11-15-11 11-15-11
1928-1930: Arizona State League and 1931-32 Arizona-Texas League
1947-1950: Arizona- Texas League
1951: Southwest International League
1952-1954: Arizona-Texas League
1955-1957: Arizona-Mexico League
Individual Records for Phoenix teams in class "C"
[The following information on the 1915 season is generally a summary of the research completed by SABR member Lynn Bevell which was published in the 1999 SABR publication "Mining Towns to Major Leagues."]
Phoenix's first attempt to field a professional baseball team came in the spring of 1915 when the city's population was about 20,000. The league (the first in the Southwest) was the brain child of El Paso, TX, resident and minor league legend John J. McCloskey. Obtaining the authorization from the National Association and establishing franchise number one - in El Paso - was rather easy but convincing other nearby cities to risk money on a new class "D" professional league was much more problematic.
By March, he also had support from Albuquerque and Silver City, NM, and Phoenix and Tucson, AZ. Since he wanted no less then six teams, McCloskey attempted to build interest in Bisbee, Douglas and Nogales, AZ, and Roswell, Las Cruces, Lordsburg and Deming in NM.
The Tucson entry was solidified with the naming of a former major leaguer as manager - Norm "Kitty" Brashear and the
obtaining of permission to play at Elysian Grove Park. In Phoenix, Herb Hester was named manager and he worked well
with the local chamber of commerce and a city leader, H. Clap Parker, to secure financing and a home field which was the
privately owned Riverside Park. Located at the bottom of the Salt River at Central Avenue, the complex also included a
pool and dance hall. As the capital city of Arizona, "Senators" was chosen as their nickname and W.B. Twitchell became
the team's president.
[Arizona Dept. of Library, Archives, Public Records]
Approximate area of Riverside Park shown in 1884
The organization of New Mexico entries of Albuquerque and Silver City also progressed well. Bisbee drew no real interest, but Las Cruces interests decided to accept the invitation for the sixth league franchise. McCloskey left open the option of adding Nogales and Douglas.
Phoenix manager Hester, who had previously managed in Salt Lake City, was in charge of obtaining sufficient finances and players. He claimed $4,000 was needed up front to cover salaries and beyond that figure, all that he would require was 250 fans five times an week and 1,500 on Sundays. Hester was never able to raise the complete $4,000 and so he had to draw more fans then he originally anticipated. The good news was that he did reach an agreement with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League to use players who did not make the Seals roster, but were still owned by them. The rest of the team was put together from players whose teams had folded since the previous season and local players such as Herb Hall.
It was hoped that league play would begin on April 15, but all of the franchises were not ready by that date. Silver City proved unstable and McCloskey pulled the plug on that city hoping to replace them with teams in Nogales or Douglas. Opening day was moved back to May 1 after Douglas was awarded the sixth franchise on April 23. However, Tucson and Phoenix went ahead and played Arizona's the first professional game on April 27 which Phoenix won 10 to 2.
It wasn't until the next day that the league's representatives agreed to the circuit's rules and regulations. A salary cap of $1,200 per team per month was set (not including managers). Deposits of $600 were required from each team to cover one two-week payroll and another $500 was collected from each franchise as a guarantee against withdrawal from the league. The league would pay it's umpires and official scorers and maintain the playing fields from funds collected as a 10% tax from each game's proceeds.
On May 25, the Las Cruces and Douglas teams folded. The reasons given were insufficient financing and lack of support from fans. However, it was clear that Las Cruces was too small and observers claimed that the city fathers of Douglas never really tried. The remained four teams acquired the best players from the fallen cities and the league decided to erase all of the games played so far from the records books and start from scratch. The deleted games standings were:
Phoenix 16-5; Albuquerque 13-6; El Paso 13-7; Tucson 7-14; Douglas 5-13; Las Cruces 4-14
Through June, newspaper reports seem to indicate that the league was on strong footings. The reality was, even with their good record, the Phoenix club's finances were suffering. In order to draw more fans, Hester tried a late afternoon game to avoid the heat. It was a bad idea because no one, including the players, could see the ball in the blinding sunlight and the game was called after six innings with the score 10-10. The club's (and the leagues) last chance was the hope for a huge attendance on the Fourth of July. That did not happen.
The day after playing holiday games, the league ended it's season and promised to open the next Spring. As was the case in nearly all cases of a minor league's demise, lack of funds was the root cause as only El Paso, at the very least, broke even. The other teams were in the red with Phoenix and Albuquerque reportedly ignoring the salary cap by spending up to $2,000 per month on salaries.
In an interview with "The Sporting News", John McCloskey stated that the long distances between league cities caused transportation costs to be way over-budget as their only real travel option was to use railroads who charged four cents a mile.
The league's final standings showed Phoenix as having a 1 ½ games lead for first place with 59 games played. Individual
statistics were apparently not published and have not survived.
| 1915 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| Phoenix Senators | 38 | 21 | 644 | Herb Hester | |
| El Paso Mackmen | 36 | 22 | 621 | 1.5 | |
| Albuquerque Dukes | 32 | 25 | 561 | 5 | |
| Tucson Old Pueblos | 19 | 40 | 322 | 19 | |
| Douglas Miners | 5 | 13 | 278 | ||
| Las Cruces Farmers | 5 | 14 | 263 | ||
| [Douglas and Las Cruces disbanded on May 24] | |||||
| League folded on July 6 |
-----
[Marc Okkonon]
Herb Hall was one of two players on the '15 Senators who reached the major leagues and his record that year has been found:
24 games; 174 innings; 14-8; 99 so; 1.19 WHIP
He was born on June 5, 1894 in Steelville, IL, started playing pro ball in 1913 and reached the majors for three games in 1918 with Detroit (6 inn., 12 h, 7 bb, 15.00 ERA). After playing in the minors the rest of that season and in 1919, he did not play until 1922 when he went to Denver (Western) and completed his baseball career there from 1922-1928.
Herb pitched in 570 minor league games and finished 3,455 innings with a 230-191 record and a WHIP of about 1.34.
Hall became a cotton broker in Fresno, CA, for 30 years and retired in 1965. He died from a heart attack there at St.
Agnes Hospital on July 1, 1970, and was buried at Belmont Memorial Park in Fresno.
[Library of Congress]
Byrd "Birdie" Lynn was the other '15 Senators player to reach the big leagues. He was born on March 13, 1889, in Unionville, CA. He played in the minors in 1913-15, 1921 and 1923-26 with a .265 batting average.
Lynn was a backup catcher for the White Sox from 1916-20 seeing action in 31, 35, 5, 29 and 16 games with averages of .225, .222, .250, .227 and .320. Over those five seasons, he played in 116 games and had 211 at bats for a .237 average, .303 OPB and .289 slugging. His fielding average was .969 in 88 games as a catcher.
Byrd managed in class AA in 1926 and then became a well-known attendant at the Napa (CA) State Hospital. He died from a perforated ulcer and heart disease on Feb. 5, 1940, at the Victory Hospital in Napa. Cremation followed.
-----
Herb Hester managed the 1915 club. He was born on June 3, 1886, and played as a professional in 1905, 1908, 1910-17 and 1923. Herb never reached the majors but managed in the minors from 1913-17 and 1923.
His final baseball job was in the Dakota League for Minot, ND, in '23. Herb apparently stayed in North Dakota and died at Grand Forks on Dec. 15, 1957.
[National Baseball Hall of Fame]
John J. "Honest John" McCloskey was born on April 4, 1862 in Louisville. He played professionally from 1887-94, 1897-1902 and 1904-05, however, his claim to fame came as a manager and league organizer including the Rio Grande Association of 1915 and more famously the Texas League.
He was a manager in the minors from 1888-1894 in the Texas, Southern and California Leagues before taking over the helm of Louisville in the National League in 1895-96. In his only complete season ('95), the team finished with a 35-96 record and he was replaced on May 10,1896, after his team went 2-17.
In 1897-1905, John was back in the minors managing from Texas to Montana to Washington state to California to Idaho. His next and last chance in the majors came when he was at the helm of the St. Louis Cardinals in 1906-1908 (52-98, 7th; 52-101, 8th and 49-105, 8th). During the next season he led Milwaukee (Amer. Assoc) and then through 1913 he was at Butte, Ogden and Salt Lake City. He scouted for the Reds in 1914.
His 1915 season was, of course, involved in the Rio Grande Association as he managed El Paso. He was then off-the-field until 1919-1924 when he returned to manage in Texas, Tenn. and Del. Another layoff occurred until he ended his on-the- field activities in Akron and Richmond in 1928-1930 and 1932.
John managed for 34 years with a 1,713-1,632 minor league record (31 years) and a 190-417 major league mark in 3 years.
He also umpired at various times. His obituary indicates that he was instrumental in the formation of ten minor leagues.
McCloskey died on Nov. 17, 1940, in Louisville at City Hospital, after a series of strokes. Burial was at Calvary Cemetery
in Louisville.
1928-1930: Arizona State League and 1931-1932 Arizona-Texas League
[Portions of the research of SABR member Dr. Jeb Rosebrook, which was published in the SABR publication "Mining
Towns to Mayor Leagues", was used in the following league history]
-----1928-----
The Arizona State League was said to be an outgrowth of the state's semi-pro and "outlaw" leagues of the late teens and early twenties. In 1928, a league comprising franchises representing Phoenix, Tucson, Bisbee and Miami was allowed to join the National Association as a class "D" circuit. According to reports, it was financially successful in it's first year.
Each league member was required to deposit a bond of $3,000 to the National Association to met expenses and there was a $2,500 per month salary cap excluding managers. The roster size was 14 players and no player could be added during the final 30 days of the season without permission from the league president. Umpires were paid between $7.00-$10.00 per game. "Road" cars were used for transportation between series. Baseball gear was strapped to the side and the only perdection was a canvas top. Main roads in Arizona, at that time, were graded and oiled.
Phoenix (population about 50,000) used the same park, Riverside, which had housed the Senators of 1915 and they also retained the nickname. The park had a wood frame grandstand and an infield of gravel and sand. Generally, team ticket prices were twenty-five cents for general admission and fifty cents for the box seats. On Fridays, ladies were admitted free. Former big leaguer, Bert Whaling, managed the team.
All games were played during the day which required pitchers in Phoenix to change their flannel uniforms after every inning. They hung one jersey up to dry while wearing another. Opening day in the capital city was sold with much fanfare: "War in China, Revolution in Nicaragua, bandits in Mexico, gang war in Chicago - mere firecrackers in the jaws of the mighty cannon that will sound throughout Arizona today."
The Senators won the league's pennant with a two-game spread over Bisbee and were led by Bert Whaling.
No individual statistics were published and none survived except for those of future major leaguer Tony Freitas who
pitched in 14 games and 116 innings for a 5-4 record, 4.58 ERA and 1.23 WHIP.
| 1928 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| Phoenix Senators | 39 | 29 | 574 | Bert Whaling | |
| Bisbee Bees | 37 | 31 | 544 | 2 | |
| Miami Miners | 30 | 38 | 441 | 9 | |
| Tucson Waddies | 30 | 38 | 441 | 9 |
-----
Antonio "Tony" Freitas pitched on the 1928 Senators. He was with the 1932-1933 Phillies in 23 and 19 games (18 and 9 starts) with 150 and 90 innings earning ERAs of 3.83 and 7.27. Tony completed his big league years with the Reds in 1934-1936 for 30, 31 and 4 games with 153, 144 and 7 innings for 4.01, 4.57 and 1.29.
Tony pitched in 107 MLB games including 63 starts and finished 518 innings allowing 614 hits and 137 walks while striking out 135. His ERA was 4.48 with a .296 OAV, .343 OOB and a 25-33 w/l mark.
Freitas pitched as a pro from 1928-1953! [excluding 1943-45 when he was in the military]. As a minor leaguer, he was in
736 games, 4,905 innings giving up 5,090 hits and 932 walks while striking out 2,324. His career record was 342-238
with a 3.11 ERA and he was named one of the three best minor league pitchers of the first half of the 20th Century by
SABR's Minor League Committee. He managed in 1951 and 1955 and was a minor league coach in 1954. He lived to
age 85 when he died from a heart attack while working in his yard on March 14, 1994, in Orangevale, CA. Burial, after
he was cremated, was at the St. Mary's Cemetery in Sacramento.
[Library of Congress]
Bert Whaling was born on June 22, 1888, in Los Angeles and managed the 1928 Phoenix club. He played in the minors in 1908-09, 1911-12, 1916 and 1920-26. In 763 games and 2,496 at bats, he hit .245 as a catcher.
Bert reached the majors in 1913-15 with the Boston Braves. Playing in 79, 60 and 72 games as a back-up catcher, he batted .242, .209 and .221. He led National League catchers in fielding during the 1913 season.
Whaling played 211 big league games with a lifetime .225 average, .283 OBP and .276 slugging. His career fielding mark was .986 with 205 contests as a catcher.
Besides managing Phoenix, he also was at the helm of the Salt Lake City club in 1926. Whaling was a World War I
veteran and died from metastatic adenocarcinoma at the VA Hospital in Los Angeles on Jan. 21, 1965. Burial was at the
Los Angeles National Cemetery.
-----1929-----
After a successful 1928 season, the Arizona State League's leaders wanted more competition so they were able to attract Globe and Mesa as league franchise holders. First and second-half champions (they played a split-season) could now be decided and a post-season was possible.
On July 24, Mesa became the league's first franchise casualty as they pleaded insolvency. Unlike the rest of the league cities, who had income from mining or were more populous, Mesa's economy was agricultural and they had little fan support particularly when the weather became hot. To compensate, each remaining club would be idle for one week and each team was given three wins and one loss for every series that had originally been scheduled with Mesa.
Unlike their other two professional seasons, the Phoenix Senators did not win a pennant. In fact, they finished in last place and went through four managers. The first was Ross Lyall who also played infield and then Thomas Burke. He was followed by club pitcher Ross Gardner and finally Chet Thomas. Strangely, none of the four have much biographical information available: Lyall has no pro record available, Burke only played two years (1923 and 1929), Gardner only in '29 and Thomas for two years (1921 and 1929). Thomas was the only one to have managed before ['21 at Hartford.]
Individual stats did survive so we have some information for comparison on this last place team. The catcher position was shared between Ralph McAdams (.314) and John Alloway (.291). McAdams was an unusual catcher - one with speed - as he led the team in triples with 8.
Dan Crowley (.277) started at first base more often then J.(?) Williamson (.211) and George Kent (.225) and he had a decent slugging percentage of .400. The other infield starters were difficult to decipher from the fielding stats which have survived as 13 men have the position played as "2b, 3b, SS". Tony Bernardo (.293) played 75 games for two teams, but it is not known how many were with the Senators. Cliff Pollins (.226) played 71 games and appears to be a starter. Frank Kostel (.248) was in 32 contests, John? O'Shea (.270) performed in 28, Fanizzi (.250, first name unknown) in 25 and Ater (.178, first name unknown) got into 17 games.
The outfielders included future major leaguer Syd Cohen (.263) who played in 65 league games at that position. Red Holmes (.362) led the team in average, homers and slugging %. The other main starter appeared to have been Yam Ornelas (.351) who had more at bats and doubles then any other player on the team. Chet Sherman (.305) also played 60 league games including some for Phoenix.
Babe Mitchell (14-9) led all pitchers with most wins, games pitched (27), innings pitched (201), ERA (3.18) and WHIP (1.31). Ross Gardner (6-5) had 20 appearances with a 5.11 ERA and 1.72 WHIP. Orv McMurty (6-10) got into 26 league games but it's unknown how many of them were in a Senators uniform.
Leo Fitterer (4-9) pitched quite well in 16 games with a 4.85 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. Dobranski (2-4, first name unknown) also did well in 11 contests (3.83 ERA and 1.70 WHIP). Charles Laird (5-3) was the only other hurler to make ten or more appearances (3.55, 1.49).
It should be noted that no SABR-member-written reference indicates the Phoenix team had a major league affiliation.
However, one book ("Historic Photos of Phoenix") states it had an agreement with Washington.
[Arizona Dept. of Library, Archives, Public Records]
Pool located at Riverside Park near ballpark
| 1929 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | City Born |
| Ralph McAdams | C62 | 204 | 13/8 | 4 | 314 | 515 | ||
| John Alloway | C52 | 24/R | 189 | 15/3 | 1 | 291 | 418 | --, CA |
| - Ater | 23S17 | 73 | 0/0 | 0 | 178 | 178 | ||
| Jess? Spring | C9 | 37 | 1/1 | 0 | 243 | 324 | ||
| Tony Bernardo @ | SS75 | 21/S | 294 | 12/7 | 3 | 293 | 412 | |
| - Stevens | C2 | 3 | 0/0 | 0 | 000 | 000 | ||
| - Bramlette | 23S6 | 24 | 1/0 | 0 | 208 | 250 | --, MA | |
| Dan Crowley | 1b38 | 22/R | 141 | 7/5 | 2 | 277 | 440 | |
| - Craigbaum | 23S6 | 28 | 2/0 | 1 | 179 | 357 | ||
| J.? Williamson | 1b14 | 57 | 2/0 | 0 | 211 | 246 | ||
| - Davis | --4 | 9 | 0/0 | 0 | 222 | 222 | ||
| George Kent | 1b10 | 40 | 1/0 | 2 | 225 | 400 | ||
| Syd Cohen @ | OF65 | 23/S | 266 | 19/3 | 6 | 263 | 425 | Baltimore |
| Les "Red" Holmes | OF80 | 290 | 16/6 | 10 | 362 | 562 | ||
| - Fanizzi | 23S25 | 80 | 5/1 | 4 | 250 | 488 | ||
| Chet Sherman | OF60 | 210 | 11/5 | 3 | 305 | 448 | ||
| Mike Herrera | 23S15 | 61 | 2/1 | 1 | 311 | 426 | ||
| Yam Ornelas | OF77 | 328 | 23/2 | 8 | 351 | 506 | ||
| Frank Kostel | 23S32 | 125 | 6/0 | 1 | 248 | 320 | ||
| - Mumby | OF16 | 54 | 2/1 | 4 | 389 | 685 | ||
| Ross Lyall | 23S11 | 47 | 1/1 | 0 | 234 | 298 | ||
| - Downs | OF2 | 9 | 0/0 | 0 | 111 | 111 | ||
| D. McMurtry | 23S7 | 22 | 1/0 | 2 | 182 | 500 | ||
| - Nattoe | OF60 | 20 | 0/0 | 1 | 250 | 400 | ||
| John? O'Shea | 23S28 | 115 | 3/1 | 4 | 270 | 417 | ||
| - Robinson | OF5 | 17 | 0/0 | 1 | 294 | 471 | ||
| Cliff Pollins @ | 23S71 | 274 | 9/0 | 1 | 226 | 270 | ||
| - Sullivan | OF1 | 2 | 0/0 | 0 | 000 | 000 | ||
| Milt? Routh | 23S5 | 17 | 0/1 | 0 | 118 | 235 | ||
| - Watson @ | OF2 | 4 | 0/0 | 0 | 250 | 250 | ||
| Charles Scherf | 23S8 | 30 | 0/2 | 0 | 200 | 333 | ||
| Vern Tuck | 23S21 | 81 | 5/2 | 1 | 358 | 506 | ||
| 1929 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Orv McMurty @ | 26/- | 26 | 6-10 | 137 | 6.83 | 1.80 | ||
| John "Babe" Mitchell | 27 | 14-9 | 201 | 3.18 | 1.31 | |||
| Ross Gardner | 20 | 6-5 | 111 | 5.11 | 1.72 | |||
| Leo Fitterer | 16 | 4-9 | 117 | 4.85 | 1.39 | |||
| - Dobranski | 11 | 2-4 | 54 | 3.83 | 1.70 | |||
| Charles Laird | 10 | 5-3 | 66 | 3.55 | 1.49 | |||
| Russ? Haines | 6 | 1-1 | 31 | 6.10 | 1.87 | |||
| - Zakariason | 6 | 1-3 | 23 | 7.04 | 2.00 | |||
| Merriett Hubbell | 3 | 0-1 | 9 | 4.00 | 2.33 | |||
| Al McCoy | 2 | 1-1 | 10 | 4.50 | 2.40 | |||
| Ed? Wells | 2 | 0-1 | 9 | 10.61 | 2.89 | |||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1929 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| Bisbee Bees | 60 | 30 | 667 | ||
| Miami Miners | 50 | 40 | 556 | 10 | |
| Globe Bears | 48 | 42 | 533 | 12 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 43 | 47 | 478 | 17 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 40 | 49 | 449 | 19.5 | Ross Lyall/ |
| Tom Burke/ | |||||
| Ross Gardner/ | |||||
| Chet Thomas | |||||
| Mesa Jewels | 28 | 61 | 315 | 31.5 | |
| [Mesa withdrew on July 24] |
Syd Cohen was born on May 7, 1906, in Baltimore and played as an outfielder on the 1929 Phoenix Senators. He did not play pro ball again until 1932 and thereafter became a full-time pitcher. His minor league carrier encompassed 1929, 1933-36, 1938-40, 1942-47 and 1949-55. He was at the AAA level for nine seasons and his career minor league record was 133-159 in 497 games and 497 innings. His ERA was about 4.00 with a 1.45 WHIP.
