That's the old ballgame Shreveport, chapter 14 (Sports, 1946-57)

Chapter 14

The Sports (1946-57)

After the 1942 season and Shreveport's first Texas League playoff championship since 1919, young men enlisting in the military to serve during World War II cut into baseball's playing rosters.
So, no pro baseball in Shreveport or the Texas League from 1943 to 1945.
The Sports returned in 1946 with the cities that had been together in the Texas League since 1938 -- Beaumont, Dallas, Fort Worth, Houston, Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Tulsa -- and that group remained intact until Austin replaced Beaumont in 1956.
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The post-World War II years were minor-league baseball's "boom" years for attendance. So it was in Shreveport. From 1946 to 1954, except for one year, the Sports' home attendance topped 100,000.
The 1947 attendance was 198,834; 1948 was 195,616; and 1949 was a record 222,331 (almost 3,000 per date).

From 1946 to 1948, Shreveport won the TL's Opening Day Attendance Cup with crowds of 8,621, 7,058 and 10,059. The Opening Day attendance in 1949 was 8,206, but Dallas -- thanks to a special promotion -- took the cup with 14,381.
Texas League Park's capacity at one time was listed as 9,700. By the mid-1950s, that had been cut to 5,000 (bleachers were trimmed) and after the stadium name changed to SPAR Stadium (1959-67 and then for good in 1971), the ballpark's deterioration began to show.
The wooden press box on top of the grandstand and the stadium roof base were rotten by 1962, and the upper grandstand base was so unstable that it was closed before the 1977 season, lowering the capacity to only 2,500 (and rarely needed for that many).
    The largest attendance recorded at the ballpark -- an overflow crowd with people seated in a roped-off areas down the foul lines -- was 10,351 for a Cleveland Indians-New York Giants spring exhibition game in 1954. Those two teams for years trained in Arizona, then "barnstormed" -- playing exhibitions on the road toward Opening Day sites, and made several stops in Shreveport.

    Attendance began declining at Texas League Park as the 1950s progressed and the advent of television and air conditioning in many homes cut into minor-league ball everywhere.

    In 1956, the Shreveport-Texas League Baseball Corporation, which had operated the Sports since 1938, was bought out by directors Bonneau Peters, B.A. Hardey, Sam K. Baird, Bert Kouns and J.I. Roberts -- with Peters remaining the team's general managing partner.

    That group was together for only a short time when the declining attendance and the growing, ever-present issue of integration/segregation led to the club's sale ... and one year of no pro ball in Shreveport.

Top players from the era

    DOYLE LADE -- A stocky right-hander, nicknamed "Porky," he was one of the aces of the Shreveport Sports' 1942 Texas League championship team, pitching a shutout in Game 6 of the title series with Beaumont. That year he was only 21 and in his third pro season and had an 18-7 record and sparkling 1.81 ERA in 244 innings.He pitched for the Sports again in 1946, 1953 and 1954, and in the majors for parts of five seasons with the Chicago Cubs (1946-50, 64 starts).  After Coast Guard service during World War II, he came back to Shreveport in '46 (12-12, 2.60 ERA, 32 games, 27 starts, 204 innings) and the Chicago White Sox purchased his contract, but soon traded him to the Cubs. His best Cubs season was 1947 when he had an 11-10 record. After two seasons in Triple-A, he was Shreveport's best pitcher in 1953 (15-9, 3.75 ERA, 34 games, 31 starts), 14 complete games and 211 innings, then tailed off in 1954, his last season. Died May 18, 2000, in Lincoln, Neb., age 79.

   BILL REEDER -- A right-handed pitcher from Texas who in his third pro season was in 14 games with the Sports in 1942 (1-5 record, 45 innings). After U.S. Army service in the Pacific Theater in World War II, he resumed his career in Shreveport in 1946 as a rotation regular (11-8 record, 2.00 ERA, 34 games, 22 starts, 180 innings). The St. Louis Cardinals purchased his contract and he made the big club for the entire 1949 season, making 21 appearances (one start) with a 1-1 record and 5.08 ERA in 33⅔ innings. He was with Triple-A Rochester in 1947-48 and 1950, with a 19-12 record in 1948, and bounced around with four teams -- including Houston (Texas League) -- his last two seasons. Died March 12, 2001, in Sulphur Springs, Texas, age 79.

    VERNE WILLIAMSON -- A right-handed pitcher who was with the Shreveport Sports for four full seasons (1942, 1946-48) and part of 1949. He worked 751 innings for them, with a 37-47 record (his best season was 14-9 in 1947, the team's second-most victories behind Bruz Hamner). He then pitched most of his last six seasons in the Southern Association (Chattanooga and Little Rock). Died July 8, 1994, in Springfield, Illinois, age 74.

     DANNY REYNOLDS -- A middle infielder, he was in the big leagues for a short time in his fifth pro season, with the 1945 Chicago White Sox (29 games, .167 batting average) and he spent much of the next four seasons (1946-49) as a starter for the Shreveport Sports. Nicknamed "Squirrel," he played in 445 regular-season games for the Sports, with a best batting average of .277 in 1946. He played four more seasons, but not above Class AA. Died Feb. 18, 2007, in Statesville, N.C., age 87.

     WARREN HACKER -- Before he became a five-year 1950s rotation regular for the Chicago Cubs, he was a pitcher for the Shreveport Sports for parts of the 1947 and 1949 seasons and a full season in 1948. His strong work in '48 (17-14 record, 3.18 ERA, 45 games, 34 starts, and 249 innings) led to the Cubs purchasing his contract from Shreveport, and he made his MLB debut that September. From Lenzburg, Illinois, a U.S. Marine in World War II, his baseball career began in 1946 with a 20-4 record for Pampa, Texas. He first came to the Sports for seven games the next year, and split the 1949 season between the Cubs and Sports (5-3 record, 66 innings). He made the Cubs for good in 1952 and pitched six full seasons in the majors and 12 overall (62-89 record, 306 games, 157 starts). He kept pitching in the minors through 1966 -- his last five years for Triple-A Indianapolis -- and later was a manager in three seasons. Died May 22, 2002, in Lenzburg, age 77.

