1952 AFL SEASON
The thirteenth AFL season saw two new
cities enter the league: Eufaula, Alabama, and Graceville, Florida.
The Tallahassee Citizens had lasted only one season before being
replaced by Eufaula, a small town on the Alabama side of the
Chattahoochie river. Graceville, located 35 miles south of Dothan,
came into the league mid-season when the shakey Enterprise franchise
finally collasped. Graceville, like league member Headland, had
a population well under 2000, but Graceville had some relatively
deep pockets courtesy of G.W. Morrow, owner of the world’s largest
peanut processing plant. Morrow believed that his town would
support a pro team and he was right. The Enterprise franchise
moved to Graceville on July 5th, well into the second half of
the season, yet Graceville outdrew Enterprise by over 3,000 fans.
Ozark was in the thick of things all season, thanks to their
rookie pitching sensation: Russell Harris. Harris, fresh from
Troy High School, was just 18 years old but pitched with the
maturity it took to win games. By July 14th, Harris had won 20
games on route to a league record tying 27 victories. He finished
the season 27-3, with a 2.83. Harris drew interest from other
teams and spent the next few seasons playing in Texas and Louisiana
before retiring.
Dutch Konnemann, one of the original AFL managers in 1936,
returned to manage Eufaula for the 1952 and 1953 seasons.
Clarence « Shovel » Hodge started his first of three
years as league president.
Russell Harris had 75 strikeouts more than his nearest competitor.
No future major leaguers played in the AFL during the 1952
season.
Enterprise/Graceville combined for the worst winning percentage
in AFL history. The team finished with 33 wins, 80 losses, for
a percentage of .292. That left the Boll Weevils 43.5 games back
in a 120-game schedule.
Enterprise/Graceville went through 5 different managers during
the season: Joe Boehmer lasted 10 days and Ed Mitchell 13.
Ralph Modica of Nashville in the Southern League makes his
66th pitching appearance, one short of the record set by Ed Marleau
of Dallas in the Texas League in 1942.
Ron Necciai of Bristol in the Appalachian League, struck out
27 batters in an amazing no-hit pitching performance on May 13th.
Less than two weeks later fellow Bristol pitcher, Bill Bell,
pitched two consecutive no-hit games (May 22nd and May 26th).
Both pitchers were rewarded for their efforts with call-ups to
Pittsburgh, where they were decidedly less successful.
Perry Roberts, former AFL slugging first baseman, sets the
Florida State League all-time win percentage record for pitchers:
.889 (15-2).
A double no-hit game was pitched in the P.O.N.Y. league on
August 20th, as Bradford (Pa) beat Batavia (NY) 1-0. Frank Etchberger
beat Jim Mitchell who lost by giving up a walk and a wild pitch.
Etchberger career lasted two seasons with Brandford. For Mitchell,
1952 was his only professional season.
| Ozark | 77 | 37 | 1 | .675 | ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eufaula | 67 | 51 | 0 | .568 | 12 |
| Dothan | 59 | 56 | 0 | .513 | 18.5 |
| Panama City | 60 | 57 | 1 | .512 | 18.5 |
| Headland | 51 | 66 | 2 | .436 | 27.5 |
| Enterprise/Graceville | 33 | 80 | 0 | .292 | 43.5 |
1952 Season
Won
Lost
Tie
PCT
GB
| 1952 Shaugnnessey Playoffs |
|---|
| Ozark defeated Dothan, 4 games to 1 |
| Panama City defeated Eufaula, 4 games to 1 |
| Ozark defeated Panama City 4 games to 1 |
| Team | Attendance | AVG * |
|---|---|---|
| Panama City | 45,358 | 755 |
| Dothan | 33,650 | 560 |
| Eufaula | 26,480 | 441 |
| Ozark | 24,670 | 411 |
| Headland | 13,820 | 230 |
| Enterprise/Graceville | 10,431 | 173 |
| Totals: | ||
| Playoffs: | 8,560 | ** |
| All star game | 1,758 | ** |
The average is based on 60 home games in a 120 game season.
No team played the full 120 games.