Cohen reached the majors with Washington in September 1934 appearing in 3 games and 18 innings (1-1, 7.50 ERA). He also was in 19 and 33 games in 1936-37 completing 36 and 55 innings (0-2, 5.25 and 2-4, 3.11). In his 55 MLB appearances he finished 109 innings with a 4.54 ERA, .306 OAV, .365 OOB and a 3-7 record.
He was the brother of major league Andy Cohen and also managed in the minors (Arizona and Texas) in 1950-53 and
1955. In the 1960s and 1970s, Syd was the pitching coach at the U. of Texas - El Paso. Cohen died on April 9, 1988 in El
Paso and burial was at the B'nai Zion Cemetery there.
-----1930-----
El Paso joined the league replacing Mesa and the Senators returned for the last year of the Arizona State League. The new Senators' manager was former major leaguer Lou Guisto and they played much better ending the year tied for second place only two games out of first.
Limited "unofficial" individual statistics have remained which make it difficult to determine the exact make-up of the club. Red Holmes returned to the outfield and hit .348 and led the team in RBI. Future major leaguer Lefty Mailho made 80 appearances as an outfielder batting .328 and Harlan "Samson" Pool appears to be the other outfield starter leading the team with a .409 average.
Other returnees were infielders Frank Kostel (.218) and Cliff Pollins (.271 - for 2 teams). Leo Ostenberg (.334) led the team with 20 homers and probably played third base. Mike Maloney (.321 - 2 teams) was a second baseman and Bob Stevenson (.339), a first baseman, was second in homers.
It is not possible to determine the catchers on the club or the back-ups at the other positions. However, Al Baker (.357), Walt Porter (.329) and Babe Tomlinson (.317) appear to have played a great deal. Players who played with Phoenix and another league teams were Ernie Lloyd (.323), Onnie Lundgren (.283), Al McCoy (.282) and Caesar Sinaboldi (.253).
Leading the club pitchers in wins was Bill Phebus (13-11) and Lefty Woods (10-8) was second. Roy Joiner (9-5) had the
next most, Joe Chamberlain was at 8-6 and Charles Laird, who was the only returning hurler from '29, finished at 5-1.
Future longtime major leaguer, Monte Pearson, was in 5 games compiling a 2-0 record, 2.36 ERA and 0.99 WHIP. Jake
Jacobs (7-18) played for two league teams, including the Senators.
| 1930 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| - Anders | 0 | 000 | 0 | ||||||
| Al Baker | 8 | 357 | 59 | ||||||
| John Gallianos | 0 | 083 | 1 | ||||||
| - Godbier | 0 | 500 | 1 | ||||||
| Red Holmes | OF | 8 | 348 | 71 | |||||
| Frank Kostel | Inf | 1 | 218 | 5 | |||||
| Ernie Lloyd @ | 4 | 323 | 64 | ||||||
| Onnie Lundgren @ | 3 | 283 | 18 | ||||||
| Ross Lyall | Inf | 0 | 000 | 0 | |||||
| Emit "Lefty" Mailho | OF86 | 21/L | 323 | 9/12 | 11 | 328 | 471 | 52 | Berkeley, CA |
| Al McCoy @ | 13 | 282 | 60 | ||||||
| Mike Maloney @ | 2b | 26/- | 5 | 321 | 33 | San Francisco | |||
| Whitey Olson | 1 | 336 | 10 | ||||||
| Leo Osterberg | 3b | 22/R | 20 | 334 | 63 | Collisville,IL | |||
| Frank Patterson | 0 | 111 | 1 | ||||||
| Harlin "Sampson" Pool | OF | 28/L | 9 | 409 | 52 | Lakeport, CA | |||
| Walt Porter | 2 | 329 | 19 | ||||||
| Cliff Pollins @ | Inf | 1 | 271 | 26 | |||||
| Caesar Sinaboldi @ | 1 | 253 | 12 | ||||||
| Bob Stevenson | 1b | 23/- | 19 | 339 | 101 | Oakland | |||
| Babe Tomlinson | 5 | 317 | 38 | ||||||
| - Vilianos | 0 | 000 | 0 | ||||||
| Harry Westphal | 0 | 429 | 1 | ||||||
| 1930 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Specs Anderson | 0-0 | ||||||||
| Ed Arlett | 19/- | 0-0 | |||||||
| John Berg | -/R | 3-1 | |||||||
| Joe Chamberlain | 20/R | 8-6 | San Francisco | ||||||
| Jake Jacobs @ | 7-18 | ||||||||
| Roy Joiner | 24/L | 9-5 | Red Bluff, CA | ||||||
| Charles Laird | 5-1 | ||||||||
| Emit "Lefty" Mailho | 21/L | 0-0 | Berkeley, CA | ||||||
| Monte Pearson | 21/R | 5 | 2-0 | 34 | 2.36 | 0.99 | Oakland | ||
| Ray "Bill" Phebus | 21/R | 13-11 | Cherryville, KS | ||||||
| Eli Witt | 1-0 | ||||||||
| Al Xavier | 0-1 | ||||||||
| Lefty Woods | 10-8 | ||||||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1930 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| Bisbee Bees | 60 | 45 | 571 | ||
| El Paso Texans | 58 | 47 | 552 | 2 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 58 | 47 | 552 | 2 | Lou Guisto |
| Globe Bears | 56 | 49 | 533 | 4 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 45 | 60 | 429 | 15 | |
| Miami Miners | 38 | 67 | 362 | 22 |
Monte "Hoot" Pearson pitched on the 1930 Senators and was born on Sept. 2, 1909, in Oakland. He was in the minors for the six seasons of 1929-33 and 1941 compiling a 42-39 record in128 games and 696 innings. His ERA was 3.92 with a 1.41 WHIP.
Monte pitched for Cleveland in 1932-35 appearing in 8, 19, 39 and 30 games nearly always as a starter. His records during those years were 0-0, 10-5, 18-13 and 8-13 with ERAs of 10.13, 2.33 (led league), 4.52 and 4.90 as he completed 8, 135, 255 and 182 innings.
From 1936-1940, he was a hurler on the Yankees posting 19-7, 9-3, 16-7, 12-5 and 7-5 records. In 33, 22, 28, 22 and 16 games with 223, 144, 202, 146 and 110 innings, he had 3.71, 3.17, 3.97, 4.49 and 3.69 ERAs. Monte was named to the All Star teams of 1936 and 1940.
Pearson completed his big league years in 1941 with the Reds as he was in 7 games and 24 innings for a 5.18 ERA. In his MLB career, his record was 100-61 in 224 games and 1,430 innings for a 4.00 ERA, .256 OAV and .346 OOB.
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From the book "The Ballplayers":
"Pearson was AL ERA leader as a rookie with the Indians in 1933. The next year he was 18-13, but after a disappointing 1935 season, he was traded to the Yankees with Steve Sundra for Johnny Allen. He bounced back with his best year and a AL-leading .731 winning percentage. In 1937 he pitched a no-hitter against his old team, the Indians. Pearson had control problems (in four seasons he walked more then 100) but he often benefitted from strong batting support. He also suffered various arm and body ailments and was reluctant to pitch unless he felt in top condition. An outstanding World Series pitcher, he won four well-pitched game for the 1936-39 Yankees including a two-hit shutout of the Reds in 1939. - Bob Davids
-----
After baseball, Pearson became a real estate salesman for 20 years. He died from pancreatic cancer on Jan. 27, 1978, at
City Hospital in Fowler, CA. His remains were cremated.
-----1931-----
The Arizona State League finally changed it's name to the Arizona-Texas League in 1931 even though El Paso, the only Texas entry, had joined the league in 1930. Nogales, Mexico, joined the circuit after Miami dropped out.
Lou Giusto returned as manager and the Senators finished two games over .500 in third place. Only unofficial stats survived with limited information regarding starters at each position.
Maybe the biggest accomplishment for the Phoenix team, during the season, was the installation of lights at Riverside Park.. Finally, night baseball could be played giving some measure of relief from the heat to the players and fans.
The club's catchers appear to have been Bill Raimondi (.304) and Frank Sancet (.301). Bob Stevenson (.321) returned as the first baseman and Lefty Mailho (.363) to the outfield leading the team in average. Also seeing action in the outfield were William Burgett (.345), Tony Antista who hit .353 for two league teams and George Ackerman (.286).
Martin (.316, first name unknown) led the team in home runs (16). Whitey Olson (or Olsen, .305), Babe Tomilinson (.324) and Al Baker (.279) returned as position players. W. Long (.294) appeared as an infielder.
The leading pitcher, based on record, was the returning Bill Phebus (11-1). Charlie Kasich was 12-8, Art Jacobs had a
15-15 mark, Joe Chamberlain came back to post a 7-7 record and Emil Hemenway was 10-11. Short (first name
unknown) had the poor record of 5-15 and future major leaguer Manny Salvo finished at 1-4.
| 1931 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| George Ackerman | OF | 8 | 286 | ||||||
| Tony Antista @ | OF96 | 24/R | 371 | 22/9 | 5 | 353 | 501 | 25 | --, CO |
| Al Baker | 0 | 279 | |||||||
| William Burgett | OF | 2 | 345 | ||||||
| - Cira | 0 | 205 | |||||||
| W. Long | Inf | 2 | 294 | ||||||
| Emit "Lefty" Mailho | OF95 | 22/L | 397 | 21/6 | 14 | 363 | 552 | Berkeley, CA | |
| - Martin | 16 | 316 | |||||||
| Whitey Olsen | 5 | 305 | |||||||
| Bill Raimondi | C95 | 17/R | 237 | 10/2 | 3 | 304 | 401 | San Francisco | |
| Frank Sancet | C95 | 24/L | 3 | 301 | |||||
| Bob Stevenson | 1b | 11 | 321 | ||||||
| Babe Tomlinson | 9 | 324 | |||||||
| - Williams | 1 | 289 | |||||||
| 1931 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Ed Arlett | 20/- | 0-1 | |||||||
| Joe Chamberlain | 20/R | 7-7 | |||||||
| - Emerson | 1-2 | ||||||||
| Emil Hemenway | 21/R | 10-11 | |||||||
| - Hessler | 1-1 | ||||||||
| Art E. Jacobs | 15-15 | ||||||||
| Charley Kasich | 24/- | 12-8 | |||||||
| Emil "Lefty" Mailho | 22/L | 1-0 | |||||||
| William? Martin | 1-1 | ||||||||
| R. Bill Phebus | 22/R | 11-1 | |||||||
| - Phelps | 0-0 | ||||||||
| Manny Salvo | 19/R | 1-4 | |||||||
| - Short @ | 5-15 | ||||||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1931 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| El Paso Texans | 79 | 52 | 603 | ||
| Tucson Cowboys | 72 | 59 | 550 | 7 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 65 | 63 | 508 | 12.5 | Lou Giusto |
| Bisbee Bees | 63 | 68 | 481 | 16 | |
| Nogales Internationals | 62 | 67 | 481 | 16 | |
| Globe Bears | 49 | 81 | 377 | 29.5 |
Emil "Lefty" Mailho was born on Dec. 16, 1909 in Berkeley, CA, and was an outfielder on the 1930-31 Phoenix teams. In the minors for 17 years, he played in 2,194 games and had 7,890 at bats for a .318 average and .435 slugging %. Nine of his seasons were in the Pacific Coast League.
Early in the 1936 season, Lefty played in 21 games for the A's with only 18 at bats and one appearance in the outfield. He had 16 at bats as a pinch hitter with one hit.
-----
From an article in the Aug. 13, 2006, "Oakland Tribune" written by Dave Newhouse:
"... Mailho (pronounced My-low) was some ballplayer. He could hit, he could cover the outfield, and he could steal bases
with the best of them during his heyday, the 1930s and'40s. Now 97, he remembers it like it was yesterday. 'I was a singles
and doubles hitter,' he recalled. 'If I wasn't hitting good, I was disgruntled. Because I'd get two hits a day. On defense, my
arm wasn't worth a damn, but I was good running down fly balls. And Frenchy Uhalt, Leroy Anton and myself, we drove
the catchers crazy. You couldn't throw us out.'
"That would have been 1933, when Mailho had a career-high 52 stolen bases for the Oakland Oaks of the Pacific Coast League. Mailho spent seven-plus years with the Triple-A Oaks during a 17- year professional career. But that's not why Mailho is being honored before today's A's-Tampa Bay game at McAfee Coliseum. East Bay memories aside -- he also was born in Berkeley and attended Cal for a while -- his age is on stage today.
" 'Emil told me, I don't want to throw out the first pitch (today), I want to hit it,' said Tim Mailho, the old ballplayer's nephew. Emil Mailho's mind is razor-sharp, not to mention his sense of humor. He was known as 'Fast Mail' as a player because of his speed, and his thinking process hasn't slowed down one bit. 'The way it was built was not very good,' he said of the Oaks' ballpark in Emeryville. 'They remodeled it and cut the right field down. The wind blew in, and it blew against you.' It was 300 feet down the right-field line, but that didn't help Mailho. Although a left-handed hitter, he never hit more than four homers in one season for the Oaks. His high was 14 homers in Phoenix in 1931.
"But he was a hitting machine, averaging .318 over his minor league career, with a personal-best .364 at Atlanta of the Double-A Southern Association in 1940. 'I missed getting the batting championship that year because they babied a guy in Nashville by giving him extra hits,' he said.
"His one chance at the big leagues came when he was 26. But he had just one base hit in 18 at-bats (.056) and he didn't last that long. That one hit, though, was a pinch single off Detroit's Tommy Bridges, who led the American League that season in wins (23-11) and strikeouts (175). 'Everything was bad news," Mailho said of his brief A's experience. 'Connie Mack looked down on me. I could see the question mark in his eyes. He was supposed to manage with a scorecard, but I never saw a scorecard.' Mack managed during games in his customary business suit and straw hat, which annoyed Mailho. 'Who in the hell did he think he was?' Mailho still wonders.
"Mailho did hit a home run for those A's in an exhibition game against Cincinnati, with a retired Babe Ruth watching from the stands. 'Didn't he tell you, 'Nice hit, kid?' Tim Mailho asked his uncle. Fast Mail Mailho nodded affirmatively.
"Emil Pierre Mailho, son of French immigrants, originally wanted to be an architect, and enrolled at Cal with that intention. He traveled to Pasadena to watch the 1928 Bears play Georgia Tech, and saw Roy Riegels run the wrong way in the Rose Bowl, costing Cal a safety and the game 8-7. 'Where in the heck is he going?' Mailho remembered thinking. After the Depression hit in 1929, Mailho left Cal and turned pro with Phoenix of the Arizona State League in 1930.
"Ask him his funniest baseball memory, and he doesn't hesitate. 'We were playing in Portland, and the earth gave way where I was standing (in the outfield),' he said. 'A lot of water in the building next to the ballpark went that way. I was up to my knees, but I got the ball anyway.'
"Retiring from baseball in 1946, he then became a carpenter. He built a number of homes, some of which he moved into, said his surrogate 'niece,' Marilynn Templeton. Mailho played against Joe DiMaggio in the PCL, and wrote to him in a Florida hospital when an aging DiMaggio took ill. I said, 'Come on, Joe. It's Emil. I want to see you next year,' Mailho said. 'I didn't send it. He died two days later.'
"Mailho's current residence is the Redwood Convalescent Home in Castro Valley. Nephew Tim Mailho and Templeton take him to the horse races at the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton. Tim buys Emil a beer and hot dog, and then reads him the day's picks, because Emil is legally blind. But the old man's mind can see a winner at the track just as easily as he could pick out a fastball and slap it into the alley for extra bases 60 years ago. Either way, he's uncanny. 'He's unbelievable,' Templeton said. 'He's still here. He's very present.'
"Emil Mailho is closing in on 100. It's two years and four months away. Can he get there? 'Oh, yeah,' he answered. 'I got it whipped.'
-----
Mailho died on March 7, 2007, in Hayward, CA.
Manny Salvo was born on June 30, 1912, in Sacramento and pitched for Phoenix in 1931. He played in the minors for 14
years in 1931-1939, 1940, 1944 and 1946-49. His last 13 years was spent in at the AAA level. Manny's composite minors
record was 143-125 with a 3.31 ERA and 1.30 WHIP in 419 games and 2,274 innings.
He came up with the Giants in 1939 getting into 32 games (18 starts) completing 136 innings for a 4.63 ERA, a 4-10
record, a .285 OAV and .380 OOB. Then he moved on to the Boston Braves for 1940-1943 appearing in 21, 35, 25 and 1
game(s) finishing 161, 195, 131 and 5 innings with ERAs of 3.08, 4.06, 3.03 and 7.20. After the one game in '43, he was
sent to the Phillies where he got into one game (1/3 inn, 2 h, 1 bb, 27.00 ERA) and then he went back to the Braves for 20
more (5-6, 3.27). That strange year ended his MLB time as he then entered the U.S. Army..
As a major leaguer, he appeared in 135 games and completed 721 innings for a 33-50 record, 3.69 ERA, .261 OAV and .334 OOB.
-----
From the book "The Ballplayers":
"Salvo, who was polite, neat and conservatively dressed, was facetiously called 'Gyp' - short for gypsy. Though he was only 10-9 for the seventh-place 1940 Braves, he shared the league lead with five shutouts." - Jack Kavanagh
-----
Salvo served in Japan after WWII with the Army and, thereafter, was a deputy marshall in Sacramento County for 17 years.
He died on Feb. 7, 1997, in Vallejo, CA, from congestive heart failure and interstitial lung disease. Burial was at St.
Mary's Cemetery in Sacramento.
Lou Guisto managed the Phoenix clubs in 1930-31. He was born on Jan. 16, 1895, in Napa, CA. As a minor leaguer in 9 years (all in the PCL) as a first baseman, he was in 845 games and had 3,004 at bats compiling a .295 batting average and a .415 slugging. He also managed minor league ball in 1929.
In 1916-17, Lou got his first shot at the majors with Cleveland getting into 6 and 73 games with averages of .158 and .185. He then was back for the 1921-23 seasons for 2, 35 and 40 contests batting .500, .250 and .181.
Guisto was in 156 MLB games with 449 at bats hitting a career .196 with a .277 OBP and .252 slugging percentage. He fielded .990 at first base in 130 games.
Lou was a WWI veteran and after pro baseball became the baseball coach at St. Mary's College, his alma mater. He later
owned and operated the student book store there from which he retired in 1964. Death came on Oct. 15, 1989, at Queen
of the Valley Hospital in Napa from throat cancer and he was buried at Tulocay Cemetery in Napa.
-----1932-----
Former major league player Dick Cox became the manager of the Senators and the Globe franchise moved to Albuquerque. It was a short season for Phoenix as the team ended play on May 9 after only 21 games. The league survived only until July 24. It never apparently had an affiliation with the major leagues and with the beginning of the great depression, it was just one of many leagues that folded in the 1930s.