     JOE BERRY -- He was 42 when he pitched for the Shreveport Sports in 1947, a slight right-hander and sometimes outfielder who was in pro ball forever, from 1927 to 1951 -- 24 seasons. That included big-league service for a bit in 1942 (Chicago Cubs) and during the World War II era (133 games, all in relief, 21-22 record). For the Sports, he had a 6-7 record and 2.39 ERA in 49 games and 109 innings. His minor-league record in 803 games was 248-198. Died Sept. 27, 1958, in Anaheim, Calif., age 53.

      NICK GREGORY -- He was the Texas League home-run champion for the 1947 Shreveport Sports, a 31-year-old right-handed hitting outfielder. With 28 homers, he had three more than Oklahoma City third baseman Al Rosen, a future American League MVP and baseball executive. Gregory had 144 hits in 147 games that season, batting .269. He tailed off for the Sports in 1948 (110 games, 19 doubles, 10 homers, .247) and the rest of his 13-year career was spent with Class B and C teams in Texas and Louisiana. He never made the majors and spent five-plus years in the Texas League. Died in August 1973, age 58.

      JIM KIRBY -- A right-handed outfielder who first signed a pro contract in 1942, he was with the Shreveport Sports for two seasons -- 1947 (117 games, .251 batting average) and 1948 (152 games, .286). He played in the Texas League for all or parts of six seasons (1947-52) and got one brief major-league taste -- in 1949 with the Chicago Cubs (three games, a .500 average -- 1-for-2). Died July 17, 2009, in Nashville, Tenn., age 86.

      

HERB CROMPTON -- A catcher-first baseman nickname "Workhorse," he was with the Shreveport Sports in 1942, his ninth pro season, for 117 games and a .273 batting average and then again in 1947 (108 games, .182). He had two brief major-league stints -- 1937 Washington Senators (two games, 0-for-3) and the 1945 New York Yankees (36 games, .192). Died Aug. 5, 1963, in Moline, Illinois, age 51.

      VERNON PETTY -- He was Shreveport's regular third baseman from 1948 through most of 1951, with additional Sports time in 1947. He was in 546 Sports games, batting .263, with 93 doubles, 15 triples and 30 home runs. His 14 home runs in 1950 was by far a career best. Traded to Texas League rival Tulsa late in the '51 season, he spent his last three pro seasons as a productive hitter for the Atlanta Crackers in the Southern Association. Overall in 10 minor-league seasons, never above Class AA, he batted .279. Died Aug. 22, 2012, in Gastonia, N.C., age 88.

     GEORGE BROWN -- A left-handed hitting outfielder was with the Shreveport Sports for 39 games in 1947, then for five full seasons (1948-52). His best year was 1948 when he had 163 hits in 151 games, 38 doubles, 10 triples, seven home runs and a .308 average. He hit .295 in 145 games the next. In all, he played 697 regular-season games for the Sports, batting .272 with 35 homers and 135 doubles. He played pro ball through 1954, but never above Double-A.

       BILL SARNI -- He was a Sports catcher for two seasons (1948-49), playing 233 games and totaling 30 doubles, nine triples and 14 home runs, with batting averages of .255 and .265. He came close to a Texas League record for catchers by playing 63 consecutive games without an error. Drafted by the St. Louis Cardinals from Shreveport after the 1949 season, he was the Cards' backup catcher in 1951-52, saw increased playing time in 1954 (when he was a .300 hitter in 123 games) and 1955. Two trades later, he started for the New York Giants in 1956, but a heart attack at age 29 in spring training 1957 ended his career. In five major-league seasons, he was in 390 games and batted .263, with 22 home runs and 151 RBI.  Coached one year in the Cardinals’ system, then had a career selling stocks and bonds for an investment firm. Died April 15, 1983, in Creve Coeur, Mo., age 55.

      HOWARD AUMAN -- A right-handed pitcher joined the Sports in his fourth pro season in 1948 after consecutive 20-win seasons in Class D and A. He had a 13-11 record for Shreveport in '48 and got a shot at Triple-A with Los Angeles (Pacific Coast League), but worked in only four games. He returned to the Sports for two more full seasons and 10 games in 1951, then spent most of his final season at Class B Texarkana. His Shreveport totals: 121 games, 69 starts, 464 innings, 31-40 record. After baseball, he bought and operated a grocery store, then worked for Singer Furniture Co., retiring in 1982. Died May 2, 2015, in Sanford, Fla., age 93.

      HANK WYSE -- An Arkansas farmboy, rough and rugged, the right-handed pitcher had two big seasons (1948-49, records of 12-8 and 18-8) for the Shreveport Sports, but that was after he had been with the Chicago Cubs for six seasons. He was a star (22-10 record) for the 1945 National League champion Cubs; his distinction: He was the last Cubs pitcher to throw a World Series pitch for 70 seasons. He pitched in three Series games, starting Game 2 and taking the loss. Three years later, his career in decline with arm and back problems, he was sent by the Cubs to the Shreveport Sports and -- around a short stay in Triple-A (Los Angeles, 1949) -- pitched in 69 games, starting 49 and working 392 regular-season innings. The Philadelphia Athletics, heading into owner Connie Mack's 50th and final year as manager, drafted Wyse from Shreveport and he was back in the big leagues for two more seasons (traded to Washington in '51). His MLB totals: 79-70 record, 3.52 ERA, 251 games (159 starts), eight saves. He was a Texas League Hall of Famer: a 20-game winner for Tulsa in 1941 (20-4) and 1942 (20-11, 281 innings), and after the Shreveport years, back with Beaumont in 1952 (17-15 record, 240 innings at age 34). A union electrician in the Tulsa area, he died (complications from a broken hip) Oct. 22, 2000, in Pryor, Okla., age 82.

    LESTER BURGE -- A slugging lefty-hitting first baseman-outfielder, he was in the Texas League as a player-manager in 1947 and '48 (Fort Worth, then Dallas) before coming to the Shreveport Sports just as a player (ninth-year pro) in 1949 and hitting .294 with 24 home runs and 22 doubles in 131 games. He started the 1950 season with the Sports, but after a .229 average and two homers in 61 games wound up with Class B Greensboro (Carolina). Early in his career, he hit 38 home runs for Atlanta (Southern Association) in 1941 and 28 for Montreal (International League) in 1942. Died March 1, 1996, in High Point, N.C., age 78.

