback in April 1981. Bomback proceeded to register a 3.89 ERA in 20 appearances for the Blue Jays that season.*

During his six seasons as a skipper in the Brewers’ organization, Felske become a much-loved and respected manager who helped future Brewers big leaguers like Gantner and Gorman Thomas.

“He managed me in 1977 in Spokane,” Thomas told the Toronto Star about Felske in July 1980. “He helped me more than anyone in my career. He worked with me every day, threw batting practice to me every day. Without John Felske, I’d probably be working in a dockyard right now.”

Joins Blue Jays coaching staff

After his successful season in Vancouver, Felske was named Blue Jays’ bullpen coach by incoming manager Bobby Mattick in November 1979.

“There’s more money, naturally,” Felske told the Vancouver Sun about accepting the position with the Blue Jays. “But it’s a chance to be in the big leagues and I’ve learned a lot more things can happen up there. Years ago, a team would go to the minor leagues for a manager, but they’re not doing that anymore.”

Felske had the challenge of getting the most out of the last-place Blue Jays’ piecemeal bullpen. He helped convert starter Jerry Garvin into an effective reliever in 1980. That season, Garvin posted a 2.29 ERA and had eight saves.

The veteran coach was also in charge of the team’s catchers, and in 1980, he was focused on helping Ernie Whitt and Bob Davis throw out more runners.

“It’s not guys like Willie Wilson you worry about,” Felske told the Toronto Star in April 1980. “A guy like that’s going to steal his bases no matter what you do. A lot of the players who have stolen against us have been good baserunners – Wilson, Julio Cruz, Paul Molitor – and no matter what you do, those guys are going to steal a lot of bases. The ones you’ve got to worry about are the guys that don’t steal bases regularly. They’re the ones you’ve got to get out. A catcher who makes a good throw has done his job. If he bounces one into centre field, that’s the problem.”

Felske became a popular coach with the Blue Jays, but the club couldn’t escape the AL East basement under Mattick. And following the 1981 season, the team replaced Mattick with future Hall of Famer Bobby Cox, who did not retain Felske.

Felske was offered another position in the organization, but he opted to accept the manager’s job with the Double-A Reading Phillies.

Moves to Phillies’ organization

After managing in Reading in 1982, he piloted the Phillies’ Triple-A Portland Beavers to a 75-67 record the next year. In 1984, he was added to the Phillies’ big league staff as a coach.

The Phillies finished 81-81 in the 1984 season and manager Paul Owens was relieved of his duties and replaced by Felske. By this time, the Phillies’ core of Mike Schmidt, Steve Carlton, Garry Maddox and Jerry Koosman was aging and the team finished 75-87 in 1985. But they rebounded to finish second in the NL East with an 86-75 record under Felske in 1986. This gave the club optimism that they would be contenders in 1987, but when they got off to a 29-32 start, Felske was fired.

After this, Felske left baseball to work in an oil change business he had helped establish called Oil X-Change Inc., in Chicago. In 1991, he owned three Oil X-Change, Inc., franchises and oversaw a trio of others.

“I enjoyed baseball,” Felske told UPI in July 1991. “I did it for 26 years of my life and I thought at one time it was all I ever wanted to do. But as I got older and I achieved my goal of managing in the majors and got into the business end here, I found that just as rewarding. I really enjoy it.”

In retirement, Felske settled quietly in Blue Eye, Missouri and though he did respond to fan letters sent to him by baseball fans, he seemed to have left his life in the game behind.

“You won’t find anything in my house that says I’m involved in baseball,” Felske told the Chicago Tribune in an April 1985 interview. “In my mind, I’m only interested in what I have to do, not what I’ve done.”

It’s a philosophy that Felske seemed to have abided by until the day he died.

*Thank you to Blue Jays historian Paul Bychko for letting me know about Felske’s death.