Nebraska Minor League Baseball
American Association
Omaha Dodgers 1961

Omaha Dodgers Baseball Program 1961

77
American Association
Standings 1961
President:James Burris
Standings Wins--- Losses- GB Attendance Manager
Indianapolis 86 64 -- 179,423 Cot Deal
Louisville 80 70 6 119,808 Ben Geraghty
Denver 75 73 10 142,746 Charlie Metro
Houston 73 13 120,104 Grady Hatton/Frederick Martin/Lou Klein/Harry Craft
Dallas-Ft.Worth 72 77 13.5 105,933 Walker Cooper
Omaha Dodgers 62 87 23.5 120,690 Danny Ozark

BA: Don Wert, Denver, .328
Runs: Cliff Cook, Indianapolis, 102
Hits: Howie Bedell, Louisville, 194
RBIs: Cliff Cook, Indianapolis, 119
HRs: Cliff Cook, Indianapolis, 32
Wins: Don Rudolph, Indianapolis, 18
SOs: Charlie Spell, Omaha, 164
ERA: Federico Olivo, Louisville, 2.66

 

Roster:
First base for the Dodgers in 1961 was held down by B. Gail Harris. The 29 year old lefty was involved in 65 games and averaged .218. He started his pro career in 1950 with Lenoir in the Western Carolina league. During the 1951 season he moved from Lenoir to Knoxville in the Tri-State league. 1952 saw him in Sioux City and 1953 he moved to Nashville. He was in the American Association with Minneapolis in 1954. He started his major league career with the New York Giants in 1955 and bounced between Minneapolis and the New York Giants for three years. In 1958 he was traded to Detroit. While playing for the Giants he tied one major league career, having 6 double plays in one game. . In May of 1960 he was traded from Detroit to the Dodgers organization.

Alternating at first with Gail was James Koranda. He played first for 89 games and in 140 games overall. He averaged .264 for the season. He led the league in RBI's in 1962 while playing for Indianapolis. He played in the minors for fourteen years and in fifteen different cities. He retired from baseball in 1965.

Second base was also a shared responibility in 1961. Joseph Tanner was grooming the dirt for 70 games. He played in a total of 127 games and averaged .240.

H. Eugene Wallace played second for 68 games and was in 90 total games. He averaged .241.

John Goryl was a 27 year old who had been traded to the Dodgers organization in a deal sending Don Zimmer to the Cubs. He was originally signed as a teenager by the Boston Braves. He played for Bluefield in the Appalacian league in '51, Evansville and Eau Claire from 52 through '54 and Wichita in '55 where he hit .301 in the Western League. That earned him a job with Los Angeles in the PCL for '56 then to Tulsa for part of the '56 season. Memphis was his first stop in 1957, then on to the show with the Cubs. He was with the Cubs for three seasons. The Rhode Island native was a regular at third for Omaha. He played in 135 games and averaged .280. After playing for Omaha in 1961 he was traded to Minnesota where he played for the Twins for three years.

Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953, Richard Tracewski was the regular at short for Omaha in 1961. He started his pro career in 1953 and played for 12 minor league clubs before making it to the majors. He averaged .261 while playing in 149 games. He made it to the parent Dodgers in 1962 and played through the 1969 season in the majors for either the Dodgers or Detroit.

Catching for the Dodgers in 1961 was Nate Smith . He caught in 93 games, played in 115 games and averaged .249. He was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1956. Born in Chicago he attended Tennessee State University. He had a cup of coffee with Baltimore in 1962 playing in 5 total major league games.

Outfield:
William Lajoie was a lefty in the garden in 1962. He played in 129 games and averaged .320.

Sheldon Brodsky played in 126 games and averaged .246.

Gordon Windhorn played in 55 games for Omaha in 1961 and in 34 games with Los Angeles. The 27 years old averaged .293 in Omaha. He was originally signed in 1952 by the Giants. Played in 1959 for 7 games with the Yankees and in 1962 he was in Kansas City and with the Angels.

Pitchers:
Eugene Snyder had the best ERA among regulars for the Dodgers in 1961. He appeared in 35 games and the lefty had a 7-13 record with a 3.80 ERA. He also had 113k's. He had a cup of coffee with the parent Dodgers in 1959 in his only major league year.

Charlie Spell led the American Association in strikeouts in 1961. He had a 8-17 record in 43 appearances.

H. Scott Breeden was 7-7 in 48 games.

Nelson Chittum was a 28 year old pitcher in 1961. He was in 46 games and had a 12-9 record. He played in 13 games for St. Louis in 1958 and for Boston in 59 and 60 before being traded to the Dodgers organization.

Clarence Churn had a 2-2 record in 32 appearances. The 31 year old played in 5 games for Pittsburg in 1957. After a short stop with Cleveland, he was traded to the Dodgers.

J. Arthur Fowler was originally signed by the New York Giants in 1954. The Converse South Carolina born 38 year old also pitched in 53 games for the parent Dodgers in 1961. He made his major league debut in 1954 as a 31 year old for the Reds and finished his career with the Angels in 1964. He was in 10 games for Omaha in 1961 and was 5-3.

Willard Hunter was a 27 year old who had a 6-8 record with 66 appearances for Omaha in 1961. He was originally signed by the Dodgers in 1955. He made his major league debut in 1962 and played for Los Angeles and the Mets during his major league career.

Richard Scott was a journeyman pitcher for the Dodgers. He was signed by the Dodgers in 1953 and in 1961 the 28 year old managed a 9-16 record in 35 games. He had a cup of coffee in 1963 with the Dodgers and in 1964 with the Cubs.

Burbon Wheeler was in 35 games and had a 3-8 record.

Philip Clark was in 12 games for the Dodgers in 1961. The Albany Georgia native had a cup of coffee with St. Louis in 1958 and 1959.

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