Going pretty much purely on memory now, I recall the 1946 regular season first division finishers were:
(1) Ft. Worth Cats (somewhere around 100-54);
(2) Our glorius Dallas Rebels (91-63);
(3) San Antonio Missions; and
(4) Tulsa Oilers.
The Cats took out the Oilers and the Rebels eliminated the Missions in, I believe, pretty routine fashion.
So we had a Dallas-Ft. Worth series for the Texas League championship. The first two games would be in Cowtown and the Cats were a decided favorite. But, then, along came Hal Hirshon.
Hirshon, Rebel rightfielder, had only hit about .236 for the regular season, but always seemed tougher in the clutch. He had some power, maybe nine homeruns. And for Hal Hirshon clutch situations seemed to abound in this series. Memory is a funny thing, and mine is probably funnier than most. But I remember Hirshon slugging four homers in this five game series. Yes, five games. Dallas took down those mighty Cats in five.
And there it was: The Dallas Rebels, 1946 Texas League Champions.
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
Research Resources
Earlier I wrote that I was going to check the Texas Almanac at our local library and try to locate more details regarding the 1946 Texas League season. But, alas, the Alvin library doesn't keep back issues anymore. I haven't checked to see if any of the other branches in our Brazoria County system have any going back that far, but even if they do, they're probably considered a research resource not available for check-out. I'm not sure I'd want to drive to Angleton or to Pearland or wherever just to glean what information that might be in the 1946 Texas Almanac.
However, the Dallas Morning News seems to have practically everything they've published online now. The problem is that access is pretty expensive. Just one day's access cost about ten bucks. But, you know, someday I just might try that to see what all info I could gather in a day.
For now, though, I'll just write what I remember-- or what I think I remember-- of those glorius '46 and '47 seasons and let it go at that. If I get more iformation in the future I'll doubtless update some entries; until then what's here will be what's here.
However, the Dallas Morning News seems to have practically everything they've published online now. The problem is that access is pretty expensive. Just one day's access cost about ten bucks. But, you know, someday I just might try that to see what all info I could gather in a day.
For now, though, I'll just write what I remember-- or what I think I remember-- of those glorius '46 and '47 seasons and let it go at that. If I get more iformation in the future I'll doubtless update some entries; until then what's here will be what's here.
Sunday, July 15, 2007
The 1946 Regular Season
Dallas was very good in '46. I learned from another old Rebel fan by e-mail that our record was 91 wins and 63 losses. That was good for second place, but not too close a second. The Ft. Worth Cats must have won a hundred, maybe more. If my memory is still good, San Antonio finished third and Tulsa fourth.
The Rebels had two players that led the league, Hank Oana with 24 wins and Bob Moyer with 24 home runs. I recall Dale Mitchell of the Oklahoma City Indians captured the batting title, hitting somewhere in the .330s-- or at least close to .330. Also, from the source mentioned above, I learned that Moyer drove in 102 runs. This could well have led the league.
Duke Snider played for Ft. Worth, as did the Van Cuyk brothers, Chris and Johnny. Both were pitchers. Lefties?
Both Mancuso brothers, Frank and Gus, were catching somewhere in the league, but I can't remember for which teams. Later on, Frank, living in Houston's East End, was for many years a Harris County Commissioner.
Salty Parker managed the Shreveport Sports. Ziggy Sears (I loved that name) was involved somewhere, I believe.
These are all the names I can bring back right now.
Dallas didn't have a strong start and my memory attributes that to infield defense. J.P. Wood could always hit, but when he was replaced by Gene Markland, 2nd base was strengthened defensively. At season's beginning Red Davis was playing short and Red Borom was at 3rd. When Al Vincent swapped positions for these two, the Rebels started to take off. Even when Nick Gregory had to be replaced in left due to an injury, the team continued to climb.
Our library surely has a 1946 Texas Almanac. I'll have to check it out and see if I can augment my memory with some more facts.
The Rebels had two players that led the league, Hank Oana with 24 wins and Bob Moyer with 24 home runs. I recall Dale Mitchell of the Oklahoma City Indians captured the batting title, hitting somewhere in the .330s-- or at least close to .330. Also, from the source mentioned above, I learned that Moyer drove in 102 runs. This could well have led the league.
Duke Snider played for Ft. Worth, as did the Van Cuyk brothers, Chris and Johnny. Both were pitchers. Lefties?
