1949 AFL SEASON
The 10th AFL saw the return of Charles
Laney to the League Presidency after a nine-year absence. The
season began on April 18th, and each franchise had a new manager
except Greenville, which brought back Walt Tauscher for another
season. The Troy Tigers, winners of the 1948 league table was
fielded a team almost completely different from the year before.
This was mostly due to the league rules requiring 9 rookies per
team. Early in the year, Ozark jumped to the top of the table,
due mostly to the strong pitching of Spencer Davis. By June 1st,
Davis had 9 wins, second only to Geneva manager Carl Wollgast,
who had 10. For much of the first half of the season, Ozark,
Enterprise, and Greenville fought for the top of the table. The first manager to be offered new employment
by his club was Joe Szuch of Brewton, who was replaced on May
29th by Norm Veazey. On June 1st, Andalusia manager Manny Russo
was given his walking papers and replaced by Arrows favorite,
Bob Engle. Dothan also changed managers in June, replacing Joe
Cavosie on June 18th with Jim Colley, and then replacing Colley
on June 22nd with Danny Long. One of the most exciting stretches
of the season occured in June when Ozark, Greenville, and Enterprise
fought to be in first place on June 26th, which would earn the
leader the home team slot for the annual all-star game. Ozark, which had been in first
for most of the season leading up to the target date, found Greenville
nipping at it’s heels a week before the 26th. By the 24th, Greenville
was a half game back, and on the deciding day, the Pirates had
overtaken Ozark by a half game. Greenville managed to keep that
momentum going and ended the season in first place. The Pirates
found a surprising opponent in the playoffs in Andalusia, which
had crawled out of the basement when Engle took over the reigns
and worked their way up into the playoffs. The Arrows rewarded
Engle with an easy victory over Greenville for the playoff championship.
The league rules for signed players in 1949 stated that each
team could have 1 « class » player (player with experience
in the higher baseball classifications), 7 limited service service
player (player with limited professional experience) and 9 rookies.
Dothan was affiliated with the Montgomery Rebels.
Ozark was affiliated with the Nashville Vols.
Former big-leaguer George « Three Star » Henessey
managed Ozark.
The Greenville Pirates went 25-5 in the month of June. The
Pirates were a Pittsburgh farm team for the second straight year.
Troy was a Detroit Tigers farm team for the second straight
year.
Andalusia had a late June resurgence, giving up only 3 runs
in a 35 innings stretch. The Arrows had climbed from last place
to 4th place by season’s end.
Nat Nofsoner, Tiger catcher, made the All-Star team under
unusual circumstances:
ELSEWHERE IN 1949
The National Association announces an attendance record for
the minor leagues. The 59 leagues drew 41,872,762 fans.
| Greenville | 83 | 44 | 0 | .654 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ozark | 82 | 45 | 0 | .646 | 1 |
| Enterprise | 63 | 61 | 0 | .508 | 18.5 |
| Andalusia | 59 | 65 | 1 | .476 | 22.5 |
| Dothan | 57 | 68 | 1 | .456 | 25 |
| Geneva | 56 | 69 | 1 | .448 | 26 |
| Brewton | 51 | 73 | 1 | .411 | 30.5 |
| Troy | 49 | 75 | 0 | .395 | 32.5 |
1949 Season
Won
Lost
Tie
PCT
GB
| 1949 Shaugnnessey Playoffs |
|---|
| Greenville defeated Enterprise : 4 games to 1 |
| Andalusia defeated Ozark : 4 games to 1 |
| Andalusia defeated Greenville : 4 games to 1 |
| Team | Attendance | AVG * |
|---|---|---|
| Andalusia | 39,958 | 634 |
| Dothan | 32,471 | 515 |
| Enterprise | 30,603 | 493 |
| Ozark | 25,804 | 406 |
| Brewton | 25,533 | 408 |
| Geneva | 23,775 | 380 |
| Greenville | 23,443 | 369 |
| Troy | 18,323 | 295 |
| Totals: | ||
| Playoffs: | 17,672 | ** |
| All star game | 2,066 | ** |
*Average team attendance is
based on half of the actual games played.
