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Western League
Standings 1948 President:Senator E.C. Johnson |
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| Standings | Wins | Losses | GB | Attendance | Manager | Affiliation |
| Des Moines Bruins | 76 | 64 | -- | 232,038 | Stan Hack | Chicago Cubs |
| Denver Bears | 70 | 67 | 4 ½ | 283,377 | Michael Gazella | none |
| Lincoln Athletics | 69 | 68 | 5 ½ | 127,462 | James DeShong | Philadelphia Athletics |
| Sioux City Soos | 69 | 68 | 5 ½ | 112,381 | Joe Becker | New York Giants |
| Pueblo Dodgers | 69 | 70 | 6 ½ | 116,304 | John Fitzpatrick | Brooklyn Dodgers |
| Omaha Cardinals | 62 | 78 | 14 | 147,130 | Ollie Vanek | St. Louis Cardinals |
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| BA: Leon Treadway, Des Moines, .352 | ||||||
| Runs: George Genovese, Denver, 119 | ||||||
| Hits: Nellie Fox, Lincoln, 179 | ||||||
| HRs: Carl Sawatski, Des Moines, 29 | ||||||
| Wins: Bobby Shantz, Lincoln, 18 | ||||||
| SOs: Bobby Shantz, Lincoln, 212 | ||||||
| ERA: Tony Jacobs, Des Moines, 2.72 | ||||||
Lincoln and Sioux City played a one game playoff for third place with Lincoln winning 6-0. Lincoln won the first round of playoffs against Des Moines 3 games to 2 then lost to Sioux City in the finals 4 games to 2. Total attendance for the league in the regular season was 1,018,692 with another 77,630 fans at the playoffs.
After finishing fourth in the Western League in 1947, Omaha fans were anticipating a great year in 1948. Six of the Cardinals had been named all stars in 1947 and many of them were moved up to a higher leageu for the 48 season leaving a lot of holes in the lineup for manager Ollie Vanek. The Cardinals were not up to the task and finished last in 1948.
Roster:
Larry "Irish" Miggins was a Western League All Star outfielder for Omaha in 1948. He averaged .302 in 97 games. His performance led him to be called up for one game with the St. Louis Cardinals in 1948. He also played in 42 major league games in 1952.
Ray Henningsen moved from third base to second base for the 1948 season. The Omaha native was the best fielding second baseman in the league for 1948.
Ed Lewinski returned for the 48 season. He averaged .308.
Richard Kamler averaged .265 while playing 121 games in the infield.
Louis Artiz averaged .268 in 133 games.
Theodore Lewandowski averagd .275 in 94 games.
John Bulkley averaged .298 in 47 games.
Bruce Smith averaged .257 in 83 games.
William Smith averaged .238 in 11 games, Robert Mclean averaged .190 in 15 games and James Turner aaveraged .286 in 18 games.
Gregory Masson averaged .196 in 21 games.
Vernon Rapp, a St. Louis native, averaged .328 in 56 games. He went on to manage the Cardinals in 1977 and 1978 and for the Reds for part of the 1884 season.
Patrick Avcoin averaged .264.
Richard Pacitto averaged .290 in 17 games.
Tom Burgess averaged .235 in 20 games.
Richard Kamler played in 109 games, making him one of the few regulars for the Omaha franchise in 1948. He averaged .265 for the year.
Mike Conroy was another regular and averaged .311 for the season.
Pitchers:
The Omaha team went though alot of pitchers in 1948.
Robert Elsiminger was 6-2 in 15 appearances.
Dan Hile was 10-7.
Eddie John Yuhas was 8-8.
Floyd Thierolt was 6-7, Ken Siefert ws 7-10, Ray Glaser was 9-13, James Morris was 0-3, John Remke was 10-9 and Tom Kelley was 5-10.