Both Mancuso brothers, Frank and Gus, were catching somewhere in the league, but I can't remember for which teams. Later on, Frank, living in Houston's East End, was for many years a Harris County Commissioner.
Salty Parker managed the Shreveport Sports. Ziggy Sears (I loved that name) was involved somewhere, I believe.
These are all the names I can bring back right now.
Dallas didn't have a strong start and my memory attributes that to infield defense. J.P. Wood could always hit, but when he was replaced by Gene Markland, 2nd base was strengthened defensively. At season's beginning Red Davis was playing short and Red Borom was at 3rd. When Al Vincent swapped positions for these two, the Rebels started to take off. Even when Nick Gregory had to be replaced in left due to an injury, the team continued to climb.
Our library surely has a 1946 Texas Almanac. I'll have to check it out and see if I can augment my memory with some more facts.
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Rebel Stadium
To me at eleven, Rebel Stadium was hugely exciting and an extremely beautiful and colorful place. A fence 20 feet high went all around the outfield, and, except for the solid green of center field and the scoreboard, there was a double row of advertizing billboards everywhere on it. The infield and outfield grass were kept green throughout the hot and dry days of summer. The pitcher's mound and the area around home plate were made of the the orangish, clayish looking stuff like ballparks today, but the infield was native dirt, solid black. Add white bases and foul lines and you had quite a colorful setting for baseball.
My memory is that the grandstand roof didn't extend quite as far as first base or third base, but I certainly could be mistaken.
Texas was racially segregated in those days, and the law requiring separation was, of course, in effect at the stadium. About a third of the way between homeplate and third base there was a divider seperating the white and colored sections. I believe I remember a fence made of a pipe or two going from top of the stands to the bottom, but there might have been something else as well. Dallas used the third base dugout in '46 and the first base one in '47. I figured they probably alternated like that to be close to both groups of fans.
In '47 they added bleachers in right field that extended out into fair territory. I sat out there a couple of times hoping to snag a home run.
Rebel Stadium seated about ten thousand people, maybe eleven after the bleachers in right were added. I was a part of several large crowds there. Dallas playing Ft. Worth could pack the place even on a clear Sunday afternoon in mid-July under a blazing sun.
My memory is that the grandstand roof didn't extend quite as far as first base or third base, but I certainly could be mistaken.
Texas was racially segregated in those days, and the law requiring separation was, of course, in effect at the stadium. About a third of the way between homeplate and third base there was a divider seperating the white and colored sections. I believe I remember a fence made of a pipe or two going from top of the stands to the bottom, but there might have been something else as well. Dallas used the third base dugout in '46 and the first base one in '47. I figured they probably alternated like that to be close to both groups of fans.
In '47 they added bleachers in right field that extended out into fair territory. I sat out there a couple of times hoping to snag a home run.
Rebel Stadium seated about ten thousand people, maybe eleven after the bleachers in right were added. I was a part of several large crowds there. Dallas playing Ft. Worth could pack the place even on a clear Sunday afternoon in mid-July under a blazing sun.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
1960: Coors Beer, a White Sweatshirt and Night-Driving Glasses
In 1960 I played softball for the Coors team in the Riverton, Wyoming league. In those days all softball was fast pitch, and my position was first base.
Our uniforms didn't have the black and gold colors Coors uses on their cans and labels, but instead was a beautiful royal blue. COORS was written across the chest in bright red as were the numerals on the back. As well, we wore red caps and leg socks. Those outfits really looked sharp. Mine looked even better because I had a long-sleeved, tight-fitting jersey that was a gleaming white. I wore that jersey under my uniform shirt. But after four games I was hitting about .125, something like 2 for 16. Discouraged, I left the jersey off one night and began to hit. I never put it back on. The damned thing must have tied up my shoulders a bit, enough apparently to affect my swing. After it had been shucked, I had a very good season at the plate.
The early game always started before dark. Just before sundown there would be a glare that made it hard to see pop flies and such. It was too dark for sun glasses and the lights really had no effect at that time of day. So, I got the bright idea that a pair of night-driving glasses was the solution. One evening I bought a pair at the drugstore and went out to play. Well, the glasses didn't help a bit with balls hit in the air, but they made it difficult to see ground balls as well. Oh well, another failed theory.