161,698
2,694
| Team Fielding | G | DP | PB | PO | A | E | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dothan | 115 | 92 | 23 | 3003 | 1322 | 225 | .951 |
| Eufaula | 118 | 103 | 17 | 3024 | 1307 | 231 | .949 |
| Ozark | 115 | 63 | 24 | 3011 | 1109 | 229 | .947 |
| Headland | 119 | 104 | 18 | 3063 | 1238 | 259 | .943 |
| Panama City | 118 | 104 | 29 | 3102 | 1442 | 340 | .930 |
| Graceville | 113 | 69 | 21 | 2822 | 1207 | 306 | .929 |
| Team Name | Managers | Batting Leader | Home Run Leader | RBI Leader | Wins Leader | Losses Leader | ERA Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parks York / Holt Milner | Jake Moore .358 | Jake Moore 6 | Jake Moore 69 | Leon Davis 12 | John King 14 | Leon Davis 3.97 | |
| Boyd Walls / Bob Murray / Dutch Konneman / Blackie Connell |
Lew Letlow .355 | Bill Buchanan 24 | Bill Buchanan 102 | Bob Croner 14 | Lindy Money 11 | Parks York 3.53 | |
| Herbert Marshall / Red Glover / Joe Boehmer / Ed Mitchell / Carl Walker |
Herb Marshall .340 | Art Pacanowski 7 | Omer Glover / Bill Myers 61 | Nick Berbesia 13 | Jack Weeks 19 | Nick Berbesia 3.53 | |
| Chase Riddle | Bill Giddings .348 | Chase Riddle 11 | Chase Riddle 95 | Russell Harris 27 | Mickey Hensen 10 | Russell Harris 2.83 | |
| Bill Herring / Carl Walker / John McPherson |
Tom Callahan .345 | Roberto Gonzalez 7 | Roberto Gonzalez 115 | Gene Summerlin 13 | Gene Summerlin 12 | George Bethea 2.99 |
| Team Offense | G | AB | R | H | TB | 2 | 3 | HR | SH | SB | BB | HB | SO | RBI | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Panama City | 118 | 4122 | 723 | 1171 | 1560 | 192 | 55 | 29 | 64 | 120 | 597 | 41 | 700 | 613 | 989 | .284 |
| Ozark | 115 | 3957 | 829 | 1092 | 1541 | 191 | 69 | 40 | 50 | 204 | 676 | 34 | 448 | 680 | 893 | .276 |
| Headland | 119 | 4071 | 708 | 1090 | 1507 | 164 | 53 | 49 | 50 | 153 | 609 | 39 | 625 | 563 | 960 | .268 |
| Eufaula | 118 | 3992 | 752 | 1069 | 1557 | 181 | 62 | 61 | 75 | 127 | 615 | 26 | 629 | 632 | 967 | .268 |
| Graceville | 113 | 3842 | 524 | 991 | 1315 | 161 | 38 | 29 | 36 | 45 | 458 | 43 | 565 | 455 | 942 | .258 |
| Dothan | 115 | 3953 | 672 | 992 | 1329 | 179 | 55 | 16 | 52 | 66 | 583 | 31 | 604 | 537 | 961 | .251 |
| 1952 Hitting Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | Lew Letlow | Eufaula | 114 |
| Hits | Roberto Gonzalez | Panama City | 160 |
| Doubles | Roberto Gonzalez | Panama City | 42 |
| Triples | Herb Connell Billy Ray Hozey |
Eufaula Panama City |
13 |
| Home Runs | Bill Buchanan | Eufaula | 24 |
| Sacrifices | Ralph Prince | Eufaula | 15 |
| Bases On Balls | Carlton Bates | Dothan | 112 |
| RBIs | Roberto Gonzalez | Panama City | 115 |
| Stolen Bases | Chase Riddle | Ozark | 39 |
| Strikeouts | Ed Richardson | Panama City | 108 |
| Batting Average | Jake Moore | Dothan | .358 |
| 1952 Pitching Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Joe Billy | Headland | 44 |
| Innings | Hillary Stanton | Ozark | 254 |
| Wins | Russell Harris | Ozark | 27 |
| Loses | Jack Weeks | Graceville | 19 |
| Win Percentage | Russell Harris | Ozark | .900 |
| Strikeouts | Russell Harris | Ozark | 243 |
| Shutouts | Nick Berbesia | Graceville | 3 |
| ERA | Russell Harris | Ozark | 2.83 |
| Runs | Jack Weeks | Graceville | 163 |
| Earned Runs | Jack Weeks | Graceville | 121 |
| Bases On Balls | Gene Summerlin | Panama City | 143 |
| Hits | Hillary Stanton | Ozark | 236 |
| Hit Batsmen | Don Hansen | Headland | 14 |
| Wild Pitches | Jack Weeks | Graceville | 22 |
The 1952 All Star Game
The league scheduled their 11th All star game for June 16th.
The game was played in Ozark before a reported crowd of 3,500
(official attendance was later given as 1,758) and followed the
All-stars versus the leading team format. The All-stars won 4-3
in a tightly fought contest. The Ozark Eagles pitched their ace,
Russell Harris, who pitched all 9 innings for the complete game
loss.
| ALL STARS | TEAM | POS | OZARK EAGLES |
|---|---|---|---|
| Walt Dixon | Headland | MGR | Chase Riddle |
| Red Glover | Graceville | C | Charlie Goza |
| Jack Milaskey | Headland | C | x |
| Lew Letlow | Eufaula | 1st | Joe Pearce |
| Bob Phillips | Panama City | 2nd | Bill Giddings |
| Ralph Prince | Eufaula | SS | Julius McDougald |
| Joe Kennedy | Headland | 3rd | Art Pacanowski |
| Roberto Gonzalez | Panama City | Of | Morris Johnson |
| Billy Myers | Graceville | Of | Bill Farrar |
| Jake Moore | Dothan | Of | Ed Rydnak |
| Walt Dixon | Headland | Of | Joe Clark |
| Sam Bei | Dothan | Ut | Sam Williams |
| Gene Summerlin | Panama City | P | Russell Harris |
| Don Hansen | Headland | P | x |
| Bob Harris | Graceville | P | x |
| Bill Lovallo | Dothan | P | x |
| Parks York | Eufaula | P | x |
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