The Fairbury franchise had folded in 1936. Lincoln, under Pid Purdy, had lost money to the point where they could not meet payroll and Fairbury, which was barely getting by volunteered to quit also so the league could finish with an even number of teams.
For 1937, Fairbury acquired a working agreement with the St. Louis Browns. Based on the incredible success of the Cardinals in developing players via the minor leagues other teams started farm systems of their own. The Browns provided both financial and player assistance to the franchise.
Roster:
First base for the Jeffs in 1937 was held down by
Richard E. Brookhaus. He played first for 61 games
and
averaged .211 for the year. Richard started his career as a 19 year old in
the NSL playing for Grand Island in 1923. He played for Grand Island,
Fairbury, North Platte and Beatrice during his NSL career.
H. C. McKain played first for 38 games. He also pitched in 28 games and had a 14-7 record. He played in a total of 82 games and had a .381 batting average.
George Bradley played in 106 games and averaged .280. The Greenwood Arkansas native played for Fairbury in 1936 and 1937. He them played for Johnstown, Palestine, Springfield and Jackson. In 1944 and 1945 he played for Memphis. In 1946 he played in four games with the St. Louis Browns and spent most of the year with Toledo. He finished his professional career with Memphis in 1947.
Johnny Lucadello was a switch hitting second baseman for Fairbury in 1937. The eighteen year old batted .316 for the year and made his major league debut at the end of the 1938 season with the St. Louis Browns. The Texan played in six different seasons from 1938 to 1947.
In the dirt at short for 1937 was Howard Eaton. He played in 117 games at short and averaged .289 for the season.
The hot corner was held down by Dexter Savage. He averaged .298 while playing in 117 games.
Wearing the tools of ignorance for the year was Homer Goethe. He caught 117 games and made only 21 errors. He averaged .239.
The left fielder for 1937 was Sam Munitz He managed a .283 average.
Center garden was held down by George Bradley . He averaged .280 for the year and also played a few games at first. The Greenwood Arkansas native had a cup of coffee with the Browns in 1946.
Right field saw Walter Kujath for 80 games. He also pitched for the Jeffs in 1937. He had a .274 average.
Rex Zimmer played in 93 games and had a .297 average.
Pitchers:
H. C. McKain was the leading pitcher for the Jeffs in
1937 with a 14-7 record.
Dockins pitched in 15 games and had 5-4 record.
Tony Johnson pitched in 36 games and managed an 11-16 record.
Don Paul Black pitched in 26 games and had a 5-11 record. The 20 year old rookie from Salix Iowa made it to Philadelphia (AL) in 1943 and had a 6-16 record. He pitched for Philadelphia and Cleveland through the 1948 season.
In addition to playing right field Walter Kujath pitched in 19 games and had a 3-11 record.
Holmes 20 games 3-5 record.
Utility:
John Macek played in 31 games and had a .269 average
Clayton Freis 38 games