     "SCHOOLBOY" ROWE -- At age 40, he pitched only a half-season for the 1950 Shreveport Sports -- at least a decade past his finest years as a star right-hander for the two-time American League champion Detroit Tigers (1934-35), the World Series champs the second year. Lynwood Thomas (given name) was one of the "big names" to play in Shreveport, and even though he was at the end of an outstanding career, he was effective: 8-3 record and 1.59 ERA in 13 starts and 96 innings. He moved on to San Diego (Pacific Coast League) that season, then pitched one final year in 1951 as player-manager for Class A Williamsport (Eastern League),  He grew up in El Dorado, Ark., began his pro career in the Texas League (Beaumont, 1932, 19-7 record) and was with Detroit from 1933 to '42, and around a couple of other stops (and U.S. Navy service in 1944-45), the Philadelphia Phillies from 1943-49. In his second MLB season, he set an AL record with 16 consecutive wins en route to a 24-8 record (that was the year Dizzy Dean won 30 for the St. Louis Cardinals in the National League). In '35-'36, his records were 19-13 and 19-10 and, after arm troubles and a few down years, he was 16-3 for the 1940 AL champion Tigers. His overall MLB record was 158-101, with a 3.87 ERA, 382 games (278 starts), 2,219⅓ innings, 12 saves. He pitched in three World Series, eight games (six starts), with a 2-5 record (four complete games) and 46 innings. He could hit, too; in the majors, he hit 18 home runs and drove in 153 runs. He was a minor-league manager for three seasons (1951-52, '58) and the Tigers pitching coach for two years, then a baseball scout. Died (heart attack) Jan. 8, 1961, in El Dorado, Ark., age 50.

     BILL HENRY -- A tall left-handed pitcher from Pasadena, Texas, the first University of Houston baseball player to make it to the major leagues, he had 16 MLB seasons (1952-69), mostly as a reliever. But the quiet man nicknamed "Gabby" was with the Shreveport Sports for one start (a seven-inning win) in 1950, then a full season in 1951 (12-15 record, 4.44 ERA, 42 games, 33 starts and 229 innings). He made his MLB debut with the Red Sox in 1952, was a starter for them his first four years, then after military service, started only two more games the rest of his career. He was with six teams, winding up for a short time with the 1969 Astros. His most significant years were with the Cincinnati Reds (1960-65), helping them to the 1961 National League pennant and he pitched in the World Series against the Yankees (two games, 2⅓ innings). His MLB totals: 46-50 record, 3.26 ERA, 527 games (44 starts), 90 saves, 913 innings. A longshoreman in the Houston shipyards, he died (heart problems) April 11, 2014, in Round Rock, Texas, age 86.

     BOBO HOLLOMAN -- A right-handed pitcher from Georgia, his given name Alva Lee, he was with Shreveport for only a half-season (1950), his fifth pro season) and had a 6-5 record and 3.72 ERA in 87 innings, 18 games (13 starts). Three years later, he made the St. Louis Browns and, after four relief outings, became the first 20th century major leaguer to pitch a no-hitter in his first start (vs. the Philadelphia Athletics). His Browns' record, in his only MLB season, otherwise was unremarkable: 3-7 record, 5.23 ERA, 22 games, 10 starts, 65⅓ innings. He was with five minor-league teams in 1954, his last pro season. Ran an advertising agency and was a baseball scout. Died May 1, 1987, in Athens, Ga., age 64.

      HARRY ELLIOTT -- A stout outfielder (5-9, 175), he had a big season for the 1952 Texas League playoff champion Sports -- a league-high 204 hits (24 more than anyone else) in 164 regular-season games, 48 doubles, six triples, seven home runs, .321 batting average. He first played in Shreveport at the end of the 1951 season, six games in which he hit .429 (9-for-21), after batting a robust .391 with 23 home runs for Alexandria (Evangeline League). His season in Shreveport led to the St. Louis Cardinals purchasing his contract, and he had two stays in the major leagues -- 24 games (.254 average) in 1953 and all season in 1955 (68 games, .250). He hit two home runs and drove in 18 runs. He was back in the Texas League for most of 1953, hitting .328 for Houston, and again in 1957 with San Antonio. His career ended in 1958. He grew up in Watertown, Kansas, where he was a three-sport athlete and an All-Big Ten baseball at the University of Minnesota in 1949. As a minor leaguer, he batted .326 in seven seasons. Throughout his baseball career, he also was a professional piano player. He taught and coached at El Cajon, Calif., Valley High School for 27 years, retired for 30 years in Yuma, Ariz., died Aug. 9, 2013, in Little River, Kansas, age 89.

        CLIFF COGGIN -- A standout wide receiver at Mississippi Southern in 1949, drafted by an NFL team, he also was right-handed pitcher in pro baseball and as a rookie had a 21-5 record for the 1950 Monroe, La., Sports (Cotton States League). That earned him a promotion to the 1951 Shreveport Sports and he pitched in 43 games (31 starts) for 256 innings and a 12-18 record. He stayed in baseball through 1959, reaching Triple-A for three seasons but mostly in Double-A.

       JOE BUDNY -- A right-handed pitcher, his eight-year pro career included two seasons in Shreveport, and in 1952, his 15 wins (nine losses) was second on the team to Jim Willis' 16. For that Sports team, which won the Texas League playoff title, he pitched in 30 games, with 20 starts, and his 183 regular-season innings was two more than he worked for Shreveport the year before when he had a 6-10 record. His career ended after a year in Triple-A in 1953. It began with five years in Texas -- three (1946-48) at Class C Amarillo (21-10 record in '48) and two at Class B Texarkana in which he was a combined 33-9. Died Aug. 10, 1996, in Rochester, N.Y., age 70.

    

     GALE PRINGLE -- A native of Hollis, Okla. -- hometown of University of Texas football coaching legend Darrell Royal -- and an early 1940s University of Oklahoma pitcher, Pringle's 17-year minor-league career included parts of four seasons (1950-51, 1955-56) with the Shreveport Sports. His only substantial Sports season was 1950: 6-15 record, 36 games (18 starts), 142 innings. But in 1955-56, he had a combined 5-7 record in 55 games (nine starts) and 224 innings, and some clutch 1955 playoff outings. He pitched four years for Tyler (1951-54, Big State League), with records of 20-10, 17-9 and 21-9 the last three seasons; in 1954, he pitched a perfect game (his manager in Tyler that season was ex-Sports player/manager Salty Parker). His last five seasons (1956-60) were with Amarillo, the last two in the Texas League. He was a  player-manager in parts of two seasons, at Tyler in 1951 and Amarillo in 1958. He worked for Ralph’s Club supermarket chain in Los Angeles until retiring in 1984. Died March 28, 2012, in Amarillo, Texas, age 90.

