Nebraska Minor League Baseball
Omaha
Western League Standings 1922
President: Albert Tearney
Standings Wins----- Losses--- GB
Tulsa Oilers 103 64 --
St. Joseph Saints 98 70 5 ½
Wichita Witches 84 73 9
Omaha Buffaloes 91 77 12 ½
Sioux City Packers 86 79 16
Oklahoma City Indians 73 94 30
Denver Bears 63 105 40 ½
Des Moines Boosters 61 107 42 ½

Pct:Dan Tipple, Omaha, .793, 23-6
Denver was back in the Western League. Denver had dropped out after the 1917 season as the work of fight order of WWI impacted a number of clubs. The franchise was required to give visiting clubs a larger share of the gate to compensate for their greater travel requirements.

Barney Burch was the talk of the hot stove season as he scoured the country for new talent for his team. After finishing second in 1921 he was convinced that he was just a few players away from a championship.

Spring training for the Buffaloes was held in Victoria Texas. Reporting in March were a few veterans and a host of new talent acquired by Burch during the winter.

With team leader Jack Lelivelt traded to Tulsa, Barney was looking for a big stick to replace the veteran star. In addition, 1921 regular Fred Haney had been bought by Detroit and it looked like he was going to stick in the show.

Heinie Manush came from the Western Canada league to vie for a regular spot. Jack "Junk" Walters was also from the Western Canada league and Red Wilder reported after spending the 1921 season with Springfield of the Eastern League. Pete Snedecor came from the Texas League and twelve pitchers reported to vie for the few available pitching slots. According to the Sporting News pitchers, Baumgartner, Wilson, Jolsms, Wiggington, Brugmand, Treon. Smith, Roddy, Coffin, Doffer, Newkirk, Okrie, Stokes, Dailey and Tipple were all being given a chance to make the club.

Brick Meyer, veteran Cy Lingle and Willer were the three catchers in camp.

The team started the season with great expectations but the lack of timely hitting and less than stellar pitching left them out of the title hunt. The team managed a 91-77 record, good enough for 4th in the final standings.

The Sioux City franchise moved some games to Lincoln's Landis field. They retained the rights to the franchise but were testing the waters in Lincoln. Playing some games at 10:30 in the morning attendance did not meet their hopes and the franchise stayed in Sioux City until the 1924 season when it did move to Lincoln.

Roster:
First base for the Burch Rods was George Grantham . Born in Galena Kansas the 22 year old was averaged .359 with 22 home runs, 33 stolen bases and 157 total runs. He ws picked up in September by the Chicago Cubs. He played in seven games with the Cubs in 1922 and was a regular in the majors through the 1934 season.


Hall of Fame
Heinie Manush had 20 triples and 20 homers for Omaha in 1922 and averaged .376. He was second in the league in average and third in hits. He was sold to Detroit and averaged .330 for his career. He was elected to the hall of fame in 1964.

Babe Herman played first base and averaged .416 in 92 games.

Cy Lingle returned for the 1922 season. He was a long time regular catcher in Omaha. This year he split his duties with Wilder .

J. Griffin played 135 games in the outfield in 1922.

Pitchers:
Dan "Rusty" Tipple pitched a no hitter against Des Moines. He was a strong right hander from Rockford Illinois. He was 23-6 for the year and led the Western League in winning percentage and third in strikeouts. His major league career was one year with the New York Yankees.

Clarence Darraugh pitched both ends of a double header in May against DesMoines, winning both 14-2 and 6-1. On June 14th he pitched both ends of a double header against Wichita winning both games 5-2 and 7-6. He was 13-9 for the season.

Bill Bailey was 13-9 for the season.

Okrie was 17-16.

Hyman was 6-2 and Stokes was 5-3.

Coffindaffer was 3-8.

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