Catcher Raimondi (.312), third baseman Leo Osterberg (.383 - for 2 teams), Joe Chamberlain (15-9), Merritt Hubbell (0-3), Jake Jacobs (0-1) and Charles Laird ((0-0) returned from past Senators teams. After the Senators quit play, the better players, on the club, played on other league teams before the circuit folded. They were: Dimoni (first name unknown), Frank Gira, Harry Nace, Osterberg, Al Baringer, Chamberlain, Pina (first name unknown) and Guido Simoni.
The city of Phoenix did not have another professional team until 1947. Arizona had representation in the re-formed
Arizona-Texas League of 1937-41 from Bisbee and Tucson.
| 1932 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Claude "Les" Berry | C21 | 73 | 2/0 | 0 | 219 | 247 | |||
| Carl Fairly | OF21 | 83 | 5/1 | 2 | 265 | 422 | |||
| - Haas | OF3 | 14 | 357 | ||||||
| - McDougall | OF6 | 20 | 0/0 | 0 | 300 | 300 | |||
| - Nelson | OF8 | 32 | 0/0 | 0 | 188 | 188 | |||
| O.K. Norton | OF20 | 75 | 3/1 | 1 | 240 | 347 | |||
| - Stone | OF4 | 11 | 0/0 | 0 | 182 | 182 | |||
| Dick Cox | InfOF21 | 94 | 4/0 | 1 | 213 | 287 | |||
| - Dimoni @ | 6 | 224 | |||||||
| Frank Gira @ | 23S13 | 18/R | 46 | 0/2 | 0 | 239 | 329 | --, NY | |
| Harry Nace @ | InfOF37 | 17/L | 133 | 5/3 | 3 | 286 | 436 | ||
| Leo Osterberg@ | 3b83 | 24/R | 345 | 28/1 | 17 | 383 | 617 | Collisville,IL | |
| Howie Rady | 3b21 | 81 | 4/2 | 0 | 247 | 346 | |||
| Bill Raimondi | C | 19/R | 2 | 312 | San Francisco | ||||
| - LaRue | - /5 | 7 | 0/0 | 0 | 143 | 143 | |||
| - Myers | - /1 | 1 | 0/0 | 0 | 000 | 000 | |||
| 1932 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Al Baringer @ | 23/ - | 10 | 3-3 | 72 | 3.75 | 1.39 | |||
| - Calido | 1 | 0-0 | 2 | 9.00 | 2.50 | ||||
| Joe Chamberlain@ | 21/R | 28 | 15-9 | 189 | 4.05 | 1.48 | San Francisco | ||
| Alex? Ferguson | 2 | 0-0 | 8 | 2.00 | |||||
| Merriett Hubbell | 5 | 0-3 | 19 | 10.89 | 2.16 | ||||
| Jake Jacobs | 1 | 0-1 | 4 | 13.5 | 3 | ||||
| Charles Laird | 1 | 0-0 | 2 | 1.50 | |||||
| - Millard | 1 | 0-1 | 3 | 15.00 | 2.00 | ||||
| - Pina @ | 8 | 3-3 | 39 | 4.62 | 1.69 | ||||
| - Richards | 2 | 0-1 | 3 | 21.00 | 4.00 | ||||
| Guido Simoni @ | 23/ - | 31 | 13-13 | 222 | 4.18 | 1.32 | |||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1932 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Manager |
| Albuquerque Dons | 57 | 42 | 576 | ||
| Bisbee Bees | 50 | 49 | 505 | 7 | |
| El Paso Texans | 51 | 53 | 490 | 8.5 | |
| Tucson Lizards | 44 | 53 | 454 | 12 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 8 | 13 | 381 | Dick Cox | |
| [Phoenix folded on May 9] | |||||
| League disbanded on July 24 |
Elmer "Dick" Cox managed and played for the 1932 Senators. He was born on Sept. 30, 1897, in Pasacena, CA. Dick played 1,889 minor league games during the seasons of 1918-24, 1927-1929 and 1932. Through 1929, his average was .315 with a .448 slugging %. He also managed in the Ariz.-Tex. League in 1931.
His big league experiences came as an outfield starter for the Dodgers in 1925-26. He was in 122 and 124 games batting .329 and .296. His career average was .314 with a .379 OBP and .424 slugging. His fielding mark was .966 in 228 games. With a hitting record like that, it is assumed he was one of the west coast natives who wanted to play ball there for probably about the same or more salary as they would receive in the major leagues.
Cox was a WWI veteran and spent 30 years as a grip for Hal Roach Studios in Hollywood. He died from a heart attack on
June 1, 1966, at Morro Bay, CA, and was buried at Mountain View Cemetery in Altadena, CA.
1947-1950: Arizona-Texas League
-----1947----
After disbanding again after the 1941 season, the now class "C" circuit, started play again at the beginning of the post-war
minor league baseball boom. The old league members Tucson, Bisbee, El Paso and Phoenix (population nearing
100,000) returned. Globe and Miami had a combined franchise and Juarez, Mexico, entered their second year of pro ball
moving from the Mexican National League. Entering the season, three teams had affiliations with major league teams:
Tucson was with Cleveland, Bisbee with the Yankees and Globe-Miami with the Browns.
In it's split season, Juarez won the first half pennant, but then disbanded on June 22. Mesa returned to pro ball by taking
over their franchise.
The Senators manager was Charles Alton "Charlie aka Carlos" Biggs who was born on April 14, 1909, in Greenbrier, AR. He was a lifetime minor leaguer who played professionally in 1924, 1934-42 and 1944-51. In those 18 years, he batted .286 with a .383 slugging % in 2,153 games and 8,249 at bats. Charlie also had managed in 1941-42 and 1947-51.
Biggs led the team to the best record in the league, but they lost in the first round of the playoffs. They played at (Old)
Phoenix Municipal Stadium at the corner of Central and Mohave. It was built in the late 1930s - maybe 1937 - and was
very possibly a WPA project.
[Arizona Dept. of Library, Archives, Public
Records]
"Old" Phoenix Municipal Stadium aka Municipal Stadium I
The offensive leader of the club was the legendary major league player and manager Billy Martin, who at 19, led the league in average (.392), hits (230) and RBI (174) as a third baseman. Outfielder Pete Hughes (.371) won the other offensive categories of runs (180) and home runs (38) and they were both named to the league's All Star team. Martin's .392 would be the highest batting average of any player on a Phoenix class "C" level team (1947-1957) and Hughes' 38 homers and .747 would also stand up as all-time records.
Other starting infielders were Buck Elliot (.319) a first baseman who was second in team homers and third in RBI, manager and All Star Biggs was at second (.356) and Walt Raimondi (.299) manned shortstop. Future big leaguer Stan Goletz (.408) played 24 games at first and Bill Aydeltotte (.235) performed some at shortstop. When Martin wasn't starting at third, Don Stanford (.333) and Mark Torres (.188) played there.
Chet McNabb (.271) was the main catcher and his back-ups were Bill Chambers (.268) and Carl Branum (.196). Besides Hughes in the outfield, Don Gephardt (.301) was also a starter and the other garden spot was shared between Don Barclay (.343 - 2 teams) and future major leaguer Bill Taylor (.336). Hugh Black (.371) also appeared in 11 games as an outfielder.
The best pitcher on the staff was All Star John Conant (19-10) who had a 3.73 ERA and 1.46 WHIP in 36 games and 258 innings. Ray Martinez (15-7) had the club's best ERA (3.52) and WHIP (1.42) as he completed 192 innings. Another All Star pick, Don Cantrell (16-5), also pitched well for 175 frames (3.81 ERA).
Two other hurlers finished more then 100 innings: Ray Machado (8-6, 5.73, 1.73) and Derald Gephart (9-6, 7.01, 2.14). Ed Graham (6-6) came close with 97 and had a decent ERA of 4.64.
-----
From the book "Wrong Side of the Wall: The Life of Blackie Schwamb, the Greatest Prison Baseball Player of All Time" by Eric Stone: [Schwamb played in the Arizona-Texas League in 1947]:
"...the whole league...was a mixed bag of old guys on their way out; guys who had got into ball during the war and were still trying to hold onto to it even though they didn't have a hope in hell of getting back to the big leagues; some young guys from around the Southwest who might or might not make it; and guys like Blackie, disciplinary problems, mostly drunks, who the teams that had signed them were hoping would straighten up.
"...As always in the minor leagues, the team traveled in a beat-up old bus. This distances weren't as great as they had been in Aberdeen (Northern League of the Dakotas, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Manitoba), but it was still nearly three hundred fifty hot, dusty, bumpy, and boring miles southeast to El Paso (from Globe) and Juarez and a bit over two hundred south to Bisbee.
"...The circuit they traveled...was a world away from the straitlaced, staid Midwestern, church-invested towns of Aberdeen's league. The towns of the Southwest were more his kind of place, loose and rugged with plenty on tap to keep him [Schwamb] busy at night after the games.
"...Wild games were not unusual in the Arizona-Texas League. At Globe, in the second game of the best-of-three playoff, the score was tied four to four in the tenth inning. A Phoenix batter got a double and Billy Martin scored. As he crossed home plate a Globe fan yelled something insulting and before long Martin and the fan were fighting on the field. Then a bunch of fans got into it and soon everyone was throwing punches. The police tried to stop the fracas, and finally resorted to tossing a tear gas bomb into the middle of the melee on the infield. After the smoke and the players' and umpires' eyes all cleared enough that they could see, play resumed..."
-----
| 1947 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Carl Branum | C13 | 46 | 3/1 | 1 | 196 | 370 | 4 | ||
| William Chambers | C44 | 23/R | 149 | 7/1 | 6 | 268 | 450 | 34 | |
| Chet McNabb | C103 | 26/R | 373 | 21/5 | 7 | 271 | 410 | 64 | |
| Stan Goletz | 1b24 | 29/L | 71 | 5/2 | 2 | 468 | 620 | 18 | Crescent, OH |
| Buck Elliot | 1b122 | 28/L | 495 | 37/13 | 20 | 319 | 568 | 145 | Lewisburg, PA |
| Carlos "Charles" Biggs | 2b101 | 38/L | 432 | 29/5 | 3 | 356 | 468 | 90 | Greenbrier, AR |
| Billy Martin | 3b130 | 19/L | 586 | 48/12 | 9 | 392 | 561 | 174 | Berkeley, CA |
| Don Stanford | 3b31 | 19/L | 120 | 9/0 | 0 | 333 | 408 | 23 | |
| Marcos "Mark" Torres | 3b14 | 21/R | 48 | 3/0 | 0 | 188 | 250 | 10 | |
| Bill Aydelotte @ | SS65 | 21/R | 260 | 14/4 | 3 | 235 | 354 | 32 | Oakland |
| Walt Raimondi | SS79 | 22/R | 318 | 17/6 | 9 | 299 | 475 | 44 | Oakland |
| Bill Taylor | OF60 | 17/L | 250 | 15/9 | 5 | 336 | 528 | 65 | Alhambra, CA |
| Don Barclay @ | OF73 | 19/L | 274 | 8/2 | 0 | 343 | 387 | 38 | |
| Hugh Black | OF11 | 18/R | 35 | 2/1 | 0 | 371 | 486 | 7 | |
| Don Gephardt | OF133 | 19/L | 509 | 25/14 | 8 | 301 | 452 | 84 | |
| Pete Hughes | OF133 | 32/L | 442 | 36/8 | 38 | 371 | 747 | 167 | Los Angeles |
| 1947 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| John Conant | 21/R | 36 | 19-10 | 258 | 3.73 | 1.46 | Surgoinsville, TN | ||
| Ray Martinez | 21/R | 30 | 15-7 | 192 | 3.52 | 1.42 | S. Colton, CA | ||
| Derald Gephardt | 21/R | 26 | 9-6 | 122 | 7.01 | 2.14 | |||
| Don Cantrell | 27/R | 24 | 16-5 | 175 | 3.81 | 1.62 | Los Banos, CA | ||
| Ray Machado | 21/R | 23 | 8-6 | 125 | 5.83 | 1.73 | |||
| Ed Graham | 23/R | 15 | 6-6 | 97 | 4.64 | 1.85 | Hayden, AZ | ||
| Joe Nicholas | 24/R | 11 | 0-0 | Hayward, CA | |||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1947 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Phoenix Senators | 82 | 51 | 617 | 55452 | Alton Biggs | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 80 | 52 | 606 | 1.5 | 63580 | |
| Bisbee Yanks | 74 | 59 | 556 | 8 | 33686 | |
| Juarez/Mesa Orphans | 61 | 69 | 469 | 19.5 | 27153 | |
| Globe-Miami Browns | 53 | 77 | 408 | 27.5 | 60669 | |
| El Paso Texans | 44 | 86 | 338 | 36.5 | 39996 |
Stan Goletz played for the Senators in 1947 at first base. He was born on May 21, 1918, in Crescent, OH. Stan was also a pitcher during his minor league career of 1938-1941 and 1946-54. He did not pitch in 1947-48 and 1951 and batted .312 in his 1,179 games.
He reached the majors with the White Sox in September 1941 as a pinch hitter. In five attempts, he had three hits and struck out the other two times.
Goletz died on July 7, 1997, in Temple, TX.
Alfred "Billy" Martin played third base for the 1947 Phoenix Senators. He was born on May 16, 1928, in Berkeley, CA. As a minor leaguer, he played for five years (1946-51) hitting .313 with a .440 slugging %. Bill was a minor league manager in 1968.
Martin played for the Yankees from 1950-1957 appearing in 34, 51, 109, 149, 20, 121 and 43 games with averages of .250, .259, .267, .257, .300, .264 and .241. Generally he played at second base, but also saw action at short and third for the Yankees. He was named to the 1956 A.L. All Star team.
The rest of his '57 year was with the A's where he hit .257 in 73 games. In 1958, Billy was on the Tigers batting .255 in 131 games. As an Indian in 1959, he got into 73 contests hitting .260. The 1960 season was spent with the Reds for 103 games (.246) and he finished his MLB years in 1961 with the Braves (6 g, .000) and the Twins (108 g, .246).
In his 11 big league years, he played in 1,021 games and had 3,419 at bats for a career .257 average, .301 OBP and .369 slugging. As a fielder, he played second in 767 games, short for 118, third for 97 and had experiences in the outfield. Martin's fielding average was .980.
He was a coach for the Twins in 1965-68 and Texas in 1974. His MLB managerial record was: Twins 1969: 97-65, 1st; Tigers 1971: 91-71, 2nd; 1972: 86-70, 1st; 1973: 71-63, 3rd; Rangers 1973:9-14; 1974: 84-76, 2nd; 1975: 44-51, 4th; Yankees 1975: 30-26, 3rd; 1976: 97-62, 1st; 1977:100-62, 1st; 1978: 52-42, 3rd; 1979: 55-40, 4th; Oakland 1980: 83-79, 2nd; 1981: 64-45, 1st/2nd; 1982: 68-94, 5th; Yankees 1983: 91-71, 3rd; 1985: 91-54, 2nd; 1988: 40-28, 2nd.
-----
From the book "The Ballplayers":
"Billy Martin was one of baseball's most fascinating characters from the time he left the tough side of Berkeley and entered pro ball in 1946 until his tragic death in an auto accident near his home in Fenton, NY, on Christmas 1989.
"Martin played for Casey Stengel with the Oakland Oaks in 1948. Stengel loved him like a son he never had and admired his aggressive play. When Stengel became manager in New York, he had the Yankees obtain Martin...[his] career began in 1950 and ended abruptly on June 15, 1957, and Stengel couldn't do anything to save him. The trading of Martin and several other players to Kansas City on that date followed a highly publicized nightclub scuffle involving several Yankee stars, including Mickey Mantle and Hank Bauer. Martin was blamed for the mess.
"Martin was a fine Yankee second baseman and Stengel's sparkplug. He lacked the ability of close friends Mantle and Whitey Ford, but he did whatever took to win. The only year New York didn't win the pennant while Martin was a Yankee was the year he was in the Army, 1954. His alertness saved the seventh game of the 1952 World Series for New York....Martin raced in to make a lunging [infield] catch...In the Yankees-Dodgers rematch in 1953, Martin was the World Series MVP. He hit .500, set a six-game Series record with 12 hits...
"He enjoyed his best season in 1956...setting personal highs in homers (15) and RBI (75). He bounced around - and brawled around - the majors for four years after his 1957 Yankee departure. While playing for the Reds in 1960, Martin attached Cubs rookie Jim Brewer during a game and broke Brewer's cheekbone.
"Martin was with Minnesota when he retired as a player. He remained in the Minnesota organization, becoming the Twins' third-base coach and then, in 1959, their manager. He beat up Twins pitcher Dave Boswell and ignored owner Calvin Griffith and got himself fired in spite of winning the AL West title.
"Martin repeated the pattern with Detroit winning the AL East in 1972 and Texas where he finished and amazing second in 1974 to capture the first of his four Manager of the Year awards. But maintaining the affection of management was a problem for him.
"By the time Martin got to New York in August 1975, he was recognized as one of the best managers in the game and he led the Yankees to a surprisingly easy 1976 pennant. Then owner George Steinbrenner signed Reggie Jackson and the relative peace of the Yankee clubhouse became imperiled. During a series in Boston, Martin and Jackson almost came to blows on national TV. But the Yankees won the 1977 World Championship all the same. In July 1978, however, Martin suspended Jackson for bunting against orders and later told the press that Jackson and Steinbrenner were liars. Martin was forced to resign. He returned to the Yankee helm in July 1979, only to be fired again in October...
"Martin then managed at Oakland where his "Billy Ball" - characterized as featuring the running game, the hit-and-run and the suicide squeeze, but also including a league-leading total of home runs - revived an A's franchise that in 1981 won the AL West. Martin was fired by the A's, hired by the Yankees ('83), fired by the Yankees, hired by the Yankees ('85), fired by the Yankees, hired by the Yankees ('88) and - after another nightclub brawl - fired by the Yankees once again. The five terms managing one club tied the major league record." - Mark Gallagher
-----
Billy Martin was buried at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Hawthorne, NY.
-----1948-----
Manager Biggs returned to lead the Senators and the league had minor franchise movement. Douglas joined Bisbee to share a franchise and Juarez was re-admitted replacing Mesa. Also, El Paso became a Red Sox farm team
Phoenix lost their best players and the team dropped to 13 games off the pace into 5th place. Strangely enough, attendance increased by 24,300.
Two offensive players stood out: the returning Bill Taylor (.316) who led the team in RBI (144) and was second in homers (11) and former big-leaguer Gene Lillard (.364) who held the league lead in average, team lead in slugging (.642) and home runs (20). Pete Hughes (.347) also returned as a regular to the outfield finishing second on the team in average and he also played some at first base. Rich Sabatini (.282), who led the league in runs scored, was the other main outfielder.
Charles Farrell (.244) played 115 games at first, manager Biggs (.331) returned as a second sacker and third was mostly manned by another returnee - Don Stanford (.263). Ed Mamel (.244) played more at shortstop then Don Fracchia (.268) and Biggs also took some turns there. Infield backups included Don Stewart (.248) at second and Tony Mele (.223) at third and short.
Lillard was the main catcher and he also pitched. Back-ups at catcher were George Miller (.230) and, for 15 games, Walt Klucznik (.319).
Ed Graham (14-15) returned and became the pitching staff's workhorse laboring through 247 innings in 40 games compiling a 4.55 ERA and 1.85 WHIP. He led the league with 178 strike outs. Tony Ponce (15-10) had a better record in 27 games and 194 frames ending with a 3.94 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Walt Raimondi (10-13) was in 32 games and finished 184 innings (4.79/1.95), Ray Martinez (10-11) had 164 innings under his belt (5.60/1.71) and Socorro Mejia (8-11) completed 160 frames for a 5.23 ERA and 1.88 WHIP.