    ARNIE ATKINS -- A right-handed pitcher who was a good-luck charm for  Shreveport -- all three seasons he pitched for the Sports (1952, 1954, 1955), they won Texas League championships, either in the playoffs or regular season. He had decent numbers the first two seasons (4-3 and 10-9 records), then was their big winner in '55 (22-8 record, 3.22 ERA, 35 games (all starts, except one), 17 complete games and 254 innings, and the Game 1 starter in the TL title series. His Sports regular-season totals: 36-20 record, 73 games (67 starts), 510 innings. An Iowa native who eventually settled in Alabama, a U.S. Marine in World War II, he spent seven seasons in the lower minors before Shreveport. After his Sports years, he was in Class AAA for most of the next three seasons, winding up back in the TL (with Victoria, the ex-Sports) in 1958 for two games (0-2 record). Died (long illness) July 22, 2010, in Ashford, Ala., age 86.

         

     FRED BACZEWSKI -- A major leaguer in 1953-55 (17-10 record, 63 games, 40 starts), the left-handed pitcher was with the Shreveport Sports three separate times: seven games near the end of the 1948 season, all of 1949, much of the 1952 and '57 seasons. His strong showing in 1949 -- 7-5 record and 149 innings in 38 games (18 starts) -- led to the sale of his contract to the Chicago Cubs, and was a good example of how Bonneau Peters operated the Shreveport franchise. The sale was for $30,000, a substantial amount in those days. He made the Cubs' roster to start the 1953 season  and was soon traded to Cincinnati. He was one of the Reds' top pitchers that year -- 11-4 record, 3.64 ERA, 24 games (18 starts) and 138⅓ innings -- and a starter most of 1954 but not as effective. After only one appearance in 1955, he was out of the majors for good, and by 1957 a starter most of the season for the Sports (11-13 record, 4.1 6 ERA, 173 innings in 30 games, 25 starts, 10 complete games, four shutouts). He stayed in baseball another four seasons, one in Houston (1958, Texas League) and one in Dallas (1959, American Association). A foreman for ARCO for 15 years, he died (lung cancer) Nov. 14, 1976, in Culver City, Calif., age 50.

     BUDDY LIVELY -- A right-hander, he pitched for Shreveport in 1952 and 1953, already having been a major-league pitcher (1947-49 with Cincinnati). For the '52 Texas League-playoff winning Sports, he was in 32 regular-season games, with 28 starts and a 13-12 record, 3.25 ERA in 215 innings. He was not as effective in 1953 (4-8, 3.79 ERA, 20 games, 13 starts) and moved on to Jacksonville (Sally League). After serving with the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II, he resumed his baseball career (he first signed in 1942), and was with the Redlegs for full seasons in 1947 and 1949, and a bit in 1948 (when he went 15-4 for Tulsa in the Texas League). His MLB totals were 8-13 record, 4.16 ERA, 79 games (27 starts), 249 innings, one save. After shoulder surgery in '49, he never returned to the majors, pitching through the 1955 season. His given name was Everett Adrian Lively. Known as Buddy, he also was nicknamed "Red" and he grew up in rural Alabama, the son of 1911 Detroit Tigers pitcher Jack Lively. From 1960 to 1984, he worked in the procurement office for NASA in Huntsville, Ala. Died July 12, 2015, in Huntsville, age 90.

      VINICIO "CHICO" GARCIA -- A baseball hero and Hall of Famer in his native Mexico, the little (5-8, 170) second baseman was a popular Shreveport Sports player for four seasons, a key factor in their 1952 Texas League championship and even better the next season. Shreveport was his first U.S. stop, starting in 1950. A light hitter at first, he rose to .277 in the regular season in 1952 (158 games, 162 hits, 20 doubles, seven triples, two home runs), then improved to .304 in '53 (155 games, a league-best 183 hits, 34 doubles, 51 RBI). The first-year Baltimore Orioles took him from Shreveport as a Rule 5 draft pick, and he was a reserve for them in '54, his only major-league season (39 games, .113, two triples among his seven hits, five RBI). He played in Triple-A the next five seasons, then returned to Mexico for the last 11 years of his playing career (six in Monterrey, four in Veracruz) and also was a manager from 1966 to 1984. He won four minor-league batting titles and managed four championship teams. Died Aug. 17, 2007, in Monterrey, age 82.   

     HUGH SOOTER -- A solid right-handed pitcher (5-9, 174 pounds) who was a durable Texas League starter (227 times) for six consecutive seasons (Shreveport 1950-53, Houston 1954-55) and also spent time with the Sports in 1948 and '49. About half of his nine-year career was in Shreveport, and while he was never a big winner (regular-season records of 15-13, 13-12, 15-15 in his best Sports seasons, and 14-13 and 11-14 for Houston), he was a workhorse. He pitched in 181 regular-season games for Shreveport, 114 starts, with a 52-58 record. The youngest of three brother  from Laurel, Wash., who were high school teammates and all minor-league pitchers, he began his pro baseball career with a 22-7 record in leading Alexandria, La., to the Class D Evangeline League championship in 1947. (Later in life, he became an Alexandria resident). He was a star for Houston at the end of his career, helping the Buffs win the TL playoff title in 1954 (Shreveport won the regular-season title), winning one game in the Dixie Series vs. Atlanta and losing the decisive Game 7. In 1955, he pitched a seven-inning no-hitter. Died Oct. 8, 2000, in Alexandria, La., age 73.

    JOE SZEKELY -- A left fielder and sometimes third baseman, who came from Cleveland to play at Baylor University, an Army veteran of World War II, he had two productive seasons for the Shreveport Sports -- 1952 (batted .301 with 11 home runs in 161 regular-season games) and 1953 (.273, 20 homers, 83 RBI in 151 games). That '53 season earned him a shot in the big leagues -- five games with the Cincinnati Reds in which he went 1-for-13 (the hit was a single off Warren Spahn). His career had begun in 1949-51, three seasons with Texarkana (Class B Big State League) in which he batted .353, .326 and .362. He first came to the Sports for four games in 1951. He was back in the Texas League with Tulsa in 1954 (.261, 16 home runs, 72 RBI); that was his final season. Sales manager of the first cable company in Paris, Texas, for 12 years, then a sales representative for Share Corp. who retired in 1987, died Oct. 16, 1995, in Paris, age 70.

