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Standings 1929 President: James Beltzer |
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| Standings | Wins--- | Losses- | GB | Manager |
| McCook Generals | 74 | 42 | -- | Elmer S."Doc" Bennett |
| Fairbury Jeffersons | 70 | 51 | 6 ½ | Preston Gray |
| Lincoln Links | 68 | 51 | 7 ½ | Robert E. Browne |
| York Dukes | 61 | 53 | 12 | Art Rasmussen |
| Norton Jayhawks | 54 | 60 | 19 | Hal Brokaw |
| Grand Island Islanders | 54 | 62 | 20 | Clay Schoovover |
| Norfolk Elks | 43 | 73 | 31 | J. L. Wilkes |
| North Platte Buffaloes | 42 | 74 | 32 | Joe Pizer |
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| BA: John Stoneham, McCook, .410 | ||||
| Runs: Herbert Pember, McCook, 117 | ||||
| Hits: Herbert Pember, McCook, 194 | ||||
| HRs: Joe Smith, Norfolk, 15 | ||||
| Wins: Andy Bednar, McCook; Stanford Primm, Fairbury; 21 |
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| SOs: Vito San Filippo, Fairbury, 201 | ||||
| ERA: Jean Jones, Norton, 2.15 | ||||
During the hot stove season the league magnates met and voted to continue the unique revenue sharing plan initiated in 1928. The only team to drop out of the league was Beatrice but Norton Kansas had asked for admission before Beatrice dropped and the Kansas team was added to the league. Most of the managers from 1928 returned in 1929 giving the league some stability. They voted to reduce the managers salary to $200 a month but added $50 a month to their salary for managing the league's buses making it a wash. They voted for 5 days of training before starting the season and kept the salary imit in tact. The max salary of an individual playrer was set at $110 a month.
McCook repeated as champions in 1929. With Elmer "Doc" Bennett as manager the Generals acquired their second of three straight championships under his direction. With John Stoneham once again leading the league in batting average and Herbert Pember repeating as league leader in runs and hits, McCook was the best hitting team in the league. Andy Bednar came through for Doc Bennetts squad and led the league with 21 wins. John Stoneham's contract was purchased by Pittsburg for the 1930 season. With the best pitching and hitting in the league McCook was the best team of 1929.
Vito San Filippo led the league with the Fairbury Jeffersons in strikeouts in 1929 with 201. In 1930 he led the league in wins with 23 and strike outs with 243.
Andy Bednar was a 20 year old pitcher from Streator Illinois. He was the leading pitcher for McCook in 1929 and led the league with 21 wins. He pitched a no hit game against Lincoln during the season and caught the eye of the Pirates. He pitched 1.3 innings for the Pirates in 1930. They optioned him to Wichita and Fairmont. The next year he had a four inning stint with the Pirates. They optioned him to Fort Worth then Galveston. He also played for Dubuque, Marshalltown, Syracuse and Fort Smith. He pitched for Tulsa for two years. In 1932 he led the Western League with a 22-4 record in 33 games. He wound up his career with St. Joseph in 1934. He died in an auto accident in Texas in 1937. He was 28 years old.
John Stoneham repeated as an All Star in 1929. He led the Nebraska State League in batting. In 1932 he was a Western League All Star playing for Tulsa. He had a cup of coffee with the White Sox in 1933. Born in Wood River Illinois, he attended Washington University in St. Louis.
John Stoneham and Andy Bednar were two Western League All Stars in 1932. According to minorleaguebaseball.com the Oilers were one of the top 100 minor league teams in history.
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