Other hurlers who pitched over 50 innings were Stan Halstead (3-5), Jim Young (3-2) and Marv Adams (2-3).
| 1948 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Walt Klucznik | C15 | 20/R | 47 | 0/0 | 1 | 319 | 383 | 8 | |
| George Miller | C62 | 152 | 2/0 | 0 | 230 | 243 | 16 | ||
| Charles Farrell | 1b115 | 438 | 20/5 | 1 | 244 | 320 | 48 | ||
| Nick Sunseri @ | 1b52 | 24/L | 211 | 7/4 | 0 | 261 | 332 | 30 | |
| Ted Olea | 2b13 | 48 | 5/0 | 2 | 313 | 542 | 18 | ||
| Don Stewart | 2b33 | 19/R | 117 | 6/1 | 0 | 248 | 316 | 13 | |
| Don Stanford | 3b78 | 20/R | 312 | 6/5 | 0 | 263 | 314 | 25 | |
| Harry Stricklett @ | 3b57 | 28/R | 191 | 7/3 | 0 | 246 | 314 | 23 | |
| Don Fracchia | SS40 | 17/R | 164 | 7/2 | 2 | 268 | 372 | 27 | Richmond,CA |
| Ed Hamel | SS56 | 23/R | 209 | 3/0 | 0 | 244 | 258 | 19 | |
| Len Pill @ | OF14 | 25/R | 46 | 1/2 | 0 | 304 | 413 | 3 | |
| Dan Pinto | OF23 | 21/R | 62 | 3/0 | 0 | 226 | 274 | 7 | |
| Bill Taylor | OF140 | 18/L | 610 | 36/11 | 11 | 316 | 466 | 144 | Alhambra, CA |
| Rich Sabatini | OF139 | 19/R | 529 | 24/11 | 5 | 282 | 397 | 83 | |
| Charles Biggs | 2bSS115 | 39/R | 465 | 31/9 | 7 | 331 | 482 | 119 | Greenbrier, AR |
| Pete Hughes | OF1b132 | 33/L | 415 | 38/5 | 21 | 347 | 614 | 118 | Los Angeles |
| Gene Lillard | CP90 | 34/R | 316 | 24/2 | 20 | 364 | 642 | 92 | Santa Barbara,CA |
| Tony Mele | 3bSS69 | 16/R | 260 | 13/2 | 2 | 223 | 312 | 36 | |
| 1948 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Marv Adams | 22/L | 13 | 2-3 | 52 | 5.54 | 1.87 | |||
| Ed Graham | 24/R | 40 | 14-15 | 247 | 4.55 | 1.85 | Hayden, AZ | ||
| Don Groves | 10 | 1-3 | 47 | 6.51 | 2.00 | ||||
| Stan Halstead | 20 | 3-5 | 69 | 6.13 | 2.33 | ||||
| Ray Martinez | 22/R | 39 | 10-11 | 164 | 5.60 | 1.71 | Colton, CA | ||
| Socorro Mejia @ | 38 | 8-11 | 160 | 5.23 | 1.88 | ||||
| Tony Ponce | 26/R | 27 | 15-10 | 194 | 3.94 | 1.36 | Rivera, CA | ||
| Rollie Pryor | 13 | 0-0 | |||||||
| Walt Raimondi | 23/R | 32 | 10-13 | 184 | 4.79 | 1.95 | Oakland | ||
| Jim Young | 22 | 3-2 | 54 | 4.83 | 1.80 | ||||
| Bill Cox | 0-0 | ||||||||
| Gene Lillard | 34/R | 7 | 3-1 | 14 | |||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1948 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Globe-Miami Browns | 80 | 60 | 571 | 75001 | ||
| Tucson Cowboys | 78 | 62 | 557 | 2 | 79327 | |
| El Paso Texans | 74 | 66 | 529 | 6 | 73766 | |
| Juarez Indians | 74 | 66 | 529 | 6 | 52525 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 67 | 73 | 479 | 13 | 79821 | Alton Biggs |
| Bisbee-Douglas Miners | 47 | 93 | 336 | 33 | 43610 |
William "Bill" M. Taylor played on the 1947-48 Senators. He was born in Alhambra, CA, on Dec. 30, 1929. Bill played in the minors in 1947-50, 1953 and 1956-61 and hit .311 in 1,261 games. Taylor hit 30 homers in the Western League in 1950.
He was with the New York Giants for 55, 65, 1 and 11 game(s) in 1954-57 hitting .185, .286, .250 and .000. Taylor's 156 pinch hits in 1955 led the N.L. Bill also played 9 games for the Tigers in 1957 (.348) and stayed with them for his big league swan song in 1958 (8g, .375).
Taylor's MLB experience was 149 games and 173 at bats for a .237 average, .267 OPB and .405 slugging. As an outfielder in 18 contests, he fielded 1.000.
Bill was in the military in 1951-52 and, after baseball, entered the real estate business. He lived in Acton, CA, for many
years prior to he death there on September 15, 2011. Cremation followed and his ashes were scattered at sea. .
Robert Eugene "Gene" Lillard played with Phoenix in 1948 and was born on Nov. 12, 1913, in Santa Barbara, CA. He was a pitcher and position player in the minors hitting .303 in 2,142 games and 6,900 at bats with a .525 slugging. As a pitcher in 147 contests, he was 43-52 with a 3.56 ERA and 1.34 WHIP in 609 innings. Gene also managed in 1949-51 and 1953-54.
His first big league games were in 1936 with the Cubs when he appeared in 19 games (.206) as a shortstop/third baseman. In 1939, he completed his Cubs tenure with 23 contests (.100) as a pitcher. He then ended his MLB years with 2 games for the Cardinals in 1940 as a hurler. As a batter, he hit .182 in 44 games and 44 at bats. Gene fielded errorlessly.
When he was pitching in '39 for the Cubs, he record was 3-5 with 20 appearances (2 starts) for a 6.55 ERA. In '40, he pitched two games for the Cardinals completing 5 innings with a 13.50 ERA. His career pitching record was 3-6 with a 7.09 ERA, .314 OAV, .420 OOB in 22 appearances and 60 innings.
After his retirement from baseball, Lillard was a rancher and farmer in the Goleta, CA, area. He died from lung cancer on
April 12, 1991, at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara. Burial was at the Goleta Cemetery there.
-----1949-----
There were no league franchise changes, but El Paso and Bisbee-Douglas lost their big league affiliations. That left only Tucson and Globe-Miami with ties to the big leagues.
It was a very good year for the Senators who had named a new manager - Don Trower. He was a 29-year-old who was an infielder playing pro since 1939 (he did not play during the war years of 1944-45) including seven seasons with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. The '49 season was his first as a manager.
The Senators had their best winning percentage (.631) since 1915 winning the pennant by 2 ½ games and they drew about 46,500 more fans then in '48. Their season total of 126,347 led the league and easily set a franchise record.
Outfielder Dick Steinhauer led the offensive with a team leading .346 batting average, 45 doubles, 18 home runs, slugging % and the led the league with 151 RBI. Needless to say he was also an All Star. Ernie Sites (.293) was another outfield regular with 112 RBI and Jack Bacciscco (.277) was the other starter. Bill Whitehorn (.275) was an outfield and catcher back-up and Dane Petitt (.256) along with El Elton (.256) also saw action at the garden positions.
The other All Star position player was shortstop future big leaguer, Mike Baxes (.322), and he shared the middle of the infield with manager/second baseman Trower (.317). Third base was a carried by Vic Canales (.335), who led the team in triples (13), and Don Fracchia (.322). Stats show that both Canales and Fracchia had over 570 at bats, therefore, one or both had to have played other positions [or the stats are incorrect].
The starting first baseman was Charles "Bill" Newman (.255) and the main catcher was Harry Eastwood (.299).
There were two 20-game winners on the Phoenix pennant winners. All Star Ed Graham (24-9), in his third year with the Senators, led the league in wins and the team in appearances, innings pitched (262) and was second in ERA (3.78). The returning Tony Ponce (22-6) was the other big winner and he had the second most games and IP. Dick Drilling (0-5) got into 15 games and completed 99 innings as he led the league with a 2.55 ERA. [ERA was the lowest ever for a pitcher on a class "C" Phoenix team.]
One other pitcher, Len Erickson (12-5), pitched more then 150 innings and was third on the team in ERA (4.28). John Jurkovic (9-7) was the other hurler to finish more then 100 innings, but he had a high ERA (5.90) and very high WHIP (2.06). The mound corps was filled out with Charles Noah (3-1, 5.43, 1.97), future major leaguer Bob Greenwood (5-5, 5.69, 1.96), Talmadge Barron (2-3, 6.60, 2.03) and two former major leaguers who did not see much action. At 42 and in his last year as a player, Phoenix resident Thornton Lee got into 11 games as did 35-year-old John Burrows.
The Senators won their first round of the playoff four games to two over Tucson, but then lost in the finals to El Paso 4-2 in games.
-----
During this era, the leader of Phoenix baseball was noted citizen Vic C. Housholder. He was an engineer for the Gillespie Dam, the Gilla River and a flood control dam at Cave Creek. During WWI, he served with Harry Truman. Vic also promoted other sports in Phoenix.
Housholder
| 1949 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Harry Eastwood | C129 | 19/R | 475 | 27/2 | 12 | 299 | 440 | 103 | Oakland |
| Charles "Bill" Newman | 1b142 | 24/L | 475 | 19/5 | 9 | 255 | 373 | 77 | |
| Dom Cannuli @ | 2b93 | 20/R | 242 | 10/4 | 1 | 227 | 314 | 30 | |
| Don Trower | 2b146 | 29/R | 543 | 32/10 | 5 | 317 | 440 | 70 | Hartmann, CA |
| Vic Canales | 3b147 | 28/R | 570 | 22/13 | 0 | 335 | 419 | 112 | |
| Don Fracchia | 3b150 | 18/R | 583 | 39/8 | 16 | 322 | 499 | 130 | Richmond,CA |
| Mike Baxes | SS146 | 18/R | 608 | 39/11 | 8 | 322 | 462 | 90 | San Francisco |
| Jack Bacciocco | OF113 | 25/R | 419 | 28/1 | 6 | 277 | 391 | 56 | San Francisco |
| El Elton | OF17 | 21/- | 53 | 2/4 | 0 | 208 | 396 | 9 | |
| Dane Petitt | OF21 | 23/R | 78 | 4/0 | 0 | 256 | 308 | 17 | |
| Ernie Sites | OF131 | 29/R | 512 | 39/8 | 10 | 293 | 459 | 112 | |
| Dick Steinhauer | OF144 | 23/L | 613 | 45/8 | 18 | 346 | 533 | 151 | |
| Earl Boles | -/11 | 30 | 0/0 | 0 | 067 | 067 | |||
| Bill Whitehorn | COF93 | 24/R | 262 | 15/2 | 11 | 275 | 473 | 54 | San Francisco |
| 1949 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Ed Graham | 25/R | 37 | 24-9 | 262 | 3.78 | 1.60 | Hayden, AZ | ||
| Tony Ponce | 27/R | 35 | 22-6 | 239 | 4.48 | 1.50 | Rivera, CA | ||
| Len Erickson | 18/R | 22 | 12-5 | 162 | 4.28 | 1.66 | |||
| Talmadge Barron | 19/R | 21 | 2-3 | 60 | 6.60 | 2.03 | |||
| Charles Noah | 24/R | 20 | 3-1 | 68 | 5.43 | 1.97 | |||
| Dick Drilling | 19/R | 15 | 0-5 | 99 | 2.55 | 1.43 | Fonda, LA | ||
| Jim Quincy | 15 | 0-0 | |||||||
| Bob Greenwood | 21/R | 16 | 5-5 | 68 | 5.69 | 1.96 | Cananea, Mexico | ||
| John Burrows | 35/L | 11 | 0-0 | Winnfield, LA | |||||
| Thornton Lee | 42/L | 11 | 0-0 | Sonoma, CA | |||||
| Art Quigley | 10 | ||||||||
| John Jurkovic | 25/L | 26 | 9-7 | 125 | 5.90 | 2.06 | |||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1949 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Phoenix Senators | 94 | 55 | 631 | 126,347 | Don Trower | |
| Juarez Indios | 92 | 53 | 613 | 2.5 | 85769 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 74 | 76 | 493 | 20.5 | 53771 | |
| El Paso Texans | 67 | 83 | 447 | 27.5 | 107788 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 66 | 83 | 443 | 28 | 60149 | |
| Globe-Miami Browns | 56 | 94 | 373 | 38.5 | 60394 |
Mike Baxes played shortstop for the 1949 Phoenix club. He was born on Dec. 18, 1930, in San Francisco. Baxes was a minor leaguer from 1949-51 and 1954-61 appearing in 1,117 games and having 3,923 at bats for a .284 average and .397 slugging. Mike was at the AAA level for nine seasons and, in 1957, was the International League's MVP.
He had two seasons in the majors for the A's in 1956 and 1958. During those seasons, he appeared in 73 games each year batting .226 and .212 as a shortstop/second baseman. For his MLB career, he hit .215 in 146 games and 337 at bats. His OBP was .303 with a .276 slugging and .946 fielding (66 games at short and 62 at second).
Baxes, whose brother Jim was also a big league infielder in the 1950s, was in the military in 1952-53. Mike has lived in
Mill Valley, CA, for many years.
John Burrows pitched for the '49 Senators and was born on Oct. 30, 1913, in Winnfield, LA. He was a hurler for 15 minor league years (1934-49) getting into 391 games and finishing 2,096 innings with a 152-93 record, 2.66 ERA and 1.39 WHIP. His year with the Senators was his last pro season and he had only one partial season at the AAA level.
Burrows got into 4 games for the A's in 1943 and 23 more for the Cubs during the same season (3.86). His major league trial ended with 3 appearances for the Cubs in '44. In his 30 MLB games, he completed 43 games allowing 40 hits and 28 walks for a 5.61 ERA, .241 OAV, .360 OOB and a 0-3 record.
John died on Apr. 27, 1987, at Coal Run, OH, in a fire which destroyed his home. His remains were cremated.
Thornton Lee pitched for the 1949 Phoenix team. He was born on Sept. 13, 1906, in Sonoma, CA. As a minor leaguer in eight seasons (1928-33, 1948-49), he had a 59-66 mark in 209 games and 1,133 innings. His ERA was 4.06 with a 1.60 WHIP.
He first entered the majors in Sept. 1933 for 3 games with the Indians and he did not leave until 1948. With the Tribe in 1934-36, he appeared in 24, 32 and 43 contests for 1-1, 7-10, 3-5 records in 86, 181 and 127 innings and ERAs of 5.04, 4.04 and 4.89.
Lee then began a long term tenure with the White Sox pitching with them from 1937-47 for 30, 33, 33, 28, 35, 11, 19, 15, 29, 7 and 21 games and 205, 245, 235, 228, 300, 76, 127, 113, 228, 43 and 87 innings with records of 12-10, 13-12, 15-11, 12-13, 22-11, 2-6, 5-9, 3-9, 15-12, 2-4 and 3-7 and ERAs of 3.52, 3.49, 4.21, 3.47, 2.37, 3.32, 4.18, 3.02, 2.44, 3.53 and 4.47. Thornton was an All Star in 1941, a year he led the league in complete games (30), ERA (2.37) and OOB (.293).
His final big league games were 11 with the Giants in 1948 as he completed 32 frames for a 4.41 ERA and a 1-3 record. During his 16-year major league career, he got into 374 games (272 starts), completed 2,331 innings allowing 2,327 hits and 838 walks for a 3.56 ERA, .260 OAV, .326 OOB and a 117-124 record.
-----
From the book "The Ballplayers":
"Lee reached the major leagues in 1933 at age 27 and struggled for four years with Cleveland. His fortunes changed when White Sox manager Jimmy Dykes saw something in the left-hander and obtained him in a three-way deal.
"Relying on fine control and a sinking fastball, he blossomed under the tutelage of coach Muddy Ruel and became one of baseball's top lefthanders from 1937 to 1941. But little offensive support left him on the losing end of many close decisions. In 1941 he had a great year...collecting a $2500 bonus for winning more than 20. Three years of misery followed; he broke his arm and underwent two one chip removals and a neck operation. He bounced back in 1945, going 15-12 and was still pitching at age 42, nine years before son, pitcher Don Lee, broke in with the Tigers. Ted Williams homered off both of them, the only man to hit a HR off a father and son. [as of 1991] - Dennis Bingham
-----
After his baseball career was over, he worked in Phoenix for Bowen McGlothlin and at Garrett Research for 25 years. Also, for 40 years, he did some scouting for the Cardinals and Giants. He died from the complications of Parkinson's disease on June 9, 1997, in Tucson, AZ.
-----1950-----
Manager Don Trower returned and the Senators played quite well (14 games over .500), but they finished in third place 12
games back. Attendance dropped off by about 22, 120, but Phoenix still lead the league in that department.
Globe-Miami lost there working agreement with the Browns, but Bisbee-Douglas signed on with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Tucson continued to work with Cleveland.
The Senators offense which had six starters hitting over .300 and six men with 15 or more homers, appears to be the reason for their first division finish. No pitcher had less then a 4.92 ERA or a 1.63 WHIP.
Newcomer Len Noren (.357) tied for the league lead in RBI (169) and led the team in average, doubles (44), homers (25) and slugging percentage. Late in the year, he also got a short trial in the PCL with the Oakland Oaks. Noren split his playing time between first and third. Others who played at third were Ernie Sites (.301) back with the team again and also an outfielder (tied for second on team home runs) and Dom Cannuli (.280) whose main position appears to have been second base. Trower (.343) did well again as a second baseman. First base was main domain of Ralph Boyer (.255) with Ernie Gammino (.332) taking a turn there as well as in the outfield. Noren also had some playing time there.
Returnee outfielder Dick Steinhauer (.360) led the team in average in 110 games and then moved up to the class "B" Western International League. John Haley (.270) was another outfield regular and the position was also shared by Gammino, Noren, Sites and two lesser used players - Adolph Lucchesi (.204) and Ruben Navarro (.301).
Gil Hawkins (.307) was the starting catcher with Paul Muncie (.150) backing up. Bob Paulson and Bill Whitehorn also caught some games.
The returning Tony Ponce (18-11) came close to winning 20, but did win more then any other team hurler and completed more innings (254). He also led the team in WHIP - a rather poor 1.63). Second in victories was Bob Greenwood (13-12) who also returned, but had a poor ERA (6.82) and WHIP (2.02). The workhorse of the past two seasons, Ed Graham (11-6), backed off a bit with 186 innings and also did not have good numbers (5.61, 1.78).
Harold Morris (10-6) appeared in a team-high 54 games [most ever for a Phoenix pitcher on a class "C" Phoenix team] and finished 142 innings with bad results (6.15, 1.90) and Dick Relyea (10-14) saw action in 35 contests for 195 innings also with a rather poor record (5.72, 1.78). The club leader in ERA (4.92) was Dave Anderson (7-5) who was in 21 games with 117 innings. Returnee John Jurkovic (6-6) had the second best ERA (5.11) in 18 games. Bill Sullivan also pitched in 18 games, but his complete stats did not survive.