 MAX LANIER -- One of the biggest stars to play in Shreveport, the longtime St. Louis Cardinals' left-handed pitcher was 37 when he joined the Sports in mid-summer 1953. He pitched in 14 games for them, starting 11, and had a 4-3 record and 3.63 ERA in 67 innings. Earlier that year his 14-year major-league career ended (released by the New York Giants, then the St. Louis Browns). He was with the Cardinals from 1938 to 1951, a starter in 203 games, and his MLB record was 108-62, with a 3.01 ERA and 17 saves. His best seasons were 1942-44 (records of 13-8, 15-7, 17-12) in which the Cardinals were National League champs each year and won the World Series in 1942 and 1944 (he pitched the clincher in '44). His 1.90 ERA was best in the NL in 1943. After Shreveport, he was in the Texas League again in 1954 at Beaumont, his final season. He was a minor-league manager for 11 years (1961-72) and his son Hal was a major-league infielder and manager. Died Jan. 30, 2007, in Dunnellon, Fla., age 91.

     JOHN JONES -- He was the Sports' regular first baseman in 1953, a .249 hitter in 130 games. A left-handed thrower and batter, he played for the Monroe Sports -- Shreveport's farm team in Class C -- in 1951 and 1952, hitting .329 the second year, and came to Shreveport for two games in 1952. He played only three more seasons after 1953, never above Double-A.

     LES LAYTON -- Out of the University of Oklahoma and a World War II Navy veteran, he was an  outfielder who was 31 and in his 10th pro season when he played for the Sports in 1953 (141 games, 18 doubles, 22 home runs, 69 RBI, .233 batting average). He hit a home run on his first at-at in his only major-league stint, in 1948 with the New York Giants (63 games, .231, two homers, 12 RBI). He played four years (1944-47) in Jersey City, and three years with Los Angeles in the Pacific Coast League before Shreveport, and played only one more season after 1953, as player-manager for a time at Class A Wichita. A production engineering at Boeing for 18 years, he died March 1, 2014, in Scottsdale, Ariz., age 92.

     GRANT DUNLAP -- The outfielder from California was with the Shreveport Sports for two productive seasons. He barely missed the Texas League batting championship in 1951 (at .324, he was .0004 behind Bob Nieman), then won it in 1952 with a .333 average for the eventual TL playoff champions, and also led the team with 14 home runs. In 1953, "Snap" made his only major-league stop -- for 16 games with the 1953 St. Louis Cardinals (he hit .353, 6-for-17, with one home run and three RBI). He spent nine seasons in the TL -- Oklahoma City for parts or all of 1947-50, Dallas in 1950, Houston in 1953 and Tulsa in 1954-55. His baseball career began in 1941; during World War II, he was a Marine Corps officer in the South Pacific and China. After baseball, he returned to his alma mater, Occidental College, as a professor and a legendary coach -- 16 years in basketball, 30 in baseball and six years as athletic director. He wrote a novel, Kill the Umpire, based on his Texas League experiences. Died Sept. 10, 2014, in Vista, Calif., age 90.

    JOE KOPPE -- "The Animal" was the Sports' shortstop for four seasons (1952-55) -- three of those Texas League championship years and twice (1952, 1955) led the league in runs. He was known for his strong arm and defensive ability, and improved as a hitter each of those seasons. He went on to play all or parts of eight seasons in the major leagues. Born Joseph Kopchia in Detroit, he was 21 when he came to Shreveport in his fourth pro season. In 1955, he hit .274 with 15 home runs and 70 RBI for the Sports, and his four-year regular-season totals with them were 580 games and a .242 average. The Sports sold him to the Milwaukee Braves' organization and he made his MLB debut with them, 16 games in 1958. Traded, he spent the full season with the Phillies in 1959 (hit .261), then parts of 1960 and '61, and he was traded twice and sold once in a six-week period in 1961, ending up with the expansion Los Angeles Angels. He was with them for five years; he was their No. 1 shortstop in '61 and '62, then a reserve behind future All-Star Jim Fregosi. Koppe's final season in pro ball was 1965; his MLB totals: 578 games, .236, 19 homers, 141 RBI. Died Sept. 27, 2006, in Detroit, age 75.

JIM ACKERET -- He was the Shreveport Sports' dependable everyday third baseman for six seasons (1952-57), averaging 154.5 regular-season games per year, and was part of three Texas League championship teams. He was a tough team leader who was interim manager for five games in 1955. Although an erratic fielder and mostly a doubles hitter, he batted .252 in seven Double-A seasons (went with the franchise when it moved to Victoria, Texas, in 1958); his best year for the Sports was .280 in 1953. A star player at the University of Wisconsin in 1945, he signed that year with the Philadelphia Phillies' organization. He made Triple-A (Toronto) for a brief time, 30 games in 1948, and was in his eighth pro season when he came to Shreveport. His final season was 1958 when he was traded from Victoria to Austin in the Texas League. He worked for Small Tube Products in Hollidaysburg, Pa., died there Sept. 14, 2017, age 92.

 BOB SMITH -- The left-handed pitcher came to the Sports in 1954 at age 24 in his fifth pro season after two years in the military and he had a big season for the Texas League regular-season champions -- a 13-5 record and league-best 2.89 ERA, 33 games (29 starts), 10 complete games and 212 innings. He was second on the team in starts and wins behind John Andre. It earned him a shot at the big leagues, starting with the Red Sox in 1955. He was in the majors for parts of four seasons with four teams (his only full season was 1958 with the Pirates) and his totals were 4-9 record, 4.05 ERA, 91 games (eight starts) and 166⅔ innings. A purchasing agent for Georgia Pacific, he died April 1, 2013, in Augusta, Ga., age 83.

