North Platte was a farm team of the Cleveland Indians in 1957. Rudy York was their manager. Originally from Alabama, Rudy had a long term major league career which ended in 1948. The North Platte Indians were the worst team in the league in 1957. They only won 11 games, lost 45 and finished over 20 games out of first.
The team drew over 20,000 fans for the season.
Roster:
First base for North Platte in 1957 was split between Dennis
Cormack and
Ed Rickerson .284. Dennis led the team in
hitting and averaged .323 in 28 games. Both of them were lefties
and Ed averaged .284.
William Caldwell held down the second base position in 1957 and averaged .215. He was from Massilon Ohio and was named an NSL all star.
John Whited played 29 games at third and averaged .264. Robert Moore played in 20 games and averaged .163.
Short stop for 1957 was held down by James Card . He played 35 games at short and 21 at third. He averaged .216. James Wyatt played in 23 games and averaged .085.
Catcher for the Indians in 1957 was James McFarland . The port side swinger averaged .239.
Outfield:
Dan Vlahovic played in 52 games and averaged .211.
Jay Perry averaged .222 swinging from the left side.
Richard Williams averaged .218 in 33 games.
Robert Lehner did not make it to the Mendoza line. He played in 32 games and averaged .183.
Pitchers:
Sebastian Aparo was 2-4 in 9 appearances.
Robert Botto appeared in 22 games and had a 0-10 record.
Wilton Davis was 0-2 in 18 games.
Russell Fischer was 3-6 in 22 appearances.
Richard Hatchell also appeared in 22 games. He was the only regular with a winning record as he was 3-2 in 1957.
James McCoy was 0-6 in 13 times on the mound.
Gary Newman was 2-4 in 21 appearances.
J. Ronald Osborne did not win a game in his 18 appearances. He was 0-6 for the season.
Nebraska State League Standings 1957
© 2004 Bruce Esser