Finishing third meant the club was able to enter the playoffs. The Senators beat first-place Juarez in round one 4 games to
2. However, they lost to El Paso in the finals be the identical count.
| 1950 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Gil Hawkins | C128 | 21/R | 397 | 20/7 | 17 | 307 | 521 | 81 | |
| Phil Muncie | C22 | 60 | 1/1 | 0 | 150 | 200 | 10 | ||
| Bob Paulson @ | C58 | 29/R | 193 | 12/0 | 5 | 259 | 399 | 34 | |
| Ralph Boyer | 1b147 | 588 | 21/4 | 5 | 255 | 330 | 83 | ||
| John Haley | OF123 | 22/R | 423 | 24/7 | 6 | 270 | 402 | 56 | |
| Adolph Lucchesi | OF41 | 108 | 7/0 | 1 | 204 | 296 | 10 | ||
| Ruben Navarro | OF41 | 146 | 8/3 | 1 | 301 | 418 | 19 | ||
| Dick Steinhauer | OF110 | 24/L | 458 | 41/3 | 18 | 360 | 581 | 117 | |
| Dom Cannuli | 2b3b150 | 21/R | 585 | 24/4 | 1 | 280 | 340 | 58 | |
| Ernie Gammino | 1bOF80 | 20/L | 280 | 18/5 | 15 | 332 | 593 | 67 | |
| Len Noren | 1b3b140 | 22/R | 602 | 44/10 | 25 | 357 | 588 | 169 | Santa Cruz, CA |
| Ernie Sites | OF3b139 | 30/R | 549 | 39/7 | 18 | 301 | 495 | 113 | |
| Don Trower | 2b101 | 30/R | 391 | 33/8 | 4 | 343 | 499 | 59 | Hartmann, CA |
| Bill Whitehorn@ | C127 | 25/R | 415 | 25/2 | 23 | 304 | 540 | 109 | San Francisco |
| 1950 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | ||
| Dave Anderson | 21/R | 21 | 7-5 | 117 | 4.92 | 1.66 | |||
| Ed Graham | 26/R | 31 | 11-6 | 186 | 5.61 | 1.78 | Hayden, AZ | ||
| Bob Greenwood | 22/R | 31 | 13-12 | 182 | 6.82 | 2.02 | Cananea, Mexico | ||
| John Jurkovic | 26/L | 18 | 6-6 | 88 | 5.11 | 1.71 | |||
| Harold Morris | 22/R | 54 | 10-6 | 142 | 6.15 | 1.90 | |||
| Tony Ponce | 28/R | 40 | 18-11 | 254 | 5.31 | 1.63 | Rivera, CA | ||
| Dick Relyea | 22/R | 35 | 10-14 | 195 | 5.72 | 1.78 | |||
| Bill Sullivan | 18 | 0-0 | |||||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1950 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Juarez Indios | 93 | 55 | 628 | 69738 | ||
| El Paso Texans | 92 | 58 | 613 | 2 | 100212 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 82 | 68 | 547 | 12 | 104137 | Don Trower |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 69 | 79 | 466 | 24 | 68651 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 64 | 86 | 427 | 30 | 61254 | |
| Globe-Miami Browns | 48 | 102 | 320 | 46 | 47388 |
Bob Greenwood pitched for the 1949-50 Phoenix teams. He was born on March 13, 1928, in Cananea, Mexico and pitched in the minors in 1949-53 and 1955-60 in 328 games and 1,794 innings. His record was 113-118 with a 4.14 ERA and 1.50 WHIP. Four of those seasons were at the AAA level. He was originally signed out of St. Mary's in California.
Greenwood came up with the Phillies in 1954 and stayed with the team the whole season, but only saw action in 11 games (4 starts) finishing 37 innings with a good 3.19 ERA and OAV of .209. He spent most of the season on the disabled list.
His final MLB appearance was one game in 1955 when he gave up 7 hits in 2 1/3 innings for an ERA of 15.43. Bob's career record was 1-2 in 12 games and 39 innings as he allowed 35 hits and 18 walks with a 3.92 ERA, .236 OAV and .319 OOB.
Greenwood became a golf pro and instructor at the Skywest Golf Club in Hayward, CA, and died there on Sept. 1, 1994.
1951: Southwest International League
Prior to the season, five teams from the Arizona-Texas League (El Paso, Juarez, Phoenix, Tucson and Bisbee-Douglas) joined with five teams from the Sunset League [8 teams in 1950] (Mexicali, Las Vegas, Tijuana, El Centro and Yuma) to form a 10-team Southwest International League. Only Bisbee-Douglas had a major league alliance (Dodgers).
The Senators' manager was Wayne Tucker a 29-year-old minor leaguer who had managed only one year previously. He
played ten years as an infielder (1940 and 1945-53) hitting .265 with a .334 slugging in 1,221 games and 4,615 at bats.
Tucker had four years in the AAA level.
Tucker
The Phoenix club won the second half of the split season, but for the complete season, they had the league's third best record. Their fan count took a tumble of about 38, 800.
Pitching was the biggest turn-a-round for the club as four well-used hurlers had ERAs under 4.00. Two Senator veterans were 20-game winners: 1) Tony Ponce (25-16), pitched an amazing 352 innings with a team-leading 3.45 ERA and 1.26 WHIP in his 49 games and 38 starts and 2) Ed Graham (22-13) had a come back season to complete 292 frames with a good 3.73 ERA. John Jurkovic (7-6) also returned for 18 games and 114 innings (5.13/1.72) and Bill Paine (7-1), the only other pitcher to go over 100 innings, had a good 3.53 ERA. Ponce's season set four records which were never topped by any Phoenix class "C" pitcher - most starts (38), most wins (25), most innings pitched (352) and lowest WHIP (1.26).
Mike Woods (5-2) split his time between pitching and the outfield, but did log 77 innings. Eric Gard (2-5) toiled through 49 innings and Frank Romero (4-1) excelled in 41 for a great ERA of 2.20.
Herm "Lefty" Lewis (.308), who played mostly in the outfield, but also appeared at first base, was the offense leader as he got the league's home run crown with 23 and led the team in triples, slugging % and RBI (124). He was named to the league All Star team. Rich Steinhauer (.336) returned as an outfield regular and led the club with 57 doubles [which remained a Phoenix class "C" franchise record] and was second in RBI (103) and batting average. The other regular outfielder was the returning Ernie Sites (.286). Ray Riveras (.220) and Duane Schuenke (.268) each played in 22 and 15 games respectively. In addition, Mike Woods (.235) split time between the field and as a pitcher. The only player on the '51 club to reach the majors was Willie Tasby who played all his games during the 1951 season with Phoenix, however, that total was only four.
Len Noren (.359) returned for 91 games leading the team in average and was named to the All Star team before being promoted to the Eastern League. Lefty Lewis was the other first baseman. Manager Tucker (.322) followed former manager's Dan Trower footsteps and played second base. Shortstop was manned effectively by Gil Trejo (.297) and third base appeared to have been occupied mostly by the returning Dom Cannuli (.238) who also played at second and short. Joe Joshua (.297) also was at third for 57 contests.
Ted Olea (.284) caught and played in the outfield. Howie Cluff (.284) was the other main catcher and they were backed by Stan Dembecki (.207).
Mexicali, the first half winner, beat Phoenix four games to 1 for the League Championship.
| 1951 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Howie Cluff | C56 | 172 | 10/0 | 0 | 273 | 331 | 17 | ||
| Stan Dembecki | C37 | 23/R | 116 | 1/1 | 0 | 207 | 233 | 7 | Bayonne, NJ |
| Len Noren | 1b91 | 23/R | 382 | 30/2 | 8 | 359 | 510 | 62 | Santa Cruz, CA |
| Joe Jushua | 3b57 | 25/R | 209 | 11/7 | 5 | 297 | 488 | 32 | San Antonio, TX |
| Gil Trejo | SS138 | 23/R | 559 | 28/8 | 7 | 297 | 413 | 78 | |
| Ray Riveras | OF22 | 82 | 1/0 | 0 | 220 | 232 | 5 | ||
| Duane Schuenke | OF15 | 56 | 3/1 | 0 | 268 | 357 | 6 | ||
| Ernie Sites | OF127 | 31/R | 504 | 30/5 | 7 | 286 | 407 | 91 | |
| Rich Steinhauer | OF143 | 25/L | 581 | 57/5 | 11 | 336 | 508 | 103 | |
| Willie Tasby | OF4 | 18/R | 11 | 1/0 | 0 | 091 | 182 | 0 | Shreveport, LA |
| Dom Cannuli | 2b3bSS130 | 22/R | 478 | 13/2 | 0 | 238 | 274 | 44 | |
| Herm "Lefty" Lewis | OF1b144 | 26/L | 578 | 28/16 | 23 | 308 | 531 | 124 | Beaumont, TX |
| Ted Olea | COF61 | 194 | 14/0 | 3 | 284 | 402 | 39 | ||
| L. Wayne Tucker | 2b142 | 29/L | 596 | 30/5 | 3 | 322 | 404 | 78 | |
| George "Mike" Woods | POF76 | 272 | 11/1 | 1 | 235 | 294 | 30 | ||
| 1951 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Eric Gard | 24/L | 9 | 8 | 2-5 | 49 | 5.51 | 1.98 | ||
| Ed Graham | 27/R | 38 | 34 | 22-13 | 292 | 3.73 | 1.61 | Hayden, AZ | |
| John Jurkovic | 27/L | 18 | 14 | 7-6 | 114 | 5.13 | 1.72 | ||
| Juan Meza @ | 11 | ||||||||
| Bill Paine | 24/L | 15 | 10 | 7-1 | 102 | 3.53 | 1.55 | ||
| Tony Ponce | 29/R | 49 | 38 | 25-16 | 352 | 3.45 | 1.26 | Rivera, CA | |
| George "Mike" Woods | 11 | 8 | 5-2 | 77 | 3.04 | 1.43 | |||
| Frank Romero | 22/R | 5 | 4-1 | 41 | 2.20 | Oakland | |||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1951 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| El Paso Texans | 88 | 56 | 611 | 104061 | ||
| Juarez Indios | 87 | 57 | 604 | 1 | 68000 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 83 | 61 | 576 | 5 | 65320 | Wayne Tucker |
| Mexicali Eagles | 81 | 63 | 563 | 7 | 88426 | |
| Las Vegas Wranglers | 72 | 71 | 503 | 15.5 | 48000 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 68 | 75 | 476 | 19.5 | 62841 | |
| Tijuana Potros | 65 | 79 | 451 | 23 | 55000 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 64 | 80 | 444 | 24 | 57786 | |
| El Centro Imperials | 59 | 85 | 410 | 29 | 23847 | |
| Yuma Panthers | 52 | 92 | 361 | 36 | 50557 |
Willie Tasby was born in Shreveport, LA, on January 8, 1933. He played few games for the 1951 Senators.
In September 1958, Willie first played in major league games with the Orioles batting .200 with 50 at bats in 18 games. He became a starting outfielder for them in 1959 appearing in 142 games and hitting .250 with 13 home runs. Tasby once played in Baltimore's outfield without shoes as he was afraid that lightning would be attracted to their metal cleats. After 30 games in 1960 (.212), they traded him [on June 9 for Gene Stephens] to the Red Sox where he started in their outfield for 105 games and hit .281.
The expansion draft brought him to the Washington Senators in 1961 as he was an outfield starter for them with 141 games and a .251 average while slamming 17 home runs. Willie only played 11 games for the Nats in 1962 (.206) and was traded to Cleveland on May 3 for Steve Hamilton and Don Rudolph. He was with the Indians for 75 more and a .241 average. His last year was 1963, with the Tribe, when he played in 52 games and hit .224.
He played in 583 MLB games and had 1,868 official plate appearances with an average of .250, OBP of .328 and slugging % of .367. He was 5 for 42 as a pinch hitter and had a .980 fielding % from 543 games in the outfield, 1 at first and 1 at second.
In the minors from 1950-1958 and 1963-1965, the right hander played for 14 teams hitting over .300 for 4 of them. He spent 4 years at the class AAA level.
Willie grew up in Oakland and during his playing days was employed by the Trans-Pacific Aircraft Company there. After
baseball, he worked for the American Can Company. He lived in Oakland for many years and now lives in San Leandro, CA.
1952-1954: Arizona-Texas League
-----1952-----
The ten-team Southwest International League was split up after only one season. Six teams, who were basically members of the old Sunset League, stayed together and kept the "Southwest International" name. Five members of the previous Arizona-Texas League took back their original name and added Chihuahua, Mexico, as it's sixth member. No team had a major league "parent".
Don Trower returned as the Senators manager after a one-year absence and led the club to a finish of 16 games over .500. However, that was 6 ½ games out of first and league discontinued their post-season playoffs. He apparently mixed-and- matched lineups the whole season since few players had apparent set positions.
Herm Lewis (.356) was a leader on offense as he played 101 games at first and in the outfield before being called up to the PCL San Francisco Seals. He led the team in triples (10), slugging percentage (.644) and was second in average. Joe Joshua (.334) also played at first and all other positions except catcher and pitcher. In his final pro season, Ted Olea (.306), was another swing player seeing action at first, in the outfield and at catcher. Players who were mainly pitchers also saw action at first base - Phoenix native John Ford Smith (.364) and Ed Graham (.317) who actually led the team in homers with 29.
Besides Lewis in the outfield, Rich Steinhauer (.378) was the main fly catcher leading the team in hitting and doubles (47). The other garden spot was manned by many including Bob Hayes (.311) in 59 games, Gil Hawkins (.341) a returnee converted catcher from 1950, Joshua, Olea and Graham. Steinhauer's 616 at bats would remain a record for Phoenix teams during the class "C" years.
Manager Trower (.265) returned to second base but he had an off-year at the plate. Newcomer Bob Melton (.312) was the main third baseman as he led the team in RBI (125) and Joshua filled in there from time-to-time. Shortstop was another position which took a community effort to fill. Five men played at that spot including Ed Biggs (.224), Sam Brans (.171), John Healy (.225 - for two teams), Joshua and Melton.
It can not be a surprise that catcher was also unsettled with Hawkins, Olea and Ralph Babcock (.211) calling games during the year. They were receiving pitches from a pitching staff with stats down from '51.
The returning Don Cantrell (19-9) led the league with a 3.64 ERA and was second in innings pitched for the Senators. Tony Ponce (19-12) also came within a whisker of a twenty-win season in his team-leading 234 innings, but his numbers were up (5.27 ERA/1.74 WHIP) in his last year with the Senators [later he played six seasons in AAA]. Ed Graham (13-10) also completed more then 200 innings with an OK ERA (4.94) but had a too-high WHIP (1.79) and then was out of pro baseball until 1955.
Next on the workhorse list was Phoenix-native, J. Ford Smith (13-4), who had a decent ERA (3.91) and WHIP (1.47) in 152 innings. New guys Bill Dials (5-7), who saw action in 24 contests (6.22/1.97), and Tom Castle (3-7) was in 22 (6.54/2.17). In addition, Cliff Keeley (3-3) got into 12 games with a 4.86 ERA. It is not known how much time Bill Paine (9-10 - for two teams) was with the Phoenix club.
Season Highlight: On August 12, John Ford Smith threw a no-hitter against Juarez in a 4-0 victory. It is believed to have been the first no-hitter for the Phoenix franchise.
No player from the 1952 squad made it to the major leagues.
| 1952 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Ralph Babcock | C26 | 19/R | 57 | 4/0 | 0 | 211 | 281 | 6 | |
| Don Trower | 2b131 | 32/R | 499 | 28/4 | 5 | 265 | 367 | 76 | Hartmann, CA |
| Ed Biggs | SS42 | 141 | 3/0 | 0 | 234 | 255 | 8 | ||
| Sam Brans | SS31 | 20/- | 117 | 3/0 | 3 | 171 | 274 | 10 | |
| Bob Hayes | OF59 | 23/R | 235 | 11/3 | 2 | 311 | 409 | 37 | |
| Rich Steinhauer | OF138 | 26/L | 616 | 47/1 | 16 | 378 | 536 | 118 | |
| Ed Graham | P!bOF114 | 28/L | 397 | 27/3 | 29 | 317 | 620 | 98 | Hayden, AZ |
| Gil Hawkins | OFC137 | 23/R | 499 | 30/2 | 23 | 341 | 547 | 103 | |
| John Healy @ | 2bSS51 | 23/L | 204 | 5/1 | 0 | 225 | 260 | 13 | |
| Joe Jushua | 1b3bSSOF114 | 26/R | 434 | 22/9 | 11 | 334 | 502 | 87 | San Antonio, TX |
| Herm "Lefty" Lewis | 1bOF101 | 27/L | 436 | 40/10 | 22 | 356 | 644 | 111 | Beaumont, TX |
| Bob Melton | 3bSS138 | 20/R | 487 | 26/5 | 22 | 312 | 522 | 125 | |
| Ted Olea | 1bOFC93 | 343 | 17/5 | 6 | 306 | 437 | 65 | ||
| Mike Pingitore @ | -/15 | 39 | 1/1 | 0 | 205 | 282 | 4 | ||
| John F. Smith | P1b48 | 33/S | 140 | 12/1 | 2 | 364 | 507 | 34 | Phoenix |
| 1952 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Don Cantrell | 32/R | 28 | 28 | 19-9 | 230 | 3.64 | 1.42 | Los Banos, CA | |
| Tom Castle | 22 | 10 | 3-7 | 84 | 6.54 | 2.17 | |||
| Bill Dials | 25/R | 24 | 13 | 5-7 | 107 | 6.22 | 1.97 | Blythe, CA | |
| Ed Graham | 28R | 28 | 23 | 13-10 | 204 | 4.94 | 1.79 | Hayden, AZ | |
| Ollie Johnson | 11 | ||||||||
| Cliff Keeley | 21/R | 12 | 4 | 3-3 | 50 | 4.86 | 1.74 | Blue River, BC | |
| Bob Minter | 21/- | 13 | |||||||
| Art Muche | 10 | ||||||||
| Bill Paine @ | 25/L | 35 | 22 | 9-10 | 174 | 5.84 | 1.97 | ||
| Tony Ponce | 30/R | 37 | 29 | 19-12 | 234 | 5.27 | 1.74 | Rivera, CA | |
| John Ford Smith | 33/R | 20 | 18 | 13-4 | 152 | 3.91 | 1.47 | Phoenix | |
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1952 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Juarez Indios | 84 | 55 | 604 | 64870 | ||
| El Paso Texans | 79 | 61 | 564 | 5.5 | 83373 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 78 | 62 | 557 | 6.5 | 64410 | Don Trower |
| Tucson Cowboys | 61 | 78 | 439 | 23 | 68500 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 60 | 80 | 429 | 24.5 | 56206 | |
| Chihuahua Dorados | 57 | 83 | 407 | 27.5 | 130329 |
-----1953-----
The new manager was Albert W. "Buck" Elliot who replaced Don Trower. Don stayed with the team as a player for part
of the year and was the only position player to return from the '53 team [only two pitchers were re-signed]. The team's
possibilities could not have looked good prior to the season and poor performances were the actual result. For the first
time since 1927, the Senators finished in last place - 32 ½ games out of first in a league that continued to operate without a
major league affiliation. Attendance in Phoenix was down about 15,000.
It was Elliot's fifth year as a manager and his 13th as a player. He went on to play 14 years in the minors (1937-40, 1942, 1947-53 and 1955-56). As an outfielder/first baseman, he hit .287 with a .435 slugging in 4,239 at bats. He managed in 1949-53 and 1955-56.
With all the poor play, it was surprising that the pitching corps produced a twenty-game winner. In his last (of three) seasons with Phoenix, Don Cantrell, finished with a 20-9 record, a 4.85 ERA and a 1.55 WHIP. Considering his WHIP, there was a lot of luck involved in his win-loss record. Don was one of two team members to be named to the league's All Star team and he also led the team in innings pitched (252), ERA and WHIP.
The next most innings logged was from Don Jones (8-15) with 202 and he had a 5.44 ERA and 1.79 WHIP. The returning Ford Smith (11-14) came within one inning of 200 in his final year with his home town team and his record was not great (5.65/1.70). Richard Smith (5-5) was second in team ERA with 4.64 and WHIP (1.66) in his 97 innings.
Ed Grecius (7-7), who also played some outfield, had a decent ERA (4.87) in 81 innings and Ron Hagler (3-10) pitched poorly in 79 frames (6.84/2.14). It is not known how long Lloyd Jones (1-7 for two teams) was with the club. The only other pitcher whose complete record survived was that of Orval McElrath (0-3). It probably would have been better for him had it not (his ERA/WHIP was 8.17/2.26).
