The eighth AFL season saw the Greenville
Lions dominate the league from begininng to end. It also
marked a return to the original eight team format with original
franchise cities Andalusia and Enterprise returning. The
pennant race itself was never much of story.
Greenville surged ahead early, with Brewton a distant second,
and it stayed that way through the season. The Lions were
powered by the surperb pitching of Max Peterson and strong hitting
of Perry Roberts. Roberts had an incredible season, setting the
all-time AFL RBI record with 152, and the all time hits record
with 228. Roberts batted .389 for the season and hit 15
homers. Peterson went 27-12, with a 2.02 ERA and 299 strikeouts.
Offense was plentyful in the league as a whole. Over 30 batters
averaged .300 or better. Prior to 1947, only Tallassee’s
Ray Knowles came close to 200 hits (199). Both Perry Roberts
and McDonald Turner surpassed the 200 hit milestone, and three
other players had more than 180 hits. In fact, 4 of the top 10
all-time leaders in hits came from the 1947 season. The main
reason for this was the 140 game season, longer than most earlier
years. Managers were also using their heavy hitters as often
as possible: In 1947, 24 players had 500+ at bats, compared to
2 in 1946.
The Greenville Lions were in first place on July 1st which gave
them the right to host the annual all star contest, which the
Lions won easily, 10-0. Max Peterson pitched an 8-hit shutout
for the Lions against the best of the other seven teams. Peterson’s success continued
through the summer. His 27 wins drew the attention of the higher
leagues, and after a year in Utica, Peterson spent three season
with Toronto in the International League and made a few other
high minor stops in Columbus and San Antonio before calling it
a career. Perry Roberts moved on to the Florida State league
where he contnued to have great success, especially in Deland,
where in 1951 he batted .356 with 129 RBIs. Roberts also pitched
for Deland, going 15-2 with a 1.94 ERA.
In an August game between Dothan and Brewton, Brewton catcher
Leslie McGarrity also demonstrated how Class D ball could provide
baseball scenarios that the majors just couldn’t: McGarrity
was caught in a run down between third and home when he suddenly
yelled « Time out ». The umpire, caught up in the
moment, granted McGarrity time and McGarrity returned to third
base where he then called out, « Play ball ». A
10 minute heated arguement ensued and the umpire finally corrected
the play and called McGarrity out. In the playoffs,
Enterprise and Brewton gave Greenville a go, but the Lions ended
the season where they belonged, on top.
Manny
Russo is listed in the records as playing for Geneva.
According to Bernie Donner, Andalusia’s all star shortstop, Russo played in Andalusia in 1947. The
Arrows, known as such because of an Arrow shirt factory in town,
were originally listed as the Cubs when the Montgomery Advertiser
published the 1947 schedule. Whether the Cub name was ever official
or not is unknown.
Doyle Nunnally, Geneva’s star hitter, caught 23 games for
the Red Birds. Nunnally was one of the few left-handed catchers
in baseball.
ELSEWHERE IN 1947
Bill Serena hit 13 home runs in 10 playoff games while playing
for Lubbock in the West Texas-New Mexico League. Serena hit 57
homers in 137 games during the regular season, giving him 70
for the year
Hoyt Wilhelm of the Moorsville Moors of the North Carolina State
League posts 5 wins in the league playoffs.
Bill Martin of Montgomery in the Southeastern League, steals
9 bases in a double-header versus Selma.
| Greenville | 90 | 48 | .652 | ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brewton | 78 | 59 | .569 | 11.5 |
| Enterprise | 77 | 61 | .558 | 13 |
| Dothan | 69 | 70 | .496 | 21.5 |
| Andalusia | 67 | 71 | .486 | 23 |
| Ozark | 65 | 74 | .468 | 25.5 |
| Troy | 58 | 80 | .420 | 32 |
| Geneva | 49 | 90 | .353 | 41.5 |
1947 Season
Won
Lost
PCT
GB
| 1947 Shaugnnessey Playoffs |
|---|
| Greenville defeated Enterprise, 4 games to 3 |
| Brewton defeated Dothan, 4 games to 3 |
| Greenville defeated Brewton, 4 games to 3 |
| Team | Attendance | AVG * |
|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | 62,000 | 885 |
| Enterprise | 53,000 | 757 |
| Dothan | 50,000 | 714 |
| Ozark | 45,000 | 642 |
| Brewton | 42,000 | 600 |
| Greenville | 40,000 | 571 |
| Troy | 37,000 | 528 |
| Geneva | 35,000 | 500 |
| Totals: | ||
| Playoffs: | 33,000 | ** |
The average is based on 70 home games in a 140 game season.
Most teams didn’t play the full 140 games.