    HARRY "BUD" HESLET -- Big and powerful, he was a league home-run champion in five of his 14 minor-league seasons, including 2½ seasons for the Shreveport Sports (1953-55). He led the Texas League in home runs (31) for San Antonio in 1952, then led it again for the Sports in 1953 with 41. The next year he had 31 homers and 100 RBI as Shreveport won the TL regular-season title. He batted .265 and .263 in those Sports seasons. Signed by the New York Yankees while in high school, he played in their system for eight seasons (interrupted by military service during World War II). A catcher at first and then an outfielder considered a defensive liability, never a major leaguer (he was in Triple-A four years in a row, 1948-51), he was always a threat for the long ball (314 career homers). In 1955, his numbers were unimpressive for Shreveport and Sacramento (Pacific Coast League), but his final season, 1956, for Visalia in the Class A California League was a whopper -- .334 average, 51 homers, 172 RBI. Then he quit the game, choosing family life over baseball. He worked for the fire department in Visalia, Calif., for 19 years, then was a supervisor in a training center for the handicapped until retiring in 1990. Died April 21, 2012, in Langley, Wash., age 92.

    
 KNOWLES PIERCEY -- A left-handed pitcher, mostly a reliever, who joined the Shreveport Sports in 1953 in his 11th season as a pro, and was with them for two full seasons. He had records of 7-4 and 9-4, pitching in 82 regular-season games (only four starts) and 167 innings. He stayed in the Texas League for bits with Houston in 1955-56, then back with the Sports in 1957 for four games (0-1 record), although most of that season -- his last one -- was with Amarillo (Western League).  Manager of display advertising for Phoenix newspapers. Died (congestive heart failure) Aug. 17, 1990, in Phoenix, age 66.

      FRED MARTIN -- He was the Shreveport Sports' remarkable "old man," even at ages 38 through 41 a durable and effective right-handed relief pitcher from 1953 to 1956. His records in those years 4-13, 9-3, 4-3, 9-6 -- 26-25 overall -- and he worked in 187 regular-season games, 64 in 1956. He pitched for three more seasons after that, the last of a 25-year career that began in 1935 and included 618 minor-league regular-season games. He pitched in the majors for only three seasons (12-3 record for the St. Louis Cardinals, 1946, 1949-50). Notably, in 1946 after his MLB debut at age 31, he jumped to the "outlaw" Mexican League for a substantial pay increase. That meant banishment from the majors until reinstatement in 1949 when he starred for the Cardinals (6-0 record, 2.44 ERA in 70 innings). After Shreveport, he pitched through 1960, even as a manager in Dallas in 1958-59, and was manager of Houston's last minor-league team in 1961. He stayed in the game another two decades as a scout, and minor-league and noted major-league pitching coach, teacher of the split-finger fastball. His prize pupil -- with the Chicago Cubs -- was future Hall of Famer Bruce Sutter. In 1979, he briefly was pitching coach of the Chicago White Sox under first-year manager Donnie Kessinger, but died of cancer in Chicago that June (11) at age 63.

    ED MICKELSON -- The rangy (6-3, 205) right-handed first baseman played 11 years of pro baseball, and his best season was 1954 in Shreveport. By then, he was an eighth-year pro and had been to the big leagues briefly twice, in St. Louis -- in 1950 for his original organization, the Cardinals (he grew up in Missouri), and in 1953 for the Browns. He also had an uneventful stop with the Chicago Cubs in 1957, his final season. As the Sports won the 1954 Texas League regular-season title, he batted .335 with 192 hits and  and drove in 139 runs in 150 games, with 43 doubles, 11 triples and 12 homers. He has a chapter on that season titled "Gaedke's Gardens" in his book Out of the Park, a memoir of his baseball career. His one distinction in the majors was that at the end of the 1953 season, he drove in the last run in Browns' history (they became the Baltimore Orioles the next year). He was a .316 hitter in minor-league play.

     PIDGE BROWNE -- His given name was Prentice Almont; he was Pidge to everyone. Most of his baseball career was tied to Houston, including his only major-league experience, at age 33 for the first 3½ months of the Houston Colt 45s' first season (1962). But the left-handed first baseman-outfielder had one big season in Shreveport, leading the Texas League in home runs (33) and batting .304, with 40 doubles, six triples and 133 RBI, in 152 regular-season games for the eventual TL playoff champs and Dixie Series runner-up. Signed in 1949, he spent much of his career in the St. Louis Cardinals' organization, four years with the Houston Buffalos (1956-57 in Double-A, 1959 and 1961 in Triple-A). He hit 130 home runs in 13 minor-league seasons (29 for Houston in '56, the year Ken Guettler hit 62 for the Sports). With the Colts, he was in 65 games -- most as a starter -- and hit .210, with one home run and 10 RBI. Sent to Triple-A Oklahoma City in July, he retired as a player after that season. Died June 3, 1997, in Houston, age 68.

     LES FLEMING -- He was a lefty-hitting first baseman in Shreveport in 1955, at age 39, who 16 years earlier had made his major-league debut and the year before (1954) was player-manager for two Texas League teams (Dallas and Beaumont). For the TL playoff champion Sports in 1955, he played in 139 regular-season games and hit .303 with 25 doubles, 21 home runs and 72 RBI; it was the 19th season (and last full one) of his career. In the majors, he was with Detroit in 1939, Cleveland in 1941-42 and 1945-47 and Pittsburgh in 1949. He had a remarkable season for Nashville (Southern Association) in 1941 -- a league-record .414 average with 29 home runs, 34 doubles and 103 RBI in 106 games. The next year with the Indians, 1942, was his best in the majors: 156 games, 14 homers, 82 RBI, .292 average. His MLB totals: .277, 29 homers,199 RBI. He was in the Texas League for seven seasons (Beaumont 1937-38, then several teams 1952-56). Died March 5, 1980, in Cleveland, Texas, age 64.