219,910
3500
| Team Name | Managers | Batting Leader | Home Run Leader | RBI Leader | Wins Leader | Losses Leader | ERA Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manny Russo / Bob Engle | Lamar Cagle .306 | Mike Kassabian 6 | Mike Kassabian 83 | Stan Strickler 18 | Stan Strickler 12 | Kline Pugh 2.27 | |
| Joe Szuch / Norm Veazey | Eulice Hope .318 | Eulice Hope 6 | Eulice Hope 75 | Stan Jones 18 | Stan Jones 16 | Stan Jones 2.90 | |
| Joe Cavosie / James Colley/ Dan Long |
Joe Cavosie .365 | Joe Cavosie 3 | Jones Stewart 66 | Joe Davis 11 | Joe Davis 13 | Joe Evanichko 2.87 | |
| Russell Taylor | Elwyn Rider .357 | Emil Chaillot 5 | John Beasley 87 | Bill Pouncey 14 | Jim Drummer 12 | Bill Pouncey 2.56 | |
| Carl Wollgast | Daniel Bass .310 | Jim Mulhern 8 | Jim Mulhern 62 | Carl Wollgast 22 | John Wojcik 16 | Carl Wollgast 1.89 | |
| Walt Tauscher | John Burns .368 | Don Stark 8 | Dan Kravitz 72 | Harry Weakley 20 | Jim Williams 9 | Ray Kimber 2.32 | |
| George Hennessey | Charles Godwin .332 | Tom McBride 15 | Doug Walker 107 | Spencer Davis 21 | Spencer Davis / Tom Springer 8 | George Hennessey 1.60 | |
| Holt « Cat » Milner | Ray Reitneur .294 | Bob Miller 7 | Bob Miller 71 | Don Coppage 11 | Don Coppage 13 | Don Coppage 3.70 |
| Team Offense | G | AB | R | H | 2 | 3 | HR | TB | AVG | SH | BB | RBI | SB | K |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Greenville | 112 | 3868 | 724 | 1177 | 227 | 51 | 54 | 1668 | .304 | 48 | 385 | 631 | 141 | 499 |
| Ozark | 113 | 3722 | 632 | 1042 | 160 | 54 | 44 | 1442 | .280 | 98 | 448 | 562 | 77 | 447 |
| Dothan | 111 | 3557 | 601 | 958 | 116 | 38 | 28 | 1234 | .269 | 85 | 443 | 491 | 99 | 459 |
| Geneva | 114 | 3872 | 555 | 1028 | 149 | 52 | 38 | 1395 | .266 | 43 | 301 | 485 | 86 | 479 |
| Enterprise | 114 | 3677 | 557 | 964 | 132 | 43 | 53 | 1341 | .262 | 76 | 386 | 461 | 56 | 405 |
| Andalusia | 111 | 3845 | 635 | 1000 | 191 | 53 | 38 | 1411 | .260 | 66 | 324 | 573 | 119 | 416 |
| Brewton | 79 | 2769 | 367 | 713 | 119 | 29 | 32 | 986 | .257 | 55 | 260 | 322 | 43 | 349 |
| Troy | 113 | 3902 | 594 | 963 | 186 | 43 | 54 | 1397 | .247 | 68 | 349 | 524 | 48 | 476 |
| 1949 Hitting Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | George Hughes | Ozark | 114 |
| Hits | Roy Lefevre | Greenville | 151 |
| Doubles | Dick Smith | Greenville | 25 |
| Triples | Lamar Cagle | Andalusia | 15 |
| Home Runs | Tom McBride | Ozark | 15 |
| Sacrifices | Joe Popely | Enterprise | 24 |
| Bases On Balls | Don Plarski | Enterprise | 111 |
| RBIs | Doug Walker | Ozark | 107 |
| Stolen Bases | Don Plarski | Enterprise | 52 |
| Strikeouts | Bob Miller | Troy | 96 |
| Batting Average | John Burns | Greenville | .368 |
| 1936 Pitching Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Stanton Jones | Brewton | 48 |
| Innings | Stanton Jones | Brewton | 267 |
| Wins | Carl Wollgast | Geneva | 22 |
| Loses | Stanton Jones | Brewton | 16 |
| Win Percentage | Harry Weakley | Greenville | .833 |
| Strikeouts | Spencer Davis | Ozark | 220 |
| Shutouts | Harry Weakley / Spencer Davis / Carl Wollgast |
Greenville/ Ozark / Geneva |
5 |
| ERA | Carl Wollgast | Geneva | 1.89 |
| Runs | Don Coppage | Troy | 157 |
| Earned Runs | Joe Davis | Dothan | 98 |
| Bases On Balls | Jim Williams | Greenville | 151 |
| Hits | Stanton Jones | Brewton | 278 |
| Hit Batsmen | Stan Strickler | Andalusia | 15 |
| Wild Pitches | John Wojcik | Geneva | 16 |
The league’s eighth annual All-star
game was played on July 7th in Greenville. Sportswriters and
fans got together and made their picks for the team which would
take on the Pirates. A couple players on the initial list: Elwyn
Rider, Bill Pouncey, and Jim Mulheim did not play for various
reasons. Bob Engle, Andy Olsen, and Don Plarski took their places.
The All-stars won this one: 8 to 4. Carl Wollgast pitched 3 innings
of no-hit ball and Andy Olsen got the victory for the All-stars.
| ALL-STARS | TEAM | POS | GREENVILLE PIRATES |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Beasley | Enterprise | 1st | Tom Gates |
| Jim Colley | Dothan | 2nd | Roy LeFevre |
| Bobby Clarke | Ozark | SS | Elmer Smith |
| Mike Kasabin | Andalusia | 3rd | Dick Smith |
| George Hughes | Ozark | Of | Tom Tierney |
| Don Plarski | Enterprise | Of | Danny Kravitz |
| Lamar Cagle | Andalusia | Of | Don Erickson |
| Lou Jones | Ozark | C | Jack McKeon |
| Bob Engle | Andalusia | UT | John Burns |
| Jim Mulheim | Geneva | UT | Jim Ryan |
| Bob Miller | Troy | UT | Dan Mitroff |
| Elwyn Rider | Enterprise | UT | Evan Law |
| Larry Milam | Dothan | UT | Ralph Lewis |
| Nat Nofsinger |
Troy (catcher) | UT | Roy Cassella |
| hh | ff | UT | John Savick |
| Spencer Davis | Ozark | P | Harry Weakley |
| Carl Wollgast | Geneva | P | George Schmidt |
| Don Ferguson | Brewton | P | Jim Dixon |
| Stanton Jones | Brewton | P | Mike Garber |
| Andy Olsen | Andalusia | P | Ray Kimber |
| Al Trosin | Troy | P | Bob Mrozinski |
| Bill Pouncey | Enterprise | P | Paul Wargo |
| dRay Reiterd | Geneva | P | Jim Williams |
| Holt Milner | Troy | Mgr | Walt Tauscher |
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