Nebraska State League
Lincoln Links 1922
With the resurrection of the Nebraska State League in 1922, Lincon once again had a professional baseball franchise. While some fans and sports writers grumbled about the class "D" league and wished Lincoln was still in the class "A" Western League, most were just happy that the town once again had a professional team.
One of the challenges facing the city was the lack of a baseball stadium. The "M" Street (Antelope Park) stadium burned down and the city chose to turn the ground into a green space. The ministerial alliance was still a strong force lobbying against Sunday baseball. Since they could not stop Sunday baseball they worked hard to make sure the "M" street stadium was not rebuilt.
Buck Beltzer built Landis Field to house the new Lincoln franchise. The park was located near 2nd and "P" Street, west of the main business district.
Lincoln in 1922 was a strong team finishing just behind Norfolk during the second half of the season. Five of their eight regular fielders played in over 100 games in a 117 game season and another two played in over 80 games each making the Links a most stable team for the 1922 season.
Roster:
First base was handled by Paul McCoy. He played in 116 games and had a .255 average (.261 according to Sporting News). Paul was a 16 year old slugger from Prescott Arizona. He played for Lincoln and Beatrice in 1923, Beatrice and Salina in 1923, Los Angeles in 1927 and Pomona in 1929.
In the dirt at second was Scott Dye. He played in 104 games and had a .326 average.
The hot corner was handled by Frank Ziaker (Zinker). He was in 107 games and had a .232 average.
Short stop in 1922 was held down by Carl Spranger . He held the lead off position for 45 games and had a .302 average.
The Lincoln catcher for 1922 was Fred Conkey . He put on the mask for 115 games and averaged .304 .
Outfield:
Bool tended the garden for 81 games and had a .332 average
James Carrig played in 96 games and had an anemic .211 average.
Charles Gibson played in 103 games and had a .335 average.
Pitchers:
Cy Williams was 3-0 in eight games.
 | Bill Bailey was 23-8 in 35 games with 249 strike outs. The Arkansas port side flinger started the year in St. Louis. The eleven year major league veteran was released and signed by Lincoln. Bailey started his professional career when he was just 17 years old in Austin Texas. He made his debut with the Browns at the end of the 1907 season. He played for the Browns until 1912, then played in the Federal league in 1914-1915. He played in 8 games for Detroit in 1918 and was had a cup of coffee with the Cardinals in 1921. |
Scott was 8-4 for the season.
Art Stokes was 9-6 in 19 games. The Maryland native returned to Lincoln for the 1923 season. He was given a tryout with Los Angeles in the PCL at the end of the season. In 1924 he played for Des Moines in the Western League. Although his record was nothing to write home about his ERA attracted the attention of Connie Mack and he was signed to an Athletics contract. He played in 12 games for the A's in 1925. He was optioned to the PCL for the 1926 season but picked up by Des Moines before the season began.
Harry Smith was 7-6 in 17 games. He also averaged .246 at the plate.
R. G. Maxwell was 5-6 in 15 games.
F. Smith was 4-5 in 13 appearances, Norris was 5-3, Bramson was 6-6 and Pickett was 3-1.
McCarty and Russell were both 1-0 and Gibson was 1-3 for Lincoln in 1922.