    BILLY MUFFETT -- A major-league pitcher in six seasons and pitching coach for 18 years -- including the 1967 World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals -- he made Texas League history in 1955. He pitched the TL's first playoff no-hitter, the Shreveport Sports' first-round series clinching game against San Antonio. The right-hander from Fort Worth pitched in 60 games (34 starts) in two seasons (1954-55) for the Sports, with regular-season records of 5-11 and 10-4. Then he  signed with the Cardinals' organization and was a Sports' opponent in the TL in 1956 and '57 when he had 14-10 and 14-6 record for Houston. He made his MLB debut in '57 with the Cardinals and eventually was with three teams, but his only one full season was 1961 with the Red Sox. His totals: 16-23 record, 15 saves, 4.33 ERA, 125 games (32 starts), 376⅓ innings. In 1962, one start (four innings) for Boston was his last major-league appearance; he pitched four more years in Triple-A and, in 1965, finished with eight games, 15 innings of relief, back in the Texas League at Tulsa. That ended a 14-year minor-league career; near the beginning, in 1950 and 1951 seasons, he pitched for the Class C Monroe Sports (a Shreveport farm team), and was 22-9 for their league champions in '51. He made his longtime residence in Epps, near Monroe. Died June 15, 2008, in Monroe, age 77.

     JOHN ANDRE -- He was a lanky right-hander (6-foot-4, 200 pounds), thus the nickname "Long John," and he was a Shreveport pitcher for three years (1953-55), including a sensational 1954 season. From Brockton, Mass., a boyhood friend of future heavyweight boxing champion Rocky Marciano and then a World War II service veteran injured during the attack on Pearl Harbor, his baseball career began in 1946 (New York Giants' signee). He toiled in minors for seven seasons and a 25-14 record for Austin (Big State League) in 1952 set up his being signed by Shreveport. In 1954, as the Sports won the regular-season Texas League championship, he was the league "Pitcher of the Year" with a 21-9 record and 3.05 ERA in 266 innings. He made 33 starts and had 16 complete games, with two relief outings. His contract was sold to the Chicago Cubs during that season, and it was the next year when the Cubs brought him to the big leagues, at age 32. In 22 games for them (three starts), he was 0-1 with a 5.80 ERA in 45 innings, then he went back to Shreveport, where he was 4-4, 2.41 ERA, in 17 games (10 starts) the rest of '55. In 1956, he was with three teams (including Tulsa in the TL) and arm problems ended his career at age 33. Worked at restaurant in Hyannis, Mass., died (after a long illness) Nov. 25, 1976, in Centerville, Mass., age 53.

    JOHN RAY LEE -- A lanky right-hander, the best pitcher and also a good lefty hitter at Marshall (Texas) High in the early 1950s, then for four years at Centenary College (1952-55), he was signed by the Shreveport Sports (along with Centenary teammate Wayne Thrash) in '55. In 1955-56, he was a frontline pitcher for the Alexandria Aces (Evangeline League), with a 10-10 record in those seasons, and earned a promotion to the Sports. In '56, he was 2-3, 4.17 ERA, in 10 games (five starts) and 41 innings for Shreveport, then 0-2 in eight games in 1957 before he was drafted into military service. Did not return to baseball afterward. Minor-league totals: 12-15 record, 59 games (21 starts), 242 innings.

     BILL TREMEL -- The right-hander from Lilly, Pa. -- Cambria County -- was in the majors as a reliever for the Chicago Cubs in the mid-1950s and pitched for the Shreveport Sports in all or parts of seven years in the decade. Mostly a reliever, his Sports regular-season totals were 237 games (32 starts), 566 innings, a 33-28 record. Nicknamed "Mumbles," he was first with the Sports in 1951, his third pro season, was one of the stars of the 1952 Texas League playoff champions with a 10-2 record and the next year he was 7-4 and appeared in 60 games (only one start). He began the 1954 season with Shreveport until the Cubs purchased his contract -- and those of John Andre and Billy Muffett -- in June. Tremel went to the majors and in 1954-55 had a 4-2 record and 4.05 ERA in 57 games, 91 innings for the Cubs, but was back in Shreveport for much of the 1955 season. In April 1956, he was in one game (three innings) for the Cubs, then returned to the Texas League with Tulsa. After working 61 games with the Sports in 1957, went with the franchise to Victoria for 1958. Then in the final season of his 11-year career, he pitched 15 games back in Shreveport when it joined the Southern Association. A machine operator for SFK for 30 years through 1991, he died Dec. 22, 2013, in Hollidaysburg, Pa., age 84.

      KEN GUETTLER, OF, 1956 -- See chapter 1.

     RAY YOCHIM -- The right-handed pitcher from New Orleans (S.J. Peters High School) was 33 and a baseball veteran -- briefly a major leaguer -- when he came to the Shreveport Sports for a short time (11 outings, five starts) in the 1956 season. He had a 2-1 record and 5.80 ERA in 45 innings for the Sports. Signed by the St. Louis Cardinals in 1941, he was in their system for a decade -- around time pitching for the U.S. Marines' team in World War II -- and was with the Cardinals for four games and 3⅓ innings in 1948-49. He bounced around the minors in the 1950s, finishing at home in New Orleans (Southern Association) for seven outings in 1958 when for a time he also was the team manager. His younger brother Lenny, a left-handed pitcher, made the big leagues briefly with the Pittsburgh Pirates, then for three decades scouted for them -- well-known in Louisiana and elsewhere -- and worked in their front office. Died (long illness) Jan. 26, 2002, in Metairie, La., age 79.

     JACK "RED" HOLLIS -- His 11-year minor league career ended as Shreveport second baseman in 1955 and 1956. In those Sports' seasons, he played 157 and 146 regular-season games and batted .255 and .248, with 28 and 23 doubles, three triples and seven home runs each year, and 63 and 49 RBI. He played in Triple-A for three years (Los Angeles, Pacific Coast League, 1951-53) and first came to the Texas League with Beaumont in 1954. He was involved in pro baseball into the 2010s as the longtime corporate relations representative and goodwill ambassador for the Triple-A Iowa Oaks/Cubs, and they had a bobblehead night in his honor in 2014.

Ex-Sports second baseman Jack “Red” Hollis, affiliated
with the Iowa Oaks’ franchise, with Tony Gwynn, 2008

    RAY KNOBLAUCH -- In time he would be best known as a Texas baseball coaching legend at Bellaire High School in the Houston area and as the father of major-league second base star Chuck Knoblauch. For two-plus seasons (1955-57), he was a dependable, durable right-handed pitcher for Shreveport. In his sixth pro season, he came to the Sports in 1955 and in the regular season for the eventual Texas League playoff champs, he pitched in 38 games (33 starts), 231 innings and 10 complete games, with a 13-16 record and a fine  2.81 ERA. He wasn't quite as effective in 1956 -- 9-15, 4.74, 37 games (30 starts), 207 innings -- and was only in four games for the Sports in 1957, then going to Tulsa the rest of the season to end his career. He began coaching at Bellaire in 1961; in 25 years, his teams' record was 598-225, with four state championships and three second-place finishes. Died (Alzheimer’s) March 18, 2002, in Houston, age 71.