The thing that caused me to think of all this now and why I wanted it in this blog was one of the opposing pitchers. One of the league teams, Susquehanna Western, a uranium mining outfit, had a pitcher named Gentry. This guy Gentry didn't wear his team's cap, but wore a Detroit Tigers cap with the script D instead. I shook hands with him a few times after our teams had played, but never asked his first name.
Could this maybe, just maybe, have been Rufus Gentry? That would explain the cap. Rufus Gentry had played some for the Tigers, starting 30 games in 1944, but, more importantly, had, sa I recall, pitched the shutout for Dallas in the seventh game of the Texas League playoffs in 1947 against the hated Ft. Worth Cats. In Ft. Worth, no less. This made him one of my real heroes. Was he this Gentry? I don't know. I was too timid to ask his first name.
Our uniforms didn't have the black and gold colors Coors uses on their cans and labels, but instead was a beautiful royal blue. COORS was written across the chest in bright red as were the numerals on the back. As well, we wore red caps and leg socks. Those outfits really looked sharp. Mine looked even better because I had a long-sleeved, tight-fitting jersey that was a gleaming white. I wore that jersey under my uniform shirt. But after four games I was hitting about .125, something like 2 for 16. Discouraged, I left the jersey off one night and began to hit. I never put it back on. The damned thing must have tied up my shoulders a bit, enough apparently to affect my swing. After it had been shucked, I had a very good season at the plate.
The early game always started before dark. Just before sundown there would be a glare that made it hard to see pop flies and such. It was too dark for sun glasses and the lights really had no effect at that time of day. So, I got the bright idea that a pair of night-driving glasses was the solution. One evening I bought a pair at the drugstore and went out to play. Well, the glasses didn't help a bit with balls hit in the air, but they made it difficult to see ground balls as well. Oh well, another failed theory.
The thing that caused me to think of all this now and why I wanted it in this blog was one of the opposing pitchers. One of the league teams, Susquehanna Western, a uranium mining outfit, had a pitcher named Gentry. This guy Gentry didn't wear his team's cap, but wore a Detroit Tigers cap with the script D instead. I shook hands with him a few times after our teams had played, but never asked his first name.
Could this maybe, just maybe, have been Rufus Gentry? That would explain the cap. Rufus Gentry had played some for the Tigers, starting 30 games in 1944, but, more importantly, had, sa I recall, pitched the shutout for Dallas in the seventh game of the Texas League playoffs in 1947 against the hated Ft. Worth Cats. In Ft. Worth, no less. This made him one of my real heroes. Was he this Gentry? I don't know. I was too timid to ask his first name.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Pitchers, 1946
I certainly remember Hank Oana. He was the best pitcher in the league, winning 24 games. My dad recalled that he was once a Pacific Coast League outfielder. It's not surprising that he was the best hitting pitcher in the league as well.
Beyond Hank, things become a little more iffy. Well, I know Lefty Altizer was on the staff for the whole season. Lefty's real first name was Quentin I believe. I've no idea what his record was. He was always in the starting rotation, and, since the team was so good, it's probably safe to assume he won a fair amount more than he lost.
I'm pretty certain Bob Gillespie was with the team most all if not all of '46. Bob may have been our second best pitcher. I think he was in AAA in 1947 and was with the Chicago White Sox in '48.
Bobby Hogue, our ace in '47, was with Dallas for some of '46. I feel pretty sure of that. But how much work he got... ?
And there, from my memory, you have it. My recollections of the Rebel pitchers for 1947 is a good bit better. But that comes later on.
Look up Hank Oana's bio on the web or in a baseball encyclopedia and invariably his reference will show a nickname of "Prince." I never heard him called that, though. He was always just called Hank by anyone I knew. That year Hank must have faced Fort Worth outfielder Eddie Snider quite a few times. No, I don't think Eddie picked up the nickname "Duke" until after his Texas League days. But suppose they both had had the nicknames then and had gone by them, we'd have had the "Prince" facing the "Duke" a lot. Interesting.
Beyond Hank, things become a little more iffy. Well, I know Lefty Altizer was on the staff for the whole season. Lefty's real first name was Quentin I believe. I've no idea what his record was. He was always in the starting rotation, and, since the team was so good, it's probably safe to assume he won a fair amount more than he lost.
