Pid Purdy , a Beatrice native took over the Lincoln Nebraska State League franchise team. He was 31 years old when he struck a deal to buy Cy Lingles franchise. Since Pid had played for the Reds, he struck a deal with the Cincinatti franchise to serve as a quasi farm team of the Reds. Pid went to Ohio for the opening of the season and set up a relationship with the Reds. Unfortunatly, attendance did not match expectations and by July the franchise was in financial trouble. In early July temperatures in Lincoln and Omaha were at all time record highs. A high temperature of 109 in Omaha and daily temperatures over 100 degrees in Lincoln was common. Attendance at the games dropped even more. Purdy attempted to strike a last minute deal with Grand Island or North Platte but both fell through. With Fairbury also in trouble the two franchises were dropped and the league muddled through with four teams.

Bert Haas was a twenty two year old prospect from Naperville Illinois. He led the league in hits for Beatrice. In late 1937 he broke into the major leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He had a nine year major league career with five different clubs. His best year was 1947 when he was named to the National League all star team. See Baseball Reference for his major league statistics. Johnny Hopp was a 19 year old prospect from Hastings who played for Norfolk in 1936. He played in 107 games and averaged .361. The next two years he played for Rochester and in 1939 he started with Houston in the Texas League and finished with St. Louis in the National League. He was named to the All Star team in 1946 when he played with Boston (NL). He played in the majors through the 1952 season and had a .296 lifetime average.

Bowman 1951 Photoshopped