     BILL MILLER -- A left-hander who pitched for the New York Yankees' World Series champions in 1952 and 1953 (although not in the Series) and their 104-win team in 1954, he was with the Shreveport Sports in his last pro season, 1956. He had a 5-7 record and 4.13 ERA in 20 games (13 starts) and 85 innings. That included four complete games and three shutouts. After the 1954 season, he was part of the historic 17-man trade with the Baltimore Orioles that brought Don Larsen and Bob Turley to the Yankees. Miller's MLB totals (including a short stay with the Orioles in '55): 6-9 record, 4.24 ERA, 41 games (18 starts), 131 2/3 innings. Died July 1, 2003, in Lilitz, Pa., age 75.

       BILL ANTONELLO -- The outfielder and occasional third baseman was a Brooklyn native whose only major-league stop was 40 games in 1953 with his hometown Dodgers (.163, one home run, four RBI) and whose 12-year baseball career ended in Shreveport in 1957. He played 86 games for the Sports, batting .224 with 20 doubles, eight home runs and 39 RBI. Much of his career, which began after Navy service during World War II, was in Triple-A ball (including Toronto for a short time in '57), but the last two years were mostly in the Texas League -- Oklahoma City in 1956 (.287 in 117 games). A steamfitter on the Alaskan pipeline and in St. Paul, Minn., he died March 4, 1993, in Fridley, Minn., age 65.

      DALE COOGAN -- He was the Shreveport Sports' first baseman in 1956 and 1957, a left-hander with a potent bat. In his fourth pro season, he had been a major leaguer -- for 53 games in 1950 with the Pittsburgh Pirates, batting .240, with one home run (off Ralph Branca) and 13 RBI. For the Sports, he playing 153 games in '56 and hit .301 with 33 doubles, six triples, seven home runs and 70 RBI; the next year, his numbers were 151 games, .264, 34 doubles, eight homers, 61 RBI. He went with the team went it moved to Victoria in 1958 and hit a robust .338 in 47 games (one homer, 23 RBI) and left the game. He earned three degrees, including a doctorate from Southern Cal, was a public elementary school superintendent in Ocean View, Calif., when he died of cancer March 8, 1989 (in Mission Viejo), age 58.

     DAVE NEWKIRK -- He was a promising young right-handed pitcher, an Oklahoman who signed a pro contract as he was graduating high school and started his career at Augusta, Kansas, in 1950. He was in the Air Force for four years (1952-55) and pitched for service teams, then came to the Shreveport Sports in 1956 and worked in 33 games (24 starts) for  a 12-7 record and 3.34 ERA in 167 innings. In 1957, he worked 239 innings in 37 games (34 starts) with an 11-14 record and 4.76 ERA. His career was interrupted when he was hit by a car, crushing his left leg and leaving him with a limp. Joining the Kansas City Athletics' organization, he spent the 1958 season in Triple-A (Buffalo, International League) and was back in Shreveport -- by now a Kansas City farm team -- for most of the 1959 season (3-10 record, 5.06 ERA, 20 games, 16 starts, 96 innings). Injured, his pro career ended with that season, but he caught and played outfield in semipro ball for many years afterward in Kansas. An oilfield maintenance supervisor in the Oklahoma City area, he died Aug. 16, 2005, in Yukon, Okla., age 74.
  

     JIM GRIMM -- The left-handed pitcher, who also occasionally played in the outfield, was 22 in his only season for Shreveport, 1957, and he was the team's top winner (15) and loser (16). He appeared in 45 games, starting 26, and pitched 10 complete games and 206 innings. That was his fourth pro season and, after two years in the military, he pitched only sparingly in two more season, including a short stay in Triple-A. Died Feb. 15, 2005, in New Martinsville, W. Va., age 69.

     CHARLES BOGAN -- A left-hander out of the University of Arkansas, he first pitched for the Sports in 1956 (2-4 record in 18 games, three starts) and 1957 (0-1, seven appearances) when he spent most of the season in the Class B Southwestern League. After two years in the military, he came back to Shreveport as a reliever in 1960 and '61 in the Kansas City Athletics' organization, working 94 games and 146⅓ innings with records of 3-1 and 4-4. But that was the end of his career.

     RINTY MONAHAN -- A right-hander who pitched in four games (10⅔ innings) for the 1953 Philadelphia Athletics, his seven-year pro career ended with the Shreveport Sports in 1957. That was his return to baseball after two years in the military. For those Sports, he was 7-10 with a 4.33 ERA in 27 games (22 starts) and 131 innings. Died July 27, 2003, in Brooklyn, N.Y., age 75.

       ED RICHARDSON -- Shreveport's second baseman in 1957, he was a .261 hitter in 135 games, with 22 doubles, nine home runs and 37 RBI. He came to the Sports for seven games (5-for-20) in 1956, after the bulk of the season at Alexandria, La. (Evangeline League), where he batted .319. He moved with the Sports to Victoria, Texas, for the 1958 season (batted .283) and a short time in 1959, and also played in Triple-A (St. Paul) for 53 games that season. He came to Shreveport as a visiting player for Little Rock (Southern Association) in 1960-61, batted .265 and .244, and then left the game.

 BILL PARSONS -- A left-handed hitting outfielder, he was a Shreveport Sports' regular in 1956 (129 games, .257 average) and 1957 (144 games, .270, nine home runs, 74 RBI). That was after two years of military service. He first was with the Sports for seven games in 1953, after spending most of that season with their farm team, the Monroe Sports. From 1958 to 1961, he spent portions of each season with Victoria, Texas -- where the Shreveport franchise moved in '58 -- around a taste of Triple-A (Spokane) and the Southern Association (Chattanooga) and time in the Mexican League.

NOTE: Players from this era who made Shreveport their permanent home -- Clarence "Bill" Gann (RHP, 1946-47), Bobby Wilkins (SS, 1949-52), Al Mazur (2B, 1946-49), Everett Joyner (OF, 1954-56), J.W. Jones (C, 1951-57)-- are listed in chapter 25, "They played and stayed."