I'm pretty certain Bob Gillespie was with the team most all if not all of '46. Bob may have been our second best pitcher. I think he was in AAA in 1947 and was with the Chicago White Sox in '48.
Bobby Hogue, our ace in '47, was with Dallas for some of '46. I feel pretty sure of that. But how much work he got... ?
And there, from my memory, you have it. My recollections of the Rebel pitchers for 1947 is a good bit better. But that comes later on.
Look up Hank Oana's bio on the web or in a baseball encyclopedia and invariably his reference will show a nickname of "Prince." I never heard him called that, though. He was always just called Hank by anyone I knew. That year Hank must have faced Fort Worth outfielder Eddie Snider quite a few times. No, I don't think Eddie picked up the nickname "Duke" until after his Texas League days. But suppose they both had had the nicknames then and had gone by them, we'd have had the "Prince" facing the "Duke" a lot. Interesting.
Friday, March 23, 2007
The 1946 Lineup
I saw more games in 1947 than I did in 1946, and I believe I'm more familiar with the players then. But I want to put down all that I remember about the '46 roster.
1B. Bob Moyer. He led the Texas League in home runs with 24. Bob was with Dallas again in '47, but I'm not sure he ever rose above AA ball. I saw him playing for Temple in '52, a team in the class B Big State League.
2B. Gene Markland. As I recall the Rebels began the season with J. P. Wood at second. Wood hit well but Markland was better defensively. The team improved with Markland there.
SS. Eddie "Red" Borom. Great speed and hustle. Red was with the Detroit Tigers world champions in '45.
3B. John "Red" Davis. This Red had a little Major League experience earlier.
LF. Al Carr. Actually Nick Gregory began the season here but broke an ankle or something and was out for the season. By playoff time, as I recall, Carr was established in left. In '47, playing for the Shreveport Sports, Gregory led the league in homers.
CF. Clint Conatser. A very good ballplayer. Clint was with the Boston Braves on their World Series team of 1948.
RF. Hal Hirshon. His batting average was not great but was a good clutch hitter. He decimated the Fort Worth Cats in the playoffs. Hal was a star end for UCLA before the war.
C. Harvey Riebe. Very good catcher and went on up. He had some time in the majors later on.
Subs. I don't remember much about the backup players. Infielder Frank Carswell, a good hitter, may have been there, and I seem to recall Clem Cola as a back up catcher.
Mgr. Al Vincent. Recently voted into the Texas League Hall of Fame, Al also won league championships with Tulsa and Beaumont. Al was a coach for the Philadelphia Phillies when I watched them play the Houston Colt .45s in 1963.
I'll save the pitchers for next time.
1B. Bob Moyer. He led the Texas League in home runs with 24. Bob was with Dallas again in '47, but I'm not sure he ever rose above AA ball. I saw him playing for Temple in '52, a team in the class B Big State League.
2B. Gene Markland. As I recall the Rebels began the season with J. P. Wood at second. Wood hit well but Markland was better defensively. The team improved with Markland there.
SS. Eddie "Red" Borom. Great speed and hustle. Red was with the Detroit Tigers world champions in '45.
3B. John "Red" Davis. This Red had a little Major League experience earlier.
LF. Al Carr. Actually Nick Gregory began the season here but broke an ankle or something and was out for the season. By playoff time, as I recall, Carr was established in left. In '47, playing for the Shreveport Sports, Gregory led the league in homers.
CF. Clint Conatser. A very good ballplayer. Clint was with the Boston Braves on their World Series team of 1948.
RF. Hal Hirshon. His batting average was not great but was a good clutch hitter. He decimated the Fort Worth Cats in the playoffs. Hal was a star end for UCLA before the war.
C. Harvey Riebe. Very good catcher and went on up. He had some time in the majors later on.
Subs. I don't remember much about the backup players. Infielder Frank Carswell, a good hitter, may have been there, and I seem to recall Clem Cola as a back up catcher.
Mgr. Al Vincent. Recently voted into the Texas League Hall of Fame, Al also won league championships with Tulsa and Beaumont. Al was a coach for the Philadelphia Phillies when I watched them play the Houston Colt .45s in 1963.
I'll save the pitchers for next time.
