Nebraska Minor League Baseball
Jack Lelivelt

Jack Lelivelt rolled into Omaha in 1920 as Pa Rourkes pick for player manager of his class "A" Western League Club. Jack was a native of Chicago, a lefty with both the glove and the bat and he fancied bowler style top hats.

His career in professional baseball began in the class "C" Northern Copper Country League in 1906 with Lake Linden Michigan. He then moved to Reading in the Tri State League. He played with the Washington Senators from 1909-1911. He was sold to the Yankees who assigned him to Rochester for 1912 where he batted .351. He was recalled to New York for the remainder of the season where he hit .362 in 36 games.

He played a few games in 1913 and was traded to Cleveland for 1914. He batted .328 for Cleveland but was still sent down to their American Association team. He played for Kansas City in 1915-1917, Louisville in 1918 and Minneapolis in 1919.

His first appearance in Omaha was in 1920 when he was picked as player manager by Pa Rourke. Barney Burch bought the club for the 1921 season. He started the year as manager but was replaced in May. He stayed as a player, leading the Western League in batting with a .416 average. His 274 hits is a Western League all time record.

He played for Tulsa in 1922-1924 then in 1925 he ended his playing days with St. Joseph. His managing only days started in 1926 with Milwaukee. He led the Brewers to a second place finish in 1927 and third in 1928. He was fired from Milwaukee during the 1929 season and was picked up by Wrigley as manager of the struggling Los Angeles Angels. He stayed with Los Angeles through the 1936 season.

He was named a scout for the Cubs in 1937 but returned to managing in 1938, turning around the Seattle Raniers. He led them to the PCL title in 1939 and 1940.

He died of a heart attack in January of 1941.

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