Manager Mark Wylie had a good group of rookies for the 1958 season. He had 10 pitchers play during the 63 game season and the team won the league by one game over Bill Steinecke's McCook congregation. McCook won the league the next year.

The Indians had a fairly comfortable lead in the league as August began. McCook went on a tear, winning 18 games in a row to start off the month. This leveled the league and North Platte and McCook fought to the end of the season.

Roster:
First base for the Indians in 1958 saw J. K. Williams holding the position. He averaged .295 for the year with 72 RBI's in 63 games.

Joe Teague had a .256 average at second base and Vernon Benner split time at second and third. He played in 46 games and had a .276 average. Others at third base were Richard Jackson who averaged .107 and John Myers who had a .277 average in 23 games.

Short stop was a strong point for North Platte in 1958. Larry Bulla averaged .322.

	Future major league catcher Howard "Doc" Edwards put on the mask for 42 game for North Platte. The 21 year old from Red Jacket West Virginia averaged .359 for the year. He moved to Selma for the 1959 season and spent 1960 in Burlington. He was promoted to Salt Lake City in the Pacific Coast League for the 1961 season. He made it to the parent Indians in 1962. He played from 1962-65 and in 1970 in the major leagues. Larry Milledge alternated with Doc as catcher for the Indians. He played in 28 games and averaged .318.
Topps 1964		Topps 1963

Outfield:
Five players roamed the garden for North Platte in 1958. Kent Hathaway was a regular in the garden for the Indians. He played in 63 games and led the team with a .372 average. Fred Krase was another regular. He played in 53 games and average .262. Robert Butts played in 30 games and averaged .239. Edgar Spangler averaged .231 in 26 games and southpaw James Troy averaged .297 in 34 games.

Pitchers:
The Indians had a gaggle of pitchers in 1958. They had 10 different players in the box during the season.

Their leading pitcher was Tom Gansauer. The seventeen year old southpaw had signed for a reported $20,000, played in 14 games, had a league leading 10-1 record and 118 strike outs.

Jose Ramon Lopez was an amateur free agent from Cuba. He played in 14 games and had a 4-3 record. He played in the majors in 1966 with the California Angels.

Frank Slusser was 8-5 in 17 appearances. Southpaw Isaac Simmons was 4-3 in 11 games and Carl Morrow appeared in 13 games and had a 5-3 record.
Southpaw Garry Holmes was 3-1 in 11 appearances. Robert Edward Gordon appeared in 6 games and was 1-0. R. W. Earls was 2-3 in 8 games. Lefty Curtis White managed a 4-3 record in 8 games and Richard Wagner appeared in 10 games with no decisions to his credit.

Nebraska State League Standings 1958

Nebraska Minor League Baseball Home

© 2004 Bruce Esser