Tuesday, March 20, 2007
My First Professional Ball Game
The first professional game I ever saw was in April of 1946 when I was eleven. At that time I was taking art lessons at the art museum in Dallas' Fair Park. Each Saturday morning I would catch a bus a few blocks from our home in Grand Prairie and ride it to Oak Cliff. There I would take a streetcar downtown and transfer to one going to Fair Park. Afterwards, I would repeat the process backwards.
I think the bus stop in Oak Cliff was only a couple blocks from Rebel Stadium. This day I walked to the ballpark after leaving the streetcar, likely the Sunset car, on the way home from art class. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White Sox were playing an exhibition game. I remember having a seat under the roof behind home plate. My parents must have been generous that day; after that I was in the cheaper seats.
Luke Appling was likely the only player on either side I'd ever heard of. But these guys were Major Leaguers and I was extremely excited to see them. Sox first-baseman Hal Trosky hit a home run, but at the time I didn't realize what a feat it was to clear the fences in Rebel Stadium. Ralph Kiner likely played but you couldn't prove it by me. I had never heard of him at the time.
I only saw two games there in 1946. The other time was during the Texas League season and I believe we saw the Rebels and the San Antonio Missions. A classmate's dad worked for the Times Herald and he occasionally came up with free tickets to this or that. They invited me along that night.
I think the bus stop in Oak Cliff was only a couple blocks from Rebel Stadium. This day I walked to the ballpark after leaving the streetcar, likely the Sunset car, on the way home from art class. The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Chicago White Sox were playing an exhibition game. I remember having a seat under the roof behind home plate. My parents must have been generous that day; after that I was in the cheaper seats.
Luke Appling was likely the only player on either side I'd ever heard of. But these guys were Major Leaguers and I was extremely excited to see them. Sox first-baseman Hal Trosky hit a home run, but at the time I didn't realize what a feat it was to clear the fences in Rebel Stadium. Ralph Kiner likely played but you couldn't prove it by me. I had never heard of him at the time.
I only saw two games there in 1946. The other time was during the Texas League season and I believe we saw the Rebels and the San Antonio Missions. A classmate's dad worked for the Times Herald and he occasionally came up with free tickets to this or that. They invited me along that night.
Sunday, March 4, 2007
My Very Favorite Team Once
When the 1946 baseball season began I was eleven years old. For the first time I began following a baseball club day after day, almost entirely by radio, and that club was the nearby Dallas Rebels of the Texas League. By season's end they were a very good team, finishing second to the Ft. Worth Cats but demolishing the Cats in the playoffs and sweeping the Atlanta Crackers to win the Dixie Series. To me every Rebel was a hero.
I followed major league baseball that year too, but without the same intensity. Those teams were all afar, way up North. And most of all there was no local radio coverage. Still I had a favorite team there yoo. Probably because of the John R. Tunis novels I'd read, that favorite was the Brooklyn Dodgers. Or maybe it was the name.
The following season, 1947, was was a good one as well for the Rebels. The high point was defeating the Cats four games to three in the playoffs, but we (they) lost to the Houston Buffs for the league title. The next April my family moved away from the Dallas area, and that was that.
Those were important times for me, and baseball was very important to me during those times. There are a lot of good memories. From the beginning of the Texas League season in 1946 until we moved to Wyoming in the spring of 1948, covered the time I went from not-quite-twelve to not-quite-fourteen. An important stage of life indeed. In this blog I'm going to write all I can remember concerning the Rebels, the Texas League, and baseball, and some about me. Hopefully, someone will happen onto this blog and have something to add.
I followed major league baseball that year too, but without the same intensity. Those teams were all afar, way up North. And most of all there was no local radio coverage. Still I had a favorite team there yoo. Probably because of the John R. Tunis novels I'd read, that favorite was the Brooklyn Dodgers. Or maybe it was the name.
The following season, 1947, was was a good one as well for the Rebels. The high point was defeating the Cats four games to three in the playoffs, but we (they) lost to the Houston Buffs for the league title. The next April my family moved away from the Dallas area, and that was that.
Those were important times for me, and baseball was very important to me during those times. There are a lot of good memories. From the beginning of the Texas League season in 1946 until we moved to Wyoming in the spring of 1948, covered the time I went from not-quite-twelve to not-quite-fourteen. An important stage of life indeed. In this blog I'm going to write all I can remember concerning the Rebels, the Texas League, and baseball, and some about me. Hopefully, someone will happen onto this blog and have something to add.
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