The offensive star appears to have been Robert Brown (.335), an outfielder, who led the team in hitting, slugging (.560), home runs (27) and RBI (129). It most be noted, however, that this information comes from one source - SABR's minor league stats - as now published online in "Baseball-Reference.com". In another source (Pat Doyle database), it is shown that a Robert Brown played for Tucson in '53. Both show his name as "Robert M. Brown" however, that individual's record on "Doyle" begins and ends with the 1953 season. Very possibility, the "Brown" who apparently played for Phoenix was "Robert Edward Brown" because: 1) his SABR record shows no play in 1953, 2) he was an outfielder, 3) showed the same type of power later in his career as in his early years and 4) continued to play in the Southwest League after '53.
The other All Star on the team was future big leaguer, GordieWindhorn (.318), who was second in team at bats to Brown. Three men shared the other outfield position: Jack Popovich (.279), Ed Greicius (.316) and Al Casino (.290).
Manager Elliot (.328) played first base to lead the team in doubles (36) and was second in average. At second were Trower (.398) who only played 39 games [his final appearances in a pro uniform] and Bob Ayres (.256) who led the team in triples (10). Three players had experience at third base: Reg Grenald (.340) who went on to play in the California League that season; Del Johnston (.228); and Marty Hairabedian (.236). Shortstop was also manned by three players: Charles Lindberg (.215); Al Bolen (.233); and John Benson (.315) who played in three leagues in his only pro year.
Offensively speaking only, the catcher position was a black hole with the regular "Bobby Ray" Howard hitting only .175 [in
his worst year as a pro] and his back-ups Stan Kulka and Pat Carlin who batted .179 and .200.
| 1953 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Pat Carlin | C14 | 20 | 3/0 | 0 | 200 | 200 | 2 | ||
| Bobby Ray Howard | C126 | 394 | 19/3 | 9 | 175 | 307 | 53 | ||
| Stan Kulka | C39 | 78 | 3/0 | 1 | 179 | 256 | 11 | ||
| Buck Elliot | 1b131 | 34/L | 457 | 36/3 | 17 | 328 | 532 | 101 | Lewisburg, PA |
| Bob Ayres | 2b123 | 18/R | 477 | 14/10 | 6 | 256 | 365 | 49 | Sacramento, CA |
| Don Trower | 2b39 | 33/R | 161 | 14/3 | 1 | 398 | 540 | 33 | Hartmann, CA |
| Reg Grenald | 3b68 | 21/R | 268 | 18/6 | 9 | 340 | 552 | 61 | |
| Marty Hairabedian | 3b31 | 110 | 4/1 | 1 | 236 | 318 | 14 | ||
| Del Johnston | 3b49 | 19/R | 184 | 8/2 | 3 | 228 | 342 | 22 | |
| John Benson | SS26 | 21/R | 89 | 5/1 | 0 | 315 | 393 | 16 | |
| Al Bolen | SS49 | 23/R | 180 | 12/1 | 3 | 233 | 361 | 29 | |
| Charles Lindberg | SS74 | 274 | 8/4 | 7 | 215 | 350 | 38 | ||
| Bob Brown | OF140 | 555 | 32/6 | 27 | 335 | 560 | 129 | ||
| Al Casino | OF54 | 19/L | 193 | 13/1 | 2 | 290 | 399 | 31 | |
| Ed Greicius | OF65 | 23/R | 212 | 17/7 | 6 | 316 | 547 | 43 | |
| Jack Popovich | OF57 | 24/R | 219 | 8/3 | 1 | 279 | 356 | 36 | Kewanee, IL |
| Gordie Windhorn | OF121 | 19/L | 528 | 18/4 | 15 | 318 | 453 | 66 | Wateska, IL |
| Dave Gorrie | OF4 | 21/L | 059 | 0 | |||||
| Don Land | Inf14 | 18/R | 40 | 3/0 | 1 | 275 | 425 | 5 | |
| Jim "Bud" Younger | 29/R | 333 | 0 | ||||||
| 1953 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Al Barnes | 30/- | 0-0 | Portsmouth, VA | ||||||
| John Caruso | 0-3 | ||||||||
| Don Cantrell | 33/R | 34 | 30 | 20-9 | 252 | 4.25 | 1.55 | Los Banos, CA | |
| Olallo Garcia | 0-0 | ||||||||
| Lloyd Jones @ | 24/R | 34 | 5 | 1-7 | 91 | 7.54 | 2.18 | ||
| Ron Hagler | 20/R | 17 | 9 | 3-10 | 79 | 6.84 | 2.14 | ||
| Ed Greicius | 23/R | 14 | 13 | 7-7 | 81 | 4.87 | 1.83 | ||
| Jack Jacobs | 2-6 | ||||||||
| Don Jones | 18/R | 39 | 24 | 8-15 | 202 | 5.44 | 1.79 | ||
| Orval McElrath | 20/R | 14 | 1 | 0-3 | 54 | 8.17 | 2.26 | ||
| Joe Meyers | 20/- | 0-0 | |||||||
| Humberto Morales | 20/- | 0-1 | |||||||
| Jack Roberts | 20/R | 0-1 | |||||||
| Dick Smith | 23/R | 16 | 14 | 5-5 | 97 | 4.64 | 1.66 | ||
| John Ford Smith | 34/R | 33 | 25 | 11-14 | 199 | 5.65 | 1.70 | Phoenix | |
| Harry Theodosis | 22/R | 2-3 | Indianapolis | ||||||
| Earl Tucker | 20/L | 0-1 | |||||||
| Garner Vickers | 0-1 | ||||||||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1953 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Tucson Cowboys | 90 | 49 | 647 | 92157 | ||
| Mexicali Eagles | 77 | 62 | 554 | 13 | 68719 | |
| Juarez Indios | 74 | 65 | 532 | 16 | 46800 | |
| El Paso Texans | 60 | 80 | 429 | 30.5 | 52501 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 59 | 80 | 424 | 31 | 44650 | |
| Phoenix Senators | 58 | 82 | 414 | 32.5 | 49270 | Buck Elliot |
John Ford Smith was born on January 9, 1919, in Phoenix to a pioneer Arizona family. "Ford" pitched for his home town team in 1952-53. Prior to that, he played for the Chicago American Giants and the Indianapolis Crawfords in 1939-1940. Also, after college (late 1930s through 1940), he pitched for the Phoenix-based Arizona Compass team which was an all-black club. In 1941, Smith pitched for the Negro League Kansas City Monarchs and when WWII began, he joined the U.S. Army. Part of his assignment was being a pitcher for the Quartermaster's Corps in Ft. Lewis, WA. He then transferred to the Army Air Corps and was promoted to the rank of lieutenant and, while in Europe, pitched on the European Theater of Operations team.
Smith rejoined the Monarchs in 1946 and stayed with them through 1948 which was the year he was considered the top pitcher in the Negro American League. Each winter, during his Negro League playing days, he played ball in the Caribbean. He played in the minors in 1949-50 for Jersey City (a Giants farm team) of the International League and then in the lower minors in 1952-54. Ford may have gotten a chance with the New York Giants in 1950, but he was stricken with pneumonia and was only able to pitch 45 innings that year. In 1951, he performed in a Canadian league based in Quebec after rejecting a contract with Seattle of the PCL that would not protect him should he be injured. He never made it to the majors.
After baseball, he worked in the Phoenix Union High School system as the executive director of the Arizona State Civil
Rights Commission and director of East Lake Park in central Phoenix. Later, he was Vice President of the Civil Rights
Department with the Arizona Bank and retired from them as an assistant vice president of human resources. He died on
Feb. 26, 1983, in Phoenix.
Gordon "Gordie" Windhorn was an outfielder on the '53 Senators and was born on Dec. 19, 1933, in Watseka, IL. He played a total of 12 seasons (1952-1963) and 1,304 games in the minors and had 4,572 at bats with a .289 average and .471 slugging %. Windhorn played nine years at the AAA level and was the American Association batting champ in 1958.
Windhorn never played in organized baseball as a boy, but was signed to a pro contract after attending a tryout camp.
In 1959, Gordie played seven games for the Yankees having 11 at bats with no hits. He was on the Dodgers in 1961 for 34 games and 33 at bats (.242) and then for his final big league season of 1962 Windhorn played for two teams. With the A's he was 3 for 19 in 14 games and with the Angels, he got into 40 games with 45 at bats and a .178 average.
He played a total of 95 big league games with 108 at bats for an average of .176, OBP of .252 and a slugging of .333. Gordie fielded .981 in 55 games as an outfielder. From 1964-69, he was a player in Japan for the Hankyu Braves.
Windhorn operated the House of Beverages in Danville, VA, and still lives there.
-----1954----
There were many changes for the Phoenix franchise in 1954. First, the Arizona-Texas League added two Mexican teams in Cananea and Nogales. Phoenix had last played Nogales in league games in 1931 and the city had not had a pro team since 1938. It was the first pro year for Cananea. Mexicali picked up a big league affiliation agreement with the Cardinals.
The club roster was completely different as not one player returned from the poor 1953 team. Jerry Gardner was brought in to manage and even the longtime nickname "Senators" was discarded replaced by the nondescript "Stars".
Gardner was a 33-year-old (born in Chifton, CO on Nov. 28, 1920) catcher who had been playing pro ball off-and-on since 1936 and it was his 7th year as a minor league manager. He went on to play 14 years in 1,257 games and had 4,127 at bats for a .246 average and .377 slugging %, but never reached the majors and only had very limited duty in class "AAA". Jerry would manage in 1945, 1947-48, 1950-51 and 1952-56. [He died on Oct. 12, 2006, in Los Alamitos, CA].
In the case of the 1954 season, "change" was good as the Stars won the franchise's first regular season pennant since 1949 with the best winning percentage ever in Phoenix's class "C" days and attendance increased by 65,180. There were no post season playoffs.
Five of the starting eight position players hit better then .300. They were led by outfielder Earl C. Smith (.387) who led the team in hitting, doubles (35), was second in homers (32) and slugging percentage (.666) and was the league leader in RBI with 195. He went on to reach the majors. Another starting outfielder was Ray Swarts (.357) who was second in batting and RBI (136 - tied) and led the team in triples (15). The other outfield starter appears to have been Len Lindborg (.267) who also pitched. Lindborg shared that position with: Jim Davis (.304) who also played third base; John "Jack" Haley (.233) for 13 games and; future major leaguer, Howie Goss, who saw action in only 8 contests. [Goss spent the remainder of the '54 season in the California League.] Smith's 195 RBI was the most of any class "C" Phoenix player.
Bill Jackson (.342) played first base and led the team in home runs (37) and slugging (.727) and was tied for second in RBI (136). At second was Dan Coughlin (.226), Ken Toothmand (.355) was at short and Jack Spence (.303) was the regular at third. As mentioned previously, Jim Davis also played third and Don Rowe (.286), normally a pitcher, backed up at first base. Toothmand led the team with 18 triples and that mark was also the most in Phoenix's class "C" history.
Catcher was the domain of manager Gardner (.286) for 92 games and he was ably backed-up by Charlie Barnes (.280) in 71 contests.
Based on record, Don Rowe (18-3) led the pitchers with an ERA of 4.15 and WHIP of 1.64. He pitched the second-most innings of 182. Don Schroyer (17-8) completed 204 innings and led the league in strike outs with 196, but ended the year with an ERA of 6.12 and 1.81 WHIP. The leader in team innings pitched was Solon Shaw (14-7) with 215, but he had a high ERA of 5.82 and 1.81 WHIP.
The second-line hurlers were Don Corrella (7-6, 4.29, 1.75) in 130 frames; R. Bruce Kennedy (18-10, 5.37, 1.78) for 129
innings; Alan Wilson (11-4, 5.07, 1.68) in 115 innings; Charles Lehrman (9-4, 5.15, 1.87) who finished 101 frames and
Len Lindborg (4-5, 5.68, 1.77) in 65 innings. It is not known how many games Dick Smith (1-5 - for two teams) pitched
with Phoenix. Bill Wadsworth (2-3) completed 30 innings with a very poor 9.90 ERA and 2.50 WHIP. Three other
pitchers appeared in a few games each for the Stars including former major leaguer Julio Gonzalez (0-2).
| 1954 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Charlie Barnes | C71 | 19/R | 243 | 11/2 | 4 | 280 | 391 | 41 | San Francisco |
| Jerry Gardner | C92 | 33/R | 304 | 15/0 | 12 | 286 | 454 | 58 | Clifton, CO |
| Bill (H.) Jackson | 1b110 | 19/R | 407 | 32/7 | 37 | 342 | 727 | 136 | |
| Dan Coughlin | 2b139 | 19/R | 495 | 16/1 | 3 | 226 | 281 | 75 | |
| Ernie Garcia | 3b16 | 20/R | 65 | 4/1 | 3 | 415 | 646 | 14 | |
| Jack Spence | 3b111 | 19/R | 353 | 25/7 | 6 | 303 | 465 | 60 | San Francisco |
| Ken Toothman | SS139 | 19/L | 563 | 28/18 | 10 | 355 | 522 | 123 | |
| Earl ( C.) Smith | OF141 | 26/R | 548 | 35/11 | 32 | 387 | 666 | 195 | Sunnyside, WA |
| Ray Swarts | OF141 | 21/R | 597 | 33/15 | 16 | 357 | 543 | 136 | Redding, CA |
| Jim Davis | 3bOF82 | 21/R | 289 | 14/7 | 2 | 304 | 422 | 41 | |
| Howie Goss | OF8 | 19/R | 27 | 1/0 | 0 | 185 | 222 | 0 | Wewoka, OK |
| John "Jack" Haley | OF13 | 23/R | 30 | 2/0 | 0 | 233 | 300 | 4 | |
| Len Lindborg | POF122 | 18/R | 419 | 14/5 | 19 | 267 | 461 | 110 | Compton, CA |
| Don Rowe | P1b70 | 18/L | 192 | 10/3 | 0 | 286 | 370 | 36 | Brawley, CA |
| Solon Shaw | PPH61 | 20/R | 111 | 4/2 | 2 | 342 | 468 | 17 | Furean, OK |
| 1954 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Don Corrella | 20/L | 37 | 11 | 7-6 | 130 | 4.29 | 1.75 | San Luis Obispo, CA | |
| Julio Gonzalez | 33/R | 6 | 0-2 | Banes, Cuba | |||||
| R. Bruce Kennedy | 18/L | 24 | 18 | 18-10 | 129 | 5.37 | 1.78 | ||
| Charles Lehrmann | 24/R | 18 | 13 | 9-4 | 101 | 5.15 | 1.87 | ||
| Len Lindborg | 18/R | 18 | 6 | 4-5 | 65 | 5.68 | 1.77 | ||
| Norm Rousselot | 24/R | 5 | 1-1 | ||||||
| Don Schroyer | 19/R | 37 | 31 | 17-8 | 204 | 6.12 | 1.81 | San Rafael, CA | |
| Solon Shaw | 20/R | 39 | 28 | 14-7 | 215 | 5.82 | 1.81 | ||
| Dick Smith @ | 24/R | 20 | 6 | 1-5 | 68 | 8.69 | 2.21 | ||
| Bob Vruck | 18/R | 11 | 0-2 | ||||||
| Bill Wadsworth | 19/R | 22 | 1 | 2-3 | 30 | 9.90 | 2.50 | ||
| Alan Wilson | 21/R | 32 | 8 | 11-4 | 115 | 5.07 | 1.68 | ||
| Don Rowe | 18/L | 29 | 23 | 18-3 | 182 | 4.15 | 1.64 | Brawley, CA | |
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1954 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Phoenix Stars | 93 | 47 | 664 | 114450 | Jerry Gardner | |
| Mexicali Eagles | 92 | 48 | 657 | 1 | 92377 | |
| Cananea Mineros | 69 | 71 | 493 | 24 | 85053 | |
| El Paso Texans | 69 | 71 | 493 | 24 | 63401 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 64 | 76 | 457 | 29 | 60735 | |
| Nogales Yaquis | 61 | 79 | 436 | 32 | 98092 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 57 | 83 | 407 | 36 | 45031 | |
| Juarez Indians | 55 | 85 | 393 | 38 | 69365 |
Howard "Howie" Goss was born on Nov. 1, 1934, in Wewoka, OK. He played a few games for the 1954 Phoenix club. Over ten years in the minors (1953-61 and 1964), he played in 1,275 games and had 4,425 at bats compiling a .260 average and .457 slugging. Six of those seasons were at the AAA level. In 1961, he hit 27 home runs and had 142 RBI in the PCL.
Goss came up with the Pirates in 1962 and played in 89 games with 111 at bats and hit .243. The 1963 year was his final MLB shot, this time with the Colt 45s, when he played as a regular outfielder in 133 games and had 411 at bats for a .209 average.
In his two-year big league career, he was in 222 games and had 522 at bats for a .216 average, .274 OBP and .333 slugging %. He fielded .991 in 189 outfield games.
Goss became an automobile salesman for a Pontiac dealership in Ft. Meyers, FL [in the mid-80s]. He died in Reno, NV, on July 31, 1996.
Julio E. Gonzalez pitched briefly on the 1954 Phoenix team. He was born in Banes, Cuba, on Dec. 20, 1920. Julio pitched for six years in the minors (1948-52 and 1954-55) including four years at Havana [never higher then the minor's lower levels]. He was in 145 games completing 729 innings for a 37-46 record, 4.44 ERA and a 1.47 WHIP.
He did, however, get a chance in the majors in 1949 with the Washington Senators. Gonzalez appeared as a relief pitcher 13 times in August and September finishing 34 innings and allowing 33 hits and 27 walks. He struck out 5, had a 4.72 ERA, .256 OAV, an 0-0 record and .389 OOB.
Gonzalez died in Banes, Cuba, on Feb. 15, 1991.
Don Rowe pitched and played some first base for the 1954 Phoenix club. Rowe was born on Apr. 3, 1936, in Brawley, CA. He pitched in the minors from 1954-1967 with 11 years at the AAA level in a total of 352 games and 1,681 innings for a 106-96 record, 4.25 ERA and 1.51 WHIP.
Rowe got his one and only opportunity in the big leagues with the Mets in 1963. He got into 26 games (all but one in relief), completed 55 innings allowing 59 hits and 21 walks while striking out 27. His ERA was 4.28 with a .280 OAV, .348 OOB and a 0-0 record.
Don coached for many years at Golden West College and then became a Giants minor league pitching coach in the mid-
80s. He moved up the majors to coach with the White Sox (1988) and the Brewers (1992-98). . Rowe died on Oct. 15,
2005, from Parkinson's disease in Huntington Beach, CA. Cremation followed.
1955-1957: Arizona-Mexico League
-----1955-----
With the movement of El Paso to a class "B" circuit and the league finally recognizing it's Mexican franchises, the league changed it's name to the Arizona-Mexico League. Replacing El Paso was Yuma who returned to the circuit for the first time since 1951 and it was their first pro season since 1952.. Juarez also left the league and their replacement was Globe-Miami who was getting back into pro baseball after a four-year absence. Two teams had major league partnerships as Mexicali continued theirs with the Cardinals and Phoenix, apparently for the first time in franchise history, began one with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Again the league held no post season.
Jerry Gardner continued as manager and the Pirates supplied some decent talent, including three players who would have major league careers. They finished 11 games over .500 only six games out but, unfortunately, drew about 40,200 less fans. One of Gardner's main problems was roster turnover that involved 43 different players during the season.
The returning first baseman, Bill Jackson (.298), was on a pace to lead the team in homers and slugging % as he hit 17 big flies in 51 games and had a .655 slugging, but he made two other stops during the season in the Big State and Eastern Leagues. Bob Bonaparte (.298) and Dave Lowenthal (.284) appeared to be capable replacements at first. Dan Coughlin (.261) returned to play second and his average improved from '54. Howie Padgett (.235) also got playing time there. Third base was manned by Ralph Wilcox (.330) who led the team in homers (37), slugging % (.616) and RBI (164) in a team-leading 536 at bats. The club's shortstops were two future major league outfielders: Ellis Burton (.314) who led the team in doubles (.314) and the league in runs scored; and the speedy Joe Christopher (.366). In addition, Charles Platt (.293) had time at short.
