Harold "Pinky" Primrose
Norway High School Coach : 1958-1964
Boys growing up in Norway, Iowa, in the 1930s and 1940s were, almost without
exception, introduced to baseball before even beginning their formal education. From
impromptu ‘three-on-three’ games between seven-year-olds at the town diamond
(or off at some remote corner of the field once the older boys showed up to
play), through high school, the town team, and even at the semi-pro level on
one of several teams in the vicinity, baseball – almost as surely as the planting
and harvest cycles – was the metronome that kept the cadence for the community.
Harold John Primrose, one of those boys raised in the Norway tradition, was
born at the nadir of the Great Depression, on June 17, 1934. He
was the third of four children (after brother Robert and sister Susan, and
before youngest sibling Gayle) in Lloyd and Esther Primrose’s family and was,
literally, born to baseball. His mother, Esther (nee Trojovosky),
was one of Hal Trosky’s two elder sisters, and was a superior softball catcher
in her own right.
Primrose’s youth was consumed by the standard institutions of the era: family,
church, school, and sports. In Norway, Iowa, ‘sports’ for boys meant
basketball for three months, as both respite from the seclusion imposed by
winter and as a conditioning tool for baseball, which occupied the rest of
the year.
Harold’s brother, Robert, the first Primrose boy dubbed “Pinky” was an accomplished
ball player himself, and whose career at the University of Iowa led to a tryout
with the Philadelphia Phillies. Fortunately for the nation, Robert
was not offered a contract, and instead accepted a commission in the U.S. Air
Force. An elite pilot, one of a small, select cadre trained to fly
at the boundary between earth’s atmosphere and outer space, he was later awarded
the Distinguished Flying Cross for his superb airmanship while conducting reconnaissance
over Cuba during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1964, Major Primrose
perished in a U-2 crash during a landing in Arizona.
Back in Norway, in the late ‘30s, however, the Primrose boys played baseball. Once
in eighth grade, and old enough to play on the town team, Harold found a comfortable
fit at third base. The town team was coached by Clemens J. Pickart, who
had also coached Hal Trosky a generation earlier, and it was “Jeff” (or “Stinger”,
as he was nicknamed on the diamond) who both recognized Harold’s potential,
and also drove the young teenager and his teammates to nearby towns to watch
semi-pro games. Through word and deed, by coaching and mentoring,
Pickart built the foundation for many of Norway’s players.
Once in eighth grade, Primrose was eligible to play for the high school team. Already
on the town team, he was an established infielder, and had developed a close
rapport among the high school squad. Of course, the town team and
high school team were generally populated by the same players, which grew their
collective experience at a rate far quicker that that of teams from larger
cities.
But in 1948, the school had not yet grown the long tradition of baseball excellence. That
process was slowed when Norway introduced their new baseball coach, coincident
with Primrose’s first year on the team. The man was a track-and-field
coach and knew virtually nothing about baseball. It was only through
the vocal intervention of the older boys that Harold was even allowed to play. Predictably,
though, the coach was replaced after a year, and under new coach Jack Davis’
guidance, Primrose blossomed.
Following high school graduation in 1952, Primrose entered the State University
of Iowa (now simply called the University of Iowa) to continue playing baseball
– now known as “Pinky”, since his brother’s graduation – and to embark on a
track mirroring that of earlier mentors Davis and Floyd Nelson, a path leading
to a career in education and coaching.
While Pinky’s formal baseball career had begun with high school and town team
baseball starting in the 8th grade, he continued to play for over 20 years
in the semi-pro leagues around eastern Iowa. He played and managed
in the M & J League, playing for teams like “Collins Radio”, “Allis Chalmers”,
and “Iowa Manufacturing”, and managed the “Mid West Janitorial Team”, and also
played for Norway, Watkins and Victor in the Thursday night leagues. In
the late 1940s the Watkins team took on barnstorming squads from the Kansas
City Monarchs (of the Negro leagues), and from the infamous House-of-David
during their annual mid-west swings.
The games were great theater for the baseball-knowledgeable region. In
one game, against the Monarchs around 1949, Pinky’s “Watkins” team moved ahead
of the professionals by a slight margin. Games like these only made
money if spectators paid admission, so the professionals had an incentive to
play just well enough to win, while still fanning the competitive excitement.
Losing a barnstorming game, however, was not in their best interest, since
the Monarchs were not one of the two ‘clown’ teams that also toured. Primrose
recalled that the Monarch batters applied just a small bit of acceleration,
and reeled off four consecutive doubles to re-take a lead they never relinquished.
