North Platte spent most of the 1929 season in the cellar of the Nebraska State League. Washington Seelman was their one bright star, averaging .372 in 116 games for the Buffaloes. The team was fourth in club batting with a .284 average but they were last in fielding. Their two best pitchers, Smith and Pinkerton both had ERA's over 5 for the season. Their lack of consistent pitching was the downfall of their title hopes in 1929.
Manager Joe Pizer, a former Nebraska star tried a lot of different pitchers during the season.
Roster:
First base for the franchise in 1929 was held down by
Washington Seelman
for 55 games. He also played a few games at second and in the
outfield. In all, he played in 116 games and led the team with a .372
average. He went on to lead the league in batting in 1930 and was picked
up by Des Moines for the 1931 season.
Gregory played on first for 64 games and a
number of games in the outfield. He averaged .276 in his 113 appearances.
In the dirt at second base was Joe Pizer. He was the manager for the team in 1929 and averaged .260 for the year. Seelman also played a number of games at second.
Third base for the Buffaloes was held down by Elmer Peters. He was one of the few steady performers for the team and held the position for 105 games. He averaged .333 for the season.
Short stop was a revolving position for the franchise in 1929. Sauers played the position for 17 games, Kruckman was there for 22 games and Martin also played some games at the position. None of them were in the top half of the league in fielding.
The catcher for 1929 was Honer. He was last in the league in fielding the position, but those who followed the league considered the pitchers to be the problem and not his ability behind the mask. He averaged .237 for the Buffaloes.
Outfield:
Only one of the North Platte outfielders managed to play in the garden for
more than 100 games in 1929 indicating the problems the team had during
the year.
Walter Cookson tended the garden for 111 games and
averaged .285 for the season.
Pinkerton was on the field for 69 games and averaged .342 for the season.
J. Jones played in 42 games and averaged .358.
Smith was in 42 games and had a .300 average. Luke played in 25 games and averaged .212 at the plate.
Pitchers:
Pitching was not a strong point for the Buffaloes as none of their
pitchers managed a winning record.
Smith appeared in 21 games and had a 4-13 record.
Pinkerton was in 22 games and managed to win 8 while losing 10
Bert Gregory appeared in 9 games and had a 1-3 record.
Cunningham played in 29 games for both North Platte and Norfolk in 1929. He had a 10-14 record.
© 2004 Bruce Esser