Many players saw action in the outfield, including the fore mentioned Burton, Christopher and Platt. Earl Smith (.297) came back for 52 games in his travelog season which included play in the Southern Atlantic League, Southern Association, Western League and with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Jack Spence (.250) ended his pro career playing in the California League and 66 games for the Stars. Gene Stair (.376) had a great 83 games for the team and led them in triples (10) before he moved up to the Western League and then retired. Gene Corso (.357) also did very well in 43 contests. Other outfielders were Ken Meyer (.274), Jim Covert (.186), Carl Long (.333) and Jim Jacobsen (.258).
The club's main catcher was Ron Carlon (.241) with manager Gardner (.293) and Rich Gianesello (.226) backing him up.
Olaf Nelson (24-10) led the league in wins and the team in games pitched and innings (275). He also had the second-best
WHIP of 1.44. Future major leaguer, Ron Blackburn (16-6), pitched very well leading the club in ERA (3.84) and WHIP
(1.32). Jerry McClure (7-10) was next in usage, but had high ERA/WHIPs (5.93/1.94). Bob Vruck (6-6) returned for
120 innings (5.91/1.75), Lloyd Wallis (6-4) had a good ERA (4.13) in 98 frames and Bob Wade (3-5) had awful
ERA/WHIPs (8.57/2.06) in 69 innings.
Other hurlers included Frank Zimmerlink (5-2) with a decent ERA of 4.75, Stan Patchell (4-5, 5.37), the returnee Bruce
Kennedy (3-5, 7.11), Bob Eisele (2-2, 7.92) and Jerry Cade (1-2, 7.28).
| 1955 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Ron Carlon | C102 | 22/R | 345 | 16/3 | 10 | 241 | 391 | 55 | |
| Jerry Gardner | C52 | 34/R | 133 | 12/1 | 1 | 293 | 421 | 18 | Clifton, CO |
| Rich Gianesello @ | C28 | 22/R | 84 | 6/0 | 1 | 226 | 333 | 11 | Greenwich, CT |
| Bob Bonaparte | 1b48 | 24/R | 198 | 12/1 | 9 | 298 | 505 | 50 | |
| Bill (H.) Jackson | 1b51 | 20/R | 171 | 6/2 | 17 | 298 | 655 | 43 | |
| Dave Lowenthal | 1b53 | 20/S | 190 | 14/2 | 9 | 284 | 521 | 41 | |
| Dan Coughlin | 2b76 | 20/R | 264 | 15/1 | 1 | 261 | 337 | 36 | |
| Howie Padgett | 2b53 | 24/R | 196 | 7/1 | 4 | 235 | 342 | 25 | |
| Ralph Wilcox | 3b139 | 25/R | 536 | 32/5 | 37 | 330 | 616 | 164 | |
| Gene Corso | OF43 | 23/R | 171 | 10/4 | 9 | 357 | 620 | 43 | |
| Jim Covert | OF17 | 43 | 0/1 | 1 | 186 | 302 | 8 | ||
| Carl Long | OF13 | 20/R | 51 | 3/1 | 2 | 333 | 549 | 5 | |
| Ken Meyer | OF32 | 22/L | 117 | 4/0 | 4 | 274 | 410 | 15 | |
| Earl ( C.) Smith | OF52 | 27/R | 195 | 12/2 | 4 | 297 | 441 | 31 | Sunnyside, WA |
| Jack Spence | OF66 | 20/R | 280 | 16/1 | 8 | 250 | 400 | 36 | San Francisco |
| Harold "Gene" Stair | OF83 | 25/L | 351 | 18/10 | 7 | 376 | 544 | 104 | |
| Charlie Barnes @ | C8 | 20/R | 17 | 118 | 0 | ||||
| Jim Croasmun | -12 | 18/R | 27 | 1/0 | 0 | 333 | 370 | 4 | |
| Ellis Burton | SSOF131 | 18/S | 506 | 39/5 | 14 | 314 | 494 | 71 | Los Angeles |
| Joe Christopher | SSOF84 | 19/R | 347 | 15/14 | 2 | 366 | 507 | 60 | Frederiksted, VI |
| Alan Haverly | -6 | 22/R | 26 | 0 | 192 | 0 | |||
| Ed Jacobsen | OF1b8 | 23/L | 31 | 0 | 258 | 0 | |||
| Del Johnston | C8 | 21/R | 28 | 0 | 286 | 0 | |||
| Ron Lachman | -4 | 2 | 000 | 0 | |||||
| Charles Platt | SSOF50 | 20/R | 174 | 9/2 | 0 | 293 | 368 | 25 | |
| Frank Zimmerlink | PPF13 | 21/L | 29 | 1/0 | 1 | 207 | 345 | 4 | |
| 1955 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Lee Babbitt | 19/R | 1 | 0-0 | ||||||
| Ron Blackburn | 20/R | 29 | 21 | 16-6 | 197 | 3.84 | 1.32 | Mt. Airy, NC | |
| Jerry Cade | 23/L | 14 | 4 | 1-2 | 38 | 7.28 | 2.14 | ||
| Jim Dayen @ | 20/R | 14 | 1 | 2-1 | 31 | 5.23 | 1.84 | ||
| Walt DeLotelle | 21/R | 4 | 1-1 | ||||||
| George Doering | 19/R | 3 | 0-0 | ||||||
| Bob Eisele | 19 | 2 | 2-2 | 44 | 7.92 | 1.94 | |||
| Dick B. Green | 23/R | 3 | 0-1 | Tucson, AZ | |||||
| R. Bruce Kennedy | 19/L | 18 | 8 | 3-5 | 57 | 7.11 | 2.37 | ||
| N. Jerry McClure | 19/R | 37 | 17 | 7-10 | 150 | 5.93 | 1.94 | ||
| Olaf Nelson | 22/R | 45 | 34 | 24-10 | 275 | 4.16 | 1.44 | Logan, UT | |
| Stan Patchell | 24/R | 16 | 4 | 4-5 | 62 | 5.37 | 1.74 | ||
| Dick Shinnick | 22/R | 7 | 1-0 | ||||||
| Bob Vruck | 19/R | 33 | 13 | 6-6 | 120 | 5.91 | 1.75 | ||
| Bob Wade | 19/R | 23 | 8 | 3-5 | 69 | 8.57 | 2.06 | ||
| Lloyd Wallis | 22/L | 15 | 14 | 6-4 | 98 | 4.13 | 1.75 | ||
| Frank Zimmerlink | 21/L | 11 | 10 | 5-2 | 66 | 4.75 | 1.78 | ||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1955 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Cananea Mineros | 86 | 53 | 619 | 213074 | ||
| Yuma Sun Sox | 83 | 57 | 593 | 3.5 | 79083 | |
| Phoenix Stars | 80 | 59 | 576 | 6 | 74185 | Jerry Gardner |
| Mexicali Eagles | 78 | 62 | 557 | 8.5 | 59787 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 66 | 74 | 471 | 20.5 | 70973 | |
| Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings | 63 | 77 | 450 | 23.5 | 45567 | |
| Globe-Miami Miners | 51 | 87 | 370 | 34.5 | 33886 | |
| Nogales Yaquis | 49 | 87 | 360 | 35.5 | 74145 |
Earl C. Smith played for the Phoenix clubs of 1954-55 and was born in Sunnyside, WA, on March 14, 1928. He was in the minors for 8 years (1949-56) with 141 games and 548 at bats averaging .299 with a .466 slugging.
His one major league chance came with Pittsburgh in 1955. In 16 at bats in 5 games he had one hit and walked four times. As an outfielder in those five games, he fielded errorlessly.
After baseball, Smith entered the grocery business and was an almond farmer in Fresno, CA. He still lives there.
Ellis Burton was a member of the 1955 Stars and was born on Aug. 12, 1936, in Los Angeles. In the minors, he played for 11 years (1955-65) and was in 1,213 games and had 4,210 at bats with a .274 average and .466 slugging percentage. Six of those seasons were spent at the AAA level. He once hit home runs from both sides of the plate in one inning during an International League game.
His first big league experiences were with the Cardinals in 1958 and 1960 in 8 and 29 games when he hit .233 and .214. In 1963, he played for the Indians in 26 games (.194) and the Cubs in 93 contests (.230/12 homers). His 1964 year was back with the Cubs for 42 games when he batted .190 and he finished with the same club in 1965 in 17 games (.175).
Burton got into 215 MLB games and had 556 at bats with a career batting average of .216, OBP of .304 and .365 slugging. Playing in the outfield for 177 contests, he fielded .981.
When he was done playing pro baseball, Ellis became a bank manager in Burbank. Burton currently lives in Westminster, CA.
Joe Christopher played for Phoenix in 1955 and was born in Frederiksted, Virgin Islands, on Dec. 13, 1935. As a minor leaguer, he played 11 seasons (1955-60, 1962-63, 1968-68 and 1972) and appeared in 914 games and had 3,123 at bats. His average was .295 with a .427 slugging and he played in AAA for 8 years.
Joe was with the Pirates in 1959-61 for 15, 50 and 76 games batting .000, .232 and .263. He scored two runs as a pinch runner for the Pirates in the 1960 World Series.
He then moved on to the Mets and played with them from 1962-1965 mainly as a starter in 119, 64, 154 and 148 games hitting .244, .221, .300 and .249. He finished with the Red Sox in 1966 for 12 games (.077).
Christopher was in 638 big league games and had 1,667 at bats with a career average of .260, OBP of .331 and .374 slugging. His fielding average was .979 in 479 games played as an outfielder. He was known to be very articulate.
After baseball, he lived in Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, and his mailing address now is a P.O. box in Baltimore, MD. He
spends his spare time engrossed in his art which are drawings in "pre-Columbian" style.
Ron Blackburn pitched for the 1955 Phoenix club. He was born on April 23, 1935, in Mount Airy, NC. In the minors for 11 years (1953-57 and 1959-64), he pitched in 379 games completing 1,374 innings with a 84-80 record, 4.09 ERA and 1.36 WHIP. Ron was in the AAA level for 7 seasons.
Blackburn was with the Pirates the complete 1958 season [after impressing club brass with his sinker in spring training] appearing in 38 games with an ERA of 3.39 and a .261 OAV. He was back in '59 with the Bucs for 26 games (3.65). In his two MLB seasons, he got into 64 games and finished 108 innings allowing 111 hits and 42 walks for a 3.50 ERA, 3-2 record, .271 OAV and .346 OOB.
After his retirement from pro baseball, he became the recreation director at a correctional center in Morgantown, NC, from
which he eventually retired. He died after a period of declining health at his home in Morgantown on Apr. 29, 1998.
Burial was at Carolina Memorial Park in Concord, NC.
-----1956-----
The league lost Globe-Miami as a franchise-host city and they were replaced by Tijuana. The Stars lost their Pittsburgh affiliation as the Pirates came to an agreement with Douglas, a franchise that dropped the "Bisbee-Douglas" designation. Four league teams were MLB farm teams including Yuma with the Reds, Mexicali with the Cards and Phoenix who signed on with the Baltimore Orioles. The Tijuana franchise only lasted until June 28 when it folded and the league played the rest of the season with seven teams.
The Orioles assigned veteran minor leaguer Billy Capps to manage. He had played pro ball as an infielder since 1937 and had managed continuously from 1951. Billy went on to play 20 years (1937-42 and 1946-59) with two years at the AAA level. He managed from 1951-1960, but never higher then class "B".
The Stars ended the season in fourth place 11 games over .500 and 4 out of first. Attendance dropped off another 14,000. Because of the change in affiliation, no player returned from 1955.
The offensive appeared to be the reason for their good record as several starters had very good years. In the outfield, Harv Angelo (.350) led the team in hitting and had the second best slugging % (.581) with 26 doubles, 22 homers and 101 RBI. Al Jimenez (.325) was the team leader in home runs (34) and slugging (.700) and he had 103 RBI [the rest of the season he was assigned to the Southwestern League]. George Blash (.329), who also caught, led the team in RBI with 118 and had 23 homers. Playing in 49 games was reserve Joe Duffy (.206).
First baseman Ezell King (.282 for 2 teams) played in 128 league games, but it is not known how many were in a Stars uniform. George "Rudy" Thompson (.356) arrived from the Northern League to spell King and he performed well, but retired after the season. At second base was slugging Pierre "Pete" Ethier (.329) who led the team with 36 doubles, was second in RBI (115) and had 25 homers. Manager Capps (.344) was the able third sacker and he occasionally played in the outfield. Shortstop Jim Samford (.325) led the team in at bats and in triples (8). Wayne Coleman (.286) backed up both third and short.
Six men tried out at catcher with Frank Benites (.362) having the most playing time with 39 games. Gene Taylor (.217) was next at 37 and then long-term future big leaguer, Chuck Hinton (.271), got into 29 contests. Ed Garay (.228) and Bob White (.154) made appearances in 22 games each.
Jim Johnson (19-10) tied for the league lead in wins and led the team in innings (242) and was second in ERA (4.65) and WHIP (1.55). Ray Snyders (11-10) competed 209 frames leading the club with a 3.88 ERA and 1.44 WHIP. Another pitcher, Bill Dial (13-10), pitched more then 200 innings, but had a high ERA/WHIP (5.96/1.85).
Chuck Schaaf (8-7) was a second-tier starter finishing 121 innings (5.21/1.58) as was Bill Russ (9-3, 135 ip, 5.20, 1.60)
and Ron Kuhlman (9-7, 119 ip, 6.50, 1.91). Reliever Ray Sorenson (6-5) saw action in 34 games (5.76/1.63). Doug
Pohlman (5-3) was in 13 (5.60/1.83), Charles Walker (2-4) was rather poor (6.13/1.64) for 10 appearances and Dick
Mitchener (2-3) got into 12 contests (9-20/1.96).
-----
In his book "My Time At Bat", Chuck Hinton [after attending Shaw University, was signed by the Orioles from a try-out camp in Washington, DC] remembers the 1956 season with the Phoenix Stars:
"When the plane landed, as instructed, I took a cab to the stadium. Then I was assigned to house with the other black players. Since I was signed late, the season was half over when I arrived. When I got there, Wayne Coleman...and Rudy Thompson...welcomed me to the house. We each paid $10 a month to live there. They were happy when I arrived because I would share the expenses. Wayne, a shortstop, and Rudy, a first baseman, were both in their second year playing professional ball. Rudy had a car, so transportation was no problem. We definitely ate out a lot.
"It was early afternoon and we had to be at the stadium at around 5:30 PM for an 8 PM game. We played night games because of the not weather...It was not a problem for me. My first day, after meeting everyone and getting my uniform and locker belongings, I was full of enthusiasm and excitement...But, for the first time in my life, I had to sit, wait and watch what was going on. It was a really hard time for me, but I know that there is a time to keep your mouth closed, your ears open and learn whatever you can...A whole week went by and I had not played in a game. In fact, I was in the bull pen warming up the pitchers to go into the game...While I was warming the bench, I learned our team's signs, including the signs I would have to give to the pitchers. I soon learned that asking too many questions was not cool. Therefore, I would wait until we black players got together to ask or talk about certain things.
"We went off on our first road trip. The trip was about twelve days and as always on the road, we were given $2 a day for meals. You did have to budget your money, but in 1956, $2 was plenty if you knew where to go. I relied on Wayne and Rudy's knowledge of places to eat.
"Whether we were on the road or at home, we got paychecks the first and fifteenth of every month. I was doing fine on $200 a month, since in 1956, the average salary was about half that - $25 per week. In addition, on the road, hotel expenses were covered. I was able to send money to my mother...
"By this time, I had adjusted to the fact that I was a back-up catcher and my playing time was going to be limited. But the time came for me to play. We were at our first stop on the trip, Yuma, and were losing by seven runs in the fifth inning. The manager, Billy Capps, told me 'Grab a bat and pinch hit for the pitcher. Then put on your catcher's gear and catch.' This is what I had been waiting for since the day I arrived. I was not as ready as I thought. I kept telling myself that I finally had the chance to prove myself. All my experiences flashed in my mind. However, to be focused, I had to put everything aside and deal with the moment. I was announced as a pinch hitter. I was so eager to hit that I swung at the first pitch. It really looked good to me. I hit a fly ball to center field for an out. I was a little upset because I did not get a hit, but I knew I would get to bat again, as it was just the top of the sixth inning...We began to rally and scored six runs. It was my turn to bat again with the tying run on second base. I do not recall if it was the first pitch or not, but I got a single and drove in the tying run...I had been on the team for more than a week and only then did I feel as though I was really a part of it. The next batter got out.
"When I came in to put on my catcher's gear, Capps told me the regular catcher was going to finish the game. I was not upset because I had learned to roll with the manager's decisions...We went on to win the game and I was a large part of it...
"When we left Yuma, we went to Douglas...In the second game, our catcher stumbled on first base and skinned himself up pretty bad. That meant I was now the catcher...It is a fact that I had done my homework and I was a good handler of pitches. I also had a good throwing arm and was quick on my feet. I had great hands and I took pride in blocking balls low in the dirt. I was proud that I could do the job. I watched, learned and studied to develop my craft...On top of it all, the next day, I went two for four and had an RBI.
"From Douglas, the team headed off to Mexicali, Mexico, where I was still the starting catcher. The second day of the trip, I went three for four and hit my first and one home run of the season...I was having a ball playing every day. I performed better than most thought I would.
"After we got back to Phoenix, our regular catcher was ready to come back and the manager asked me if I would play the outfield. My answer was 'No Question!'. I didn't have a problem with that. I determined that I would play outfield with excellence as well. I played right field and before I knew it, the season was ending..."
-----
| 1956 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Frank Benites | C39 | 34/R | 130 | 9/0 | 3 | 362 | 500 | 25 | San Francisco |
| Ed Garay | C22 | 25/L | 57 | 5/0 | 0 | 228 | 316 | 7 | |
| Chuck Hinton | COF29 | 22/R | 85 | 4/1 | 1 | 271 | 376 | 11 | Rocky Mount, NC |
| Gene Taylor | C37 | 23/R | 120 | 5/0 | 5 | 217 | 383 | 29 | |
| Bob White | C22 | 20/R | 78 | 0/1 | 0 | 154 | 179 | 3 | |
| Ezell King @ | 1b128 | 23/L | 493 | 30/12 | 16 | 282 | 469 | 74 | |
| George "Rudy" Thompson | 1b63 | 25/L | 216 | 13/3 | 8 | 356 | 556 | 52 | E. St. Louis, IL |
| Pierre "Pete" Ethier | 2b130 | 25/R | 504 | 36/5 | 25 | 329 | 569 | 115 | Spencer, MA |
| Alex Dobzanski | OF15 | 23/R | 50 | 3/1 | 3 | 220 | 500 | 10 | Paulsboro, NJ |
| Joe Duffy | OF49 | 20/R | 165 | 6/2 | 6 | 206 | 376 | 18 | |
| Al Jimenez | OF101 | 28/R | 360 | 21/6 | 34 | 325 | 700 | 103 | |
| Harv Angelo | OF107 | 21/L | 451 | 26/6 | 22 | 350 | 581 | 101 | Houston, TX |
| George Blash | OFC114 | 23/L | 435 | 20/3 | 23 | 329 | 547 | 118 | |
| Bill Capps | 3bOF123 | 37/R | 508 | 31/2 | 8 | 344 | 461 | 88 | Lawton, OK |
| Wayne Coleman | 3bSS56 | 18/R | 185 | 3/2 | 4 | 286 | 389 | 33 | Asheville, NC |
| Jim Samford | SS126 | 20/R | 545 | 25/8 | 4 | 325 | 422 | 65 | |
| 1956 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| John Bunce | 22/R | 3 | 0-1 | ||||||
| Le Ferguson | 25/L | 4 | 1-1 | ||||||
| Bill Dial | 19/L | 38 | 27 | 13-10 | 201 | 5.96 | 1.85 | Chillicothe, MD | |
| Charles Hutchinson | 3 | 0-0 | |||||||
| Russ McDonald | 21/R | 6 | 0-1 | ||||||
| Jim Johnson | 21/R | 38 | 29 | 19-10 | 242 | 4.65 | 1.55 | ||
| Ron Kuhlman | 21/R | 40 | 7 | 9-7 | 119 | 6.50 | 1.91 | ||
| Jerry Medlock | 4 | 0-3 | |||||||
| Art Tinsley | 19/R | 4 | 0-1 | ||||||
| Dick Mitchener | 22/R | 12 | 6 | 2-3 | 46 | 9.20 | 1.96 | ||
| Doug Pohlman | 22/L | 13 | 6 | 3-3 | 53 | 5.60 | 1.83 | ||
| Bill Russ | 21/R | 28 | 15 | 9-3 | 135 | 5.20 | 1.60 | ||
| Chuck Schaaf | 25/R | 21 | 15 | 8-7 | 121 | 5.21 | 1.58 | Reedsville, PA | |
| Ray Snyders | 21/R | 40 | 25 | 11-10 | 209 | 3.88 | 1.44 | ||
| Ray Sorenson | 23/L | 34 | 6 | 6-5 | 89 | 5.76 | 1.63 | ||
| Charles Walker | 26/R | 10 | 8 | 2-4 | 47 | 6.13 | 1.64 | ||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1956 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Cananea Mineros | 75 | 56 | 573 | 134723 | ||
| Douglas Cooperkings | 73 | 58 | 557 | 2 | 42059 | |
| Nogales Diableos Rojos | 71 | 59 | 546 | 3.5 | 60000 | |
| Phoenix Stars | 70 | 59 | 543 | 4 | 60017 | |
| Yuma Sun Sox | 66 | 65 | 504 | 9 | 35076 | |
| Mexicali Eagles | 63 | 65 | 492 | 10.5 | 74417 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 57 | 71 | 445 | 16.5 | 40000 | |
| Tijuana Potros | 17 | 59 | 224 | 30000 | ||
| [Tijuana ended play on June 28] |
Charles Edward Hinton was born on May 3, 1934, in Rocky Mount, NC.
