Nebraska State League
McCook Generals 1930
The depression had a significant effect on the structure of the minor leagues in 1930. The Nebraska State League was one of the survivors. McCook once again ran away with the league championship, winning both halves of the season with Fairbury a distant 17 games behind.
"Doc" Bennett was the manager of the Generals and once again put together a superior club. The team had the three best pitchers in the league as measured by ERA, with Jim Cameron leading the league with Eissler and Taylor close behind. Mike Kreevich was starting a career in the outfield that would lead to 12 major league seasons and John Lucas would eventually wind up having a cup of coffee with the Boston Red Sox.
Roster:
First base for the Generals was Ig Walters . He averaged
.321 in 87 games at first. He was sold to Kansas City of the American
Association at the end of the season. He was back in McCook for the 1931
season and played for various minor league teams through the 1940 season.
Rudy Jones played the first base position for 23 games for the Generals. He was usually a pitcher for the Generals. He was 15-7 as a pitcher and averaged .341 in 87 total games.
In the dirt at second base in 1930 was a committee of players in 1930. Spud Owens played the position for 38 games. He played in 116 games total in many different positions including 30 as catcher and averaged .300. Gradoville also played the position for 38 games and 63 total. He averaged .326 for the year.
Carl Geist alternated between third and short and averaged .359 in 113 total games. He played in the NSL from 1929 through the 1934 season.
William Ward averaged .321 in 65 games.
Catcher was another rotating position in 1930. Utt averaged .342 and played both for McCook and Norton during the year. Spud Owens caught for 30 games and F. J. Ollinger caught for both McCook and York during the year.
Outfield:
John "Buster" Lucas was a regular in the garden for the
Generals. He averaged .347 in 116 games. At the end of the year he was
sold to the Red Sox with the proceeds going to the league. He had a cup of
coffee with the Red Sox in 1931 and 1932.
Mike Kreevich averaged .354 and led the league in home runs. He was a Western League All Star in 1931 with Des Moines and moved up to the Cubs at the end of the year. He had a 12 year major league career.
Lynn Allison played in 28 games and averaged .287.
Grace averaged .288 in 36 games.
Pitchers:
James Cameron led the league with a 2.25 ERA. He had a
19-2
record in 27 games with 97 k's.
William Eissler was second in the league in ERA. He had a 2.67 ERA and a 16-4 record in 33 games. He also had 177 k's in 195 innings which led to a tryout with Toledo in the American Association. He wound up playing for the Toledo Mudhens in 1930.
Third in the league in ERA was Howard Taylor. He was 13-4 in 20 games. He had a 3.63 ERA with 65 k's. He played for Milwaukee in 1931 and spent a number of years in the Texas League.
Rudy Jones was 15-7 in 23 games.
Ed Clark was 5-3 in 13 games.
Ginter was 2-5 for McCook.