Nebraska Minor League Baseball
Lincoln Ducklings
Postcard courtesy Dan Bretta
Western League Standings 1906
President:
Standings Wins----- Losses--- GB
Des Moines Champions 97 50 --
Lincoln Ducklings 75 74 23
Omaha Rourkes 73 74 24
Sioux City Packers 69 81 29 ½
Denver Grizzlies 68 81 30
Pueblo Indians 63 85 34 ½

St Joseph's dropped out of the Western League after the 1905 season leaving an opening for Lincoln. The Lincoln Ducklings were named after their manager Ducky Holmes. Originally from Des Moines Ducky was a fixture in the major leagues from 1896 through the 1905 season. Lincoln was his first managing job. He managed various teams through the 1922 season.

The Ducklings were the best of the rest in 1906. Des Moines ran away with the championship, 23 games ahead of the pack. Lincoln was in second one game ahead of Pa Rourke's team in Omaha.

Roster:

Jack Thomas was the regular first baseman in 1906. He played in 144 games and averaged .293 for the season. He was a Western League regular, playing for Omaha from 1902 through 1905, for Lincoln from 1906 through 1911 and for Des Moines in 1912.

James Barton played 99 games at second and 113 games overall. He averaged .242. He played for Terra Haute in 1905 and for Haverhill in 1907.

William Shugart averaged .313 in 71 games split between Lincoln and Pueblo. He played for San Francisco in 1902, Peoria and Omaha in 1903, Des Moines in 1904 and 1905. In 1908 he played for Rockford in the Wisconsin-Illinois league.

At the hot corner was Lee Quillen He averaged .350 in 138 games. At the end of the Western League season the North Branch Minnesota native was picked up by the Chicago White Sox. He played in four games and averaged .333. He also played in 49 games in 1907. After bouncing from Minneapolis to Sioux City to Denver he wound up back in Lincoln in 1914.

Ed Gagnier played in 72 games, mostly at short. He averaged .242 for the season. He was a regular in Lincoln through the 1911 season. In 1912 he moved to Indianapolis. He found himself in Newark in 1913. He made it to the major leagues in 1914 with the Brooklyn TipTops in the Federal League. Born in Paris France he played for Brooklyn in 1915 and for Atlanta in 1916.

Jack Fillman also played at short in 1906. He averaged .216.

Ed Zinram averaged .241 while crouching behind the plate for most of the season. He played for St. Joseph's and Denver in 1905. He played for Lincoln through the 1908 season.

Frank Rogers also caught some games for Lincoln in 1906. He averaged .119 in 40 games split between Lincoln and Omaha.

Steen played 38 games in the infield and averaged .195.

Outfield:

Conrad Collins averaged .291 in 98 games.

Arthur Fenlon averaged .268 in 87 games.

Ducky played in 77 games and averaged .266

Roland Wolfe played for both Des Moines and Lincoln during the season. He played in 76 total games and averaged .290.

Bill Davidson averaged .339 in 16 games. He also played of Ft Dodge Iowa in 1906. He played for Lincoln through the 1908 season. He made it to the Chicago Cubs in 1909 for two games and was a regular for Brooklyn in 1910 and 1911. The Lafayette Indiana native wound up in Omaha in 1912 and played for Sioux City from 1913 through 1915. After baseball he took up residence in Lincoln.

George Harms played in 10 games and averaged .375. He also played for Hastings in the Nebraska State League in 1910.

Clarence Morse averaged .233 in 10 games. He had a stint with Grand Island in the Nebraska State League in 1910.

Pitchers:

Elwood Eyler was 26-21 for the Ducklings in 1906.

Cowboy Jones was 16-15. He had played for Cleveland in 1898 and St. Louis (NL) in 1899, 1900 and 1901. In all he played for more than 15 minor/major league teams from 1898 through 1915.

Reeve McKay was 20-10. The Morgan Texas native played for both Des Moines and Lincoln during the season.

George Zackert was 9-9. He had a cup of coffee with St. Louis (NL) in 1911 and 1912. In all he pitched 8 1/3 innings of major league baseball.

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