Schedule courtesy LeMoyne McCaulley

Talk of the town in the spring of 1929 centered on the new movie theater, the "Bonham", and the Jeffersons chances in the new season. The Bonham was opened in 1926, built by Universal Pictures and some local investors. The theater would draw thousands of movie goers a week. The name of the theater came from Luther Bonham, a local banker who coordinated the local investors. The theater is still going strong today. The team was centered around a pitcher, Vito San Filippo. Vito led the Nebraska State League in strike outs with 201 k's for the year. His team mate Stanford Primm led the league with 21 wins. Behind these two pitchers the team wound up in second place for the year.

The team also had a cadre of heavy hitters with four regulars averaging over .340 for the season.

Fairbury was the only franchise with a new manager in 1929. Preston Gray, former manager at Rock Island in the Mississippi Valley league for the last three years was hired by Fairbury for the 1929 season.

Roster:
Walter Gallet played in 114 games and averaged .353.

Herbert Hansen was an 18 year old. He played 91 games at second and averaged .274.

Elmer Kasher played in 116 games and averaged .298.

Ray Schalk played short, second and third during the season. He averaged .343 for the Jeffs. He returned in 1930 and was acquired by the Western League Oklahoma City franchise for 1931.

George Caithamer was a regular behind the mask in 1929. He played in 106 games as catcher and averaged .230. He was an all star at the position in 1930. The Chicago native played in 5 games with the White Sox in 1934.

Manager Preston Gray played in 32 games and averaged .263.

Outfield:
Ed Lass 114 games .370

Orville White played in 113 games and averaged .342.

Gorman 24 .222

Pitchers:
Vito San Filippo had a great year in 1929. He was 18-10 in 41 appearances on the mound. He also played a few games in the outfield and averaged .264 for the season. He had 201 strikeouts in 1929, 243 in 1930 and had a tryout with St. Paul at the end of the 30 season. He played for Quincy in 1931 and Davenport in 1932.

Elbert Cruthis 32 8-9

Stanford Primm 40 21-13

C. A. Gants 13 5-3

Damen 12 2-3

John Goodman Nichols also pitched for two teams during the year including Fairbury.

Nebraska Minor League Baseball Home