364,000
5200
| Team Fielding | G | DP | PB | PO | A | E | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | 138 | 101 | 14 | 3535 | 1394 | 297 | .943 |
| Dothan | 139 | 83 | 34 | 3690 | 1571 | 327 | .941 |
| Andalusia | 138 | 77 | 23 | 3444 | 1159 | 297 | .939 |
| Brewton | 137 | 106 | 23 | 3491 | 1567 | 329 | .939 |
| Troy | 138 | 112 | 41 | 3517 | 1466 | 351 | .934 |
| Ozark | 139 | 100 | 33 | 3423 | 1654 | 368 | .932 |
| Geneva | 139 | 111 | 38 | 3409 | 1557 | 375 | .939 |
| Enterprise | 138 | 118 | 15 | 3556 | 1517 | 418 | .924 |
| Team Name | Managers | Batting Leader | Home Run Leader | RBI Leader | Wins Leader | Losses Leader | ERA Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Engle | Luther Brown .329 | Manny Russo 19 | Manny Russo 103 | Stan Strickler 16 | Stan Strickler 17 | Glenn Perdue 3.46 | |
| Norm Veazey | Norm Veazey .331 | Bill Turner 9 | Norm Veazey 102 | Joe Beaugez 21 | Wendell Stokes 11 | Henry Delay 2.88 | |
| Frank Martin / Woody Coombs / Emory Lindsey |
Frank Martin .344 | Frank Martin 19 | Frank Martin 133 | John Carter 23 | Marcus Davis / Joe Dominey 14 | John Carter 3.69 | |
| Jim Francoline / Francis Hecker | Doyle Nunally .337 | Clyde McAllister 16 | Clyde McAllister 77 | Claude Medlin 13 | Bill Patterson 12 | Francis Hecker 2.69 | |
| Sam Demma | Perry Roberts .389 | Perry Roberts / Bob Rucker 15 | Perry Roberts 152 | Max Peterson 27 | Max Peterson 12 | Max Peterson 2.02 | |
| Dolly Lambert | Andy Archipoli .346 | Andy Archipoli 24 | Andy Archipoli 124 | Dolly Lambert 16 | Spencer Davis 12 | Dolly Lambert 3.01 | |
| Team Offense | G | AB | R | H | TB | 2 | 3 | HR | SB | BB | RBI | SO | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | 138 | 4970 | 883 | 1454 | 2009 | 276 | 39 | 67 | 130 | 562 | 774 | 745 | .293 |
| Enterprise | 138 | 4864 | 905 | 1380 | 1911 | 214 | 94 | 42 | 244 | 599 | 700 | 688 | .284 |
| Ozark | 139 | 4887 | 840 | 1381 | 1905 | 251 | 42 | 63 | 134 | 549 | 744 | 723 | .283 |
| Troy | 138 | 4904 | 817 | 1371 | 1822 | 210 | 50 | 47 | 120 | 597 | 584 | 687 | .280 |
| Andalusia | 138 | 4774 | 795 | 1331 | 1866 | 215 | 55 | 70 | 119 | 604 | 667 | 699 | .279 |
| Dothan | 139 | 4927 | 808 | 1352 | 1858 | 247 | 59 | 47 | 130 | 554 | 678 | 612 | .274 |
| Brewton | 137 | 4937 | 755 | 1321 | 1783 | 206 | 62 | 44 | 115 | 511 | 624 | 573 | .268 |
| Geneva | 139 | 4923 | 597 | 1293 | 1755 | 194 | 35 | 66 | 94 | 375 | 456 | 647 | .263 |
| 1947 Hitting Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | Ben Catchings | Enterprise | 126 |
| Hits | Perry Roberts | Greenville | 228 |
| Doubles | Perry Roberts | Greenville | 49 |
| Triples | MacDonald Turner | Enterprise | 22 |
| Home Runs | Andy Archipoli | Ozark | 24 |
| Sacrifices | Percy Plyn | Troy | 22 |
| Bases On Balls | Jim Carlisle | Greenville | 116 |
| RBIs | Perry Roberts | Greenville | 152 |
| Stolen Bases | Ben Catchings | Enterprise | 52 |
| Strikeouts | Russ Gagnon | Geneva | 126 |
| Batting Average | Perry Roberts | Greenville | .389 |
| 1947 Pitching Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Joe Beauguez | Brewton | 51 |
| Innings | Max Peterson | Greenville | 299 |
| Wins | Max Peterson | Greenville | 27 |
| Loses | Stan Strickler | Andalsuia | 17 |
| Win Percentage | Jim Kerce | Greenville | .739 |
| Strikeouts | Max Peterson | Greenville | 266 |
| ERA | Max Peterson | Greenville | 2.02 |
| Runs | Marcus Davis | Dothan | 166 |
| Earned Runs | Stan Strickler | Andalusia | 150 |
| Bases On Balls | Dick Stenger | Troy | 122 |
| Hits | Marcus Davis | Dothan | 289 |
| Hit Batsmen | Pershing Flowers / Stan Strickler | Greenville / Andalusia | 13 |
| Wild Pitches | Henry Delay | Brewton | 22 |
The 1947 All Star Game
The league scheduled their
sixth All star game for July 10th. The game was
played in Greenville because the Lions lead the league
on July 1st, the day that the all star sight was to be determined.
As in 1946, the format was the league leader against everyone
else. Greenville was a dominant team and Max Peterson was clearly
the league’s best pitcher. He proved it by shutting out
the league’s best, winning 10-0. Greenville manager/catcher Sam
Demma went 4 for 4 with a double and homer, and a line drive
into all-star starter’s Henry Delay’s gut, which knocked him
out of the game.
| ALL STARS | TEAM | POS | GREENVILLE LIONS |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norm Veazey | Brewton | MGR | Sam Demma |
| Emory Lindsey | Dothan | C | Sam Demma |
| Bob Engle | Andalusia | 1st | Perry Roberts |
| Ben Catchings | Enterprise | 2nd | Francis Ankenbrandt |
| Bernie Donner | Andalusia | SS | Al Marchesano |
| Walt Quimby | Dothan | 3rd | Bob Rucker |
| Bob Sprentall | Troy | Lf | Henry Olivas |
| Jim Gilbert | Troy | Cf | Jim Carlisle |
| Emil Boziak | Troy | Rf | Wilbur Hester |
| Manny Russo | Andalusia | Of | Henry Kranitsky |
| Doyle Nunally | Geneva | Ut | Ed Zerbenski |
| Joe Beauguez | Brewton | P | John Myers |
| Dolly Lambert | Ozark | P | Jim Kerse |
| Henry Delay | Brewton | P | Max Peterson |
| Claude Medlin | Geneva | P | Pershing Flowers |
| ** | ** | P | John Kamphus |
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