At Booker T. Washington High School, Hinton played basketball and football eventually being named to the school's Hall of Fame. After his freshman year, the school did not have a baseball program, but he played semi-pro from the age of 14. After graduation, he played for the Maryland Wildcats which was also a semi-pro club. Then he was given a full scholarship at Shaw University in Raleigh, NC, where he played three sports. In 1956, after a try-out at Griffith Stadium in Washington, Baltimore signed him and he played at Phoenix that year. Before the '57 season, he was drafted and was in the Army through 1958.
After a great year in 1959, the Orioles tried to "hide" the graceful Hinton in the minors by feigning an injury, but the expansion Washington Senators drafted him anyway and picked up a future All-Star outfielder. He first played for the Senators in May 1961 and was a starting outfielder immediately. He played in 106 games that season hitting .260 with a .339 OBP and was 22 for 27 in stolen bases. In 1962, he was in 151 games even playing second base in 12. His average increased to .310 with 17 homers and 75 RBI for a .365 OBP and .472 slugging %. He was successful in 28 of 38 base stealing attempts.
During the 1963 season, he played third base in 19 games, first in 6 and short for 2 with the rest of his 150 games being in the outfield. Chuck's average dropped to .269, OBP to .344 and slugging % to .426. He homered 15 times, had 55 RBI and stole 25 in 34 attempts. In his All-Star year of 1964, he batted .274 in 138 games with only 2 games at third, 11 HRs and 53 RBI.
On Dec. 1, 1964, Hinton was traded to the Cleveland Indians for Bob Chance and Woodie Held which started three decent years as a Tribe starting outfielder. From 1965-1967, he played in 133, 123 and 147 games batting .255, .256 and .245 and driving in 54, 50, 37 runs. Chuck's base steals dwindled from 17 to 6 during those years and he was no longer a big threat in that category. On Nov. 29, he was sent to California for Jose Cardenal.
In 1968, Chuck was basically a back-up with the Angels at first, outfield, third and second for 116 games hitting only.195 with a .261 OBP. On Apr. 4, 1969, the Indians got him back for Lou Johnson as he continued in a back up role, for them, in 94 games batting an improved .256 with a .308 OBP.
Hinton finished his MLB career, with the Indians, in 1970 and 1971 with 107 and 88 games batting .318 and .224 with games played at first, outfield, second, third and even 5 at catcher. Over his 1,353 games career he had played all positions except pitcher. His batting average was .264, he hit 113 home runs with 443 RBI in 3,968 at bats. His life-time OBP was .335 with a .412 slugging %. He stole a total of 130 bases in 180 tries and was 45 for 215 as a pinch hitter. .
In a short 4-year minor league career, he won batting crowns in two of those years and played for four teams. He played in 307 minor league games and had 1,092 at bats with a composite .346 average and .554 slugging %.
After his MLB career, he was the baseball coach at Howard University in Washington, DC, from 1972-1999 wining the
Mid Eastern Athletic Conference championships in 1972, 1973, 1975, 1976, 1984, 1986 and 1998.[the baseball program
was not active from 1977-1984]. He also worked for the D.C. Department of Recreation from 1963-1999. In 1982, he
was a founding father of the Major League Baseball Player's Alumni Association and has stayed active in the organization
since that time. Retired, he is still a D.C. resident.
-----1957-----
Replacing the abandoned Tijuana franchise was Las Vegas. That was the only good news for the league as they also lost teams in Yuma and Nogales, thus becoming a six-team league. There was more bad news on Sept. 6 as Mexicali ceased operations and forfeited their final 10 games. Only two clubs had working agreements with the majors - Phoenix continued theirs with the Orioles and Douglas signed on with the Tigers.
Former major league pitcher, Bob Hooper, became the manager. He pitched from1941 in the minors and was with the A's, Indians and Reds in 1950-55. It was his first managerial job and it was a success.
The Stars won their sixth and last "lower" minor league pennant for Phoenix with a pitching staff that produced four pitchers with ERAs under 4.00, three with 16 or more wins and five who had WHIPs under 1.50. Don Burns (16-12) pitched the most innings (248) and led the league with the best ERA of 3.59. George Gaffney (18-7) pitched in with 212 innings and a 3.95 ERA. Rolf Scheel (18-5) finished 203 frames and started only 18 games so many of his wins came in relief and he also had a great ERA (3.64).
Ray Sorenson (13-6) got much use (168 inn) with the team's second-best WHIP of 1.38. Dan Walsh (8-4) completed 111 innings with an ERA of 4.22 and 1.77 WHIP. Other pitchers with records of note were manager Hooper (6-2), who was used mostly in relief with the club's best WHIP (1.29) and it's second-best ERA (3.62) and Joe Gussin (6-4) who had heightened ERA/WHIPs of 6.25/1.96. Short-time major leaguer, Gordie Sundin (2-5), appeared in 11 games for Phoenix [complete record not available].
Fielding records did not survive from 1957, so it is not certain who played what position. However, using information on the player's past and future positions played gives us a good idea as to the team's season lineup.
Guy Lavalliere (.361) was the regular catcher with the teams second best average and second-most RBI (110). Cal Ripken Sr. (.274) is the only other roster player who played at catcher during his career, so it is assumed he was Lavallire's back-up.
First base appears to be the domain of Don Niemeier (.261) although he did not show much power. Dick Barnhart (.263) was also known to play first. Dick DeHart (.316) was an infield regular - it is assumed at second - as he hit the second most homers on the team (22) and was tied for second in doubles (36). DeHart also played short and third during his career. Bob Geels (.319) probably played mostly at third, but he also was used at other infield positions during his playing years. It is believed that the main shortstop was Gary Walker (.322). Joe Gauci (.322) and Lou Margo (.333) were also, by trade, shortstops.
Al Jimenez (.304 - for 2 teams) returned but also played for Tucson during the season. Ray Murowski (.326) was the most productive outfielder leading the team in at bats (546), home runs (33) and RBI (141). The other outfield star was future major leaguer, Barry Shetrone (.371), who had the team's highest average, most doubles (44) and triples (17). The other outfielder was Ripken who played a total of 112 games for the team. The main back-up outfielder was Dick Santaniello (.350). Other roster players who may have played at the garden positions were Dick Barnhart, Bob Geels and Don Niemeier.
Attendance was up 16,000 for the season as Phoenix was soon to get a great enhancement of baseball quality.
| 1957 Batting | Main Pos/G | Age/Bats | AB | 2b/3b | HR | Ave | Slug | RBI | City Born |
| Dick Barnhart | 1bOF13 | 27/L | 38 | 1/0 | 2 | 263 | 447 | 12 | |
| Bob Bohner | -20 | 22/R | 69 | 0/1 | 0 | 290 | 319 | 12 | |
| Dick DeHart | 2bSS3b122 | 22/R | 516 | 36/10 | 22 | 316 | 552 | 71 | |
| Joe Gauci | SS60 | 25/R | 245 | 8/6 | 1 | 322 | 416 | 43 | |
| Bob Geels | 2b3bSSOF76 | 23/R | 273 | 14/1 | 2 | 319 | 399 | 36 | |
| Al Jimenez @ | OF95 | 29/R | 336 | 21/6 | 25 | 304 | 625 | 70 | |
| Guy LaValliere | C119 | 26/R | 429 | 18/7 | 20 | 361 | 576 | 110 | |
| Ray Murowski | OF134 | 24/R | 546 | 36/5 | 33 | 326 | 592 | 141 | |
| Lou Margo | SS19 | 25/R | 72 | 7/0 | 2 | 333 | 514 | 16 | |
| Don Niemeier | 1bOF124 | 21/R | 468 | 31/5 | 7 | 261 | 393 | 66 | |
| Cal Ripken | OFC112 | 21/R | 398 | 15/6 | 7 | 274 | 394 | 60 | Aberdeen, MD |
| Dick Santaniello | OF60 | 23/R | 257 | 15/2 | 11 | 350 | 553 | 52 | |
| Barry Shetrone | OF125 | 18/L | 537 | 44/17 | 16 | 371 | 605 | 94 | Baltimore |
| Gary (N.) Walker | SS111 | 20/R | 450 | 24/1 | 17 | 322 | 493 | 74 | |
| 1957 Pitching | Age/Thrw | G | GS | W-L | IP | ERA | WHIP | City Born | |
| Don Bruns | 24/R | 33 | 31 | 16-12 | 248 | 3.59 | 1.41 | ||
| George Gaffney | 21/R | 28 | 26 | 18-7 | 212 | 3.95 | 1.43 | ||
| Joe Gussin | 20/L | 22 | 14 | 6-4 | 95 | 6.25 | 1.96 | ||
| Bob Hooper | 35/R | 34 | 33 | 6-2 | 87 | 3.62 | 1.29 | Leamington, Canada | |
| Rolf Scheel | 24/R | 47 | 18 | 18-5 | 203 | 3.64 | 1.41 | ||
| Kelly Searcy | 24/L | 2 | 0-1 | Nashville | |||||
| Ray Snyders @ | 22/R | 7 | 1-3 | ||||||
| Ray Sorenson | 24/L | 30 | 19 | 13-6 | 168 | 4.88 | 1.38 | ||
| Gordie Sundin | 19/R | 11 | 2-5 | Minneapolis | |||||
| Dan Welsh | 20/L | 28 | 12 | 8-4 | 111 | 4.22 | 1.77 | ||
| @=played for 2 teams |
| 1957 Standings | W | L | Pct | GB | Attendance | Manager |
| Phoenix Stars | 89 | 48 | 650 | 76063 | Bob Hooper | |
| Cananea Mineros | 76 | 56 | 576 | 10.5 | 103571 | |
| Douglas Cooperkings | 68 | 69 | 496 | 21 | 27949 | |
| Las Vegas Wranglers | 62 | 74 | 456 | 26.5 | 35804 | |
| Tucson Cowboys | 62 | 77 | 446 | 28 | 26157 | |
| Mexicali Eagles | 51 | 84 | 378 | 37 | 54591 | |
| [Mexicali ended play 9-6] |
Cal Ripken (Sr.) was born in Aberdeen, MD, on December 17, 1935. He was a minor league player from 1957-1962 (including 1957 with Phoenix); a minor league manager from 1961-1974; and a major league coach and manager.
-----
In his book "The Ripken Way", Cal wrote about a remembrance from the '57 season:
"In 1957, when I was playing in Phoenix, the clutch on the bus was slipping as we were halfway up a mountain. The bus driver got the bus to the side of the road and I said I'd adjust the clutch, because I had a little bit of a mechanical background with vehicles. I told the bus driver to turn the wheels of the bus all the way to the left, and I got under the bus and adjusted the clutch. Then we drove on over the mountain successfully and got to our destination.
"Well... If I had that to do again, I'd tell the bus driver to let the wheels of the bus stay straight. With those wheels turned, if the brakes had failed and the bus had drifted backward, it would've run right over me."
-----
Cal was a catcher who hit .292 for Pensacola in 1959 and .281 for Fox Cities in 1962. In spring training of 1963, two foul tips in succession hit him in his right (throwing) shoulder. After three months of pain when he attempted to throw, it was discovered that his shoulder was dislocated, his deltoid muscle had atrophied and he had a tendon problem. Since the only cure in that era, was complete rest for years, he was nearly done as a player. The Orioles then offered him his first managerial job.
He was a minor league manager for 14 years including 3 years at Aberdeen, SD: 1963 (65-55, 2nd), 1964 (80-37, 1st, playoff champs) and 1966 (47-22, 2nd). Cal managed at AAA for 2 years in Rochester: 1969 (71-69, 5th) and 1970 (76-64, 3rd). His minor league managerial record was 964-796.
Sr. was an Orioles scout in 1975 and a major league coach with the Orioles from 1976-1986 and 1989-1992. He was the Baltimore manager in 1985 (1-0), 1987 (67-95, 6th) and 1988 (0-6), but they lacked the talent to field respectable teams. It was said he had tears in his eyes when he was forced by O's management to end his son, Cal Jr.'s, consecutive-innings streak. After the 1992 season, he was dismissed as a coach, an action for which he (and many Orioles' fans and players) never fully forgave team management.
Cal died on March 25, 1999, at the Johns Hopkins Oncology Center in Baltimore due to lung cancer. He was buried at the
Baker Cemetery in Aberdeen, MD. Before his death, he had published "The Ripken Way - A Manual for Baseball and
Life" (pub: Pocket Books).
Barry Shetrone played on the 1957 Stars and was born in Baltimore, MD, on July 6, 1938. He played 11 years in the minors (1956-61 and 1963-67) in 1,187 games and had 4,126 at bats with a .278 average and 4.29 slugging %. Nine of those seasons were spent at the AAA level.
From 1959-62, Barry was with the Orioles off-and-on appearing in 33, 1, 3 and 21 games used, by '62, mostly as a pinch hitter. He hit .250 in 1962 in that role. Shetrone was the first Baltimore-born player to wear an Orioles' uniform. He ended his big league years with the Senators in 1963 getting into two games.
Barry had 112 MLB at bats in 60 games with a .205 average, .239 OBP and .268 slugging. As an outfielder in 31 contests, he fielded .962.
In the early 1980s, he was working for an insurance company in Baltimore. He died in Bowie, MD, on July 18, 2001.
Bob Hooper managed and played for the 1957 Phoenix club. He was born on May 30, 1922, in Leamington, Ont, Canada. Bob was a minor league pitcher for 10 years (1941-42, 1946-49 and 1955-58. His record in 265 games and 1,134 innings was 79-59 with a 3.41 ERA and 1.42 WHIP.
He was a hurler on the Philadelphia A's in 1950-52 getting into 45, 38, and 43 games (20, 23 and 14 starts), completing 170, 189 and 144 innings for records of 15-10, 12-10 and 8-15, ERAs of 5.02, 4.38 and 5.18.
Hooper then moved on to the Indians for the 1953-54 seasons appearing in 43 and 17 games for 144 and 69 innings compiling 5.18 and 4.93 ERAs. He ended his MLB years with the Reds in 1956 appearing in 8 games with a 7.62 ERA.
Bob was a big leaguer for 194 games and finished 621 innings allowing 640 hits and 280 walks with 196 strikeouts. His ERA was 4.80 and he had a .268 OAV, .348 OOB and a 40-41 record.
He was in the U.S. Army in 1943-45 and, after baseball, became a high school phy. ed. teacher in New Brunswick, NJ,
from which he retired in 1979. He died from a heart attack on March 17, 1980, in New Brunswick and was buried at
Immaculate Conception Cemetery in Somerville, NJ.
Gordie Sundin pitched for the Stars in 1957 and was born in Minneapolis, MN, on Oct. 10, 1937. He pitched in the minors for 5 years (1955, 1957-60 and 1962) in 83 games with 261 innings for a record of 14-23, an ERA of 4.13 and a WHIP of 1.59.
On Sept. 19, 1956, he got into a game for the Orioles facing two batters and walked them both. Gordie got no one out and
one runner scored. That appearance was the extent of his MLB career.
Sundin, in the early 1980s, was a sales rep. for Viking Materials Co., in Minnetonka, MN [a suburb of the Twin Cities]. He
now lives in Naples, FL.
Individual Records for Phoenix teams in class "C"
Highest average: .392 by Billy Martin in 1947
Highest number of at bats: 616 by Dick Steinhauer in 1952
Most doubles: 57 by Dick Steinhauer in 1951
Most triples: 18 by Ken Toothmand in 1954
Most home runs: 38 by Pete Hughes in 1947
Highest slugging percentage: .747 by Pete Hughes in 1947
Most RBI: 195 by Earl Smith in 1954
Most games appeared by pitcher: 51 by Harold Morris in 1950
Most games started by pitcher: 38 by Tony Ponce in 1951
Most wins: 25 (25-16) by Tony Ponce in 1951
Most innings pitched: 352 by Tony Ponce in 1951
Lowest ERA (99 inn.): 2.55 by Dick Drilling in 1949
Lowest WHIP: 1.26 by Tony Ponce in 1951
Sources:
SABR Minor League Database (2009)
The Professional Baseball Player Database - 6.0 (edited by Pat Doyle)
"The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball"-2nd edition; Edited by Lloyd Johnson/Miles Wolff (pub:Baseball Amer-1997)
"Total Baseball" - 6th edition edited by Thorn, Palmer et al; pub by Total Sports (1999)
"The Baseball Necrology" by Bill Lee; pub by McFarland and Co. (2003)
"The Ballplayers" edited by Mike Shatzkin; pub by Arbor House (1990)
"The Minor League Register" edited by Lloyd Johnson; pub by Baseball American (1994)
"The Baseball Collector's Handbook - Number 14" by Jack Smalling (2007)
"John Ford Smith: Arizona's Black Baseball Pioneer" by David Skinner; "A Short Season: Arizona's First Pro Baseball League" by Lynn Bevell; "The Arizona State League of 1929" by Jeb Stuart Rosebrook - all which appeared in "Mining Towns to Major Leagues"; published by SABR - Arizona Flame Delhi Chapter (1999)
"Aaron to Zuverink" by Rich Marazzi and Len Fiorito; published by Stein and Day (1982)
"Aaron to Zipfel" by Rich Marazzi and Len Fiorito; published by Avon Books (1985)
"The Ripken Way" by Cal Ripken Sr.; published by Pocket Books (1999)
"Wrong Side of the Wall" by Eric Stone; published by The Lyons Press (2004)
"My Time at Bat" by Chuck Hinton; published byPneuma Life Publishing (2002)
"Baseball - The Biographical Encyclopedia" edited by David Pietrusza, Matt Silverman and Mike Gershman; pub by Sport Classic Books (2003)
wikopeda.com
Rodney Johnson
"Biographical Encyclopedia of the Negro Baseball Leagues" by James A. Riley; pub: Carroll and Graf (1994)
Topps Company
"The Sports Encyclopedia-Baseball (2002)" by David Neft, Richard Cohen and Michael Neft - pub by St. Martin's Griffin
"Historic Photos of Phoenix" text by Eduardo Obregon Pagan; Pub: Turner Publishing (2007)
"Birth of Baseball in Arizona" by Tom Hecht as published in the 1995 Phoenix Firebirds Yearbook
