Humboldt’s Carlos Bosch has a fan base of his own

Carlos Bosch today and in earlier days. Many former youths of Humboldt are fans of Bosch, a longtime coach and umpire.

Reeling in the years

Carlos “Charlie” Bosch was born in Puerto-Rico but has lived in this country since 1953. Humboldtans may recognize him from baseball games in which he has umpired and coached in the Babe Ruth League. He coached the J. Hungerford-Smith team.

Mr. Bosch has created a fan base of his own over the years!

“Carlos, you did so much for the kids in the Humboldt Little League system! The city needs to honor you in some way. I hope one day to see a field named after you or a bronze statue of you at the current field!”  said Kevin Lacy.

“Hey coach, thanks for making me a first base All Star,” said Andrew McCutchen.

“He was a great umpire in Humboldt. He was the best ump and was when my son was playing! Awesome guy!” said Susan Graves Moore.

His nickname growing up was Charlie and some still call him Charlie. He was born in Juanitados, Puerto Rico on December 30, 1937. His mother was Petra Torres. His father was Francisco “Frank” Bosch. Both his parents are buried in Puerto Rico.

Bosch moved to Chicago in 1953. He stayed there for 12 years then moved to Humboldt in 1965.

He attends Marantha Baptist Church in Humboldt. His mother lived in Chicago for 40 years. His father lived in New York. Both went back to Puerto Rico and died there.

Growing up, he said, he worked like a dog!

“I got up at 3 a.m. everyday. I’d get the horse and walk it around so she could eat. I would water the plants from 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. Then I would wake my daddy up so he can go to work,” Bosch recalls.

He went to school at Crane Technical High School in Chicago. It offered courses in auto shop and drafting. His first job out of high school, was in a factory that made artificial flowers. That was in 1959 and he made 95-cents a hour.

He married his late wife wife, Peggy Bushart Bosch, in Chicago in 1961. When they moved to Humboldt, Charlie got a job at Wayne Knitting Mills. He also worked at the Milan Arsenal for 18 years. He retired there at age 62.

Charlie and Peggy had two children. His oldest son, Michael Bosch, is an air traffic control supervisor. His daughter is Cindy Bosch Nettle.

If he could name his most amazing accomplishment, he said it would be playing baseball with the boys and trying to teach them how to play.

As a kid though, he recalls, “We didn’t have no fun, we worked every day.”

But they did play when he was child, he admits: “Playing in the mud! We played baseball mostly.”

On moving to America as a child, Bosch said, “People think learning English is easy but it’s not; it’s very hard.” Still, he did like school. “I always wanted to be a math teacher. I loved math.”

Looking back at his courtship with Peggy, he says she actually broached the subject of marriage. “She asked me! I was 21 and she was 19.”

He admires President John F. Kennedy the most. Bosch served in the National Guard for six years. When he left the service he was a Specialist Third Class E-4. He was in the 33rd Infantry Division. While working at the arsenal he went to Mexico as an interpreter, chosen because he speaks fluent Spanish.

The happiest time of his life was when he married Peggy, he said.