After graduating from Iowa in 1956, Primrose took a job as head baseball and
basketball coach, and history teacher, in nearby Lisbon. Two years
later, in 1958, he returned to his hometown to accept a comparable position
at Norway High, taking over a moribund program that had only ten boys on the
squad. Those humble beginnings marked the start of a Hall of Fame
coaching and teaching career for Primrose, and in turn established a baseball
foundation that would mature, a few years later, into the dynasty that became
Norway High School baseball.
As Primrose took over at Norway, good things continued to happen in his life. On
April 30, 1960, he married Florence “Flo” Lowell, and they started a family
that now includes daughters Barbara and Ann, son Roger, their respective spouses,
and grandchildren Michael, Sarah, Meredith, Robert, Mark, and Rachel.
Norway High School, under his leadership, performed well during his six-year
tenure, winning 165 games against fifty losses. Not that baseball
was the only activity for the educator. Primrose stayed busy by
simultaneously serving as, teacher, head basketball and baseball coach,
Athletic Director, and – for two years – acting Principal.
In 1964, with a growing family to feed, he moved to Cedar Rapids to assume
a teaching/ coaching billet at Washington High School. At Washington,
the lessons learned on the Norway diamond led to even greater success. Between
1956 and 1987, his teams won 712 games, against only 385 losses. Over
those thirty-three years, Pinky’s teams won the Iowa High School Baseball
Championship (1966), were Mississippi Valley Conference champions (1969,
1974, 1980, and 1985), and won numerous sectional, district, and conference
championships.
In 1962 the Midwest professional baseball League (Class “D”, but
became Class “A” the following year) expanded by three teams, and the Cedar
Rapids Braves were welcomed as the newest members. In 1964, Pinky
was named to the Board of Directors (a position he retains in 2010),
and was team president from 1973-1984. He was also an associate
scout for the Baltimore Orioles in 1965 and 1966, and from 1990 -2009 for
the Kansas City Royals. In 1981 he was named head baseball coach
at Coe College (NCAA Division III), and remained until 1988, and for 20 years
co-hosted a radio show focused on high school athletics in the Cedar Rapids
area.
These accomplishments have earned him enough awards to fill a museum. Some
of the many include induction into:
He was also named the American Baseball Coaches Association National
Coach of the Year, the Iowa State Coach of the Year, and the ABCA District
Coach of the Year in 1980. He has also received numerous coaching
and officiating awards (including the “TAIT CUMMINS” award for contributions
to youth athletics; Cedar Rapids GAZETTE recognition for outstanding coaching;
and several awards from the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches association).
In 1995 he was the recipient of the “LEFTY GOMEZ” award, the
most prestigious award in amateur baseball.
That award is presented by the American Baseball Coaches Association each year
to “an individual who has distinguished himself amongst his peers and has contributed
significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally, and internationally.” Since
the ABCA instituted the “LEFTY GOMEZ” award in 1962, it has honored collegiate
coaching royalty like Ron Polk, Rod Dedeaux, and Les Murakami, but in those
thirty-eight years (as of 2010), it has been awarded only once to
a high school coach. Norway’s own ‘Pinky’ Primrose remains that sole recipient.
Harold Primrose, for all of his baseball success, however, was and is much
more than “just” a baseball man. After completing graduate work
in 1966, he was awarded a Masters degree in Education from Iowa, and was a
long-time member of various local and state education associations. The
number of lives he has influenced in the classroom literally obscures the athletes
he coached on the baseball field and basketball court, and in 2001 he was presented
the “Outstanding Service” award from the National High School Federation.
While he coached and taught, Primrose focused his organizational and leadership
skills on building a professional coaching organization in Iowa. In
1969 he founded the Iowa High School Baseball Coaches Association, and served
as president until 1971. Until 2008 he filled the role of Executive
Secretary and also directed their annual three-day clinic and four-day All
Star series. He also acts in an executive and managerial capacity
for the Cedar Rapids Athletic Officials Association, making the assignments
for football and basketball games in the metro area.
Harold Primrose’s coaching ability propelled Norway High School along the road
to their legendary status and notoriety. There is no question, based
on his demonstrable record of achievement and peer recognition, that he is
one of the finest baseball people ever to come from Norway, but it is his achievement
beyond the athletic arena that has, literally, helped shape the region of Eastern
Iowa for generations.