Albert Joseph Widmar (March 20, 1925 – October 15, 2005) was an American pitcher, pitching coach,[1] scout and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB).

A decade later, he returned to the majors as a pitching coach, serving in that role for 17 seasons between 1962 and 1989 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Milwaukee Brewers and Toronto Blue Jays.

[6] Widmar made his MLB debut with Boston at Fenway Park on April 25, 1947,[5] and appeared in two early-season games as a relief pitcher before returning to the minors.

[5] But after appearing in only one game with the White Sox, a two-inning relief stint on April 17, 1952, against the Cleveland Indians, Widmar was shipped back to the minors, where he spent the rest of his playing career.

After three years in that job, he was promoted to the major-league Phillies, serving as pitching coach on the staff of manager Gene Mauch from 1962 through 1964, a period which saw the Phils rise from last place in the National League to three over-.500 seasons.

But that month, three middle-rung members of the starting rotation began to struggle with injuries and ineffectiveness, causing the club to rely almost exclusively on staff aces Jim Bunning and Chris Short.

A loss to Cincinnati on the 21st kicked off a ten-game Philadelphia losing streak and a wild, four-club pennant scramble, with the Phillies finishing second, one game from the championship, won by the Cardinals on the season's last day.

In 1978 and 1979, he served as a minor-league pitching instructor for the Baltimore Orioles — once again briefly filling in as a manager, this time for eight games as skipper of the Triple-A Rochester Red Wings in 1978.

By 1985, Widmar was guiding a rotation that featured Dave Stieb, Doyle Alexander, Jim Clancy, and Jimmy Key, as the Jays won their first American League East Division title.