Western League 1950
Omaha Cardinals
The Western League in 1950 was a class "A" league. There were three "AAA" leagues, two "AA" leagues and four class "A" leagues in 1950.
| Western League Standings 1950 President: Senator E. C. Johnson |
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| Standings | Wins | Losses | Games Back |
Affiliation | Attendance | Manager |
| Omaha Cardinals | 96 | 58 | -- | St. Louis Cardinals | 218,393 | Al Hollingsworth |
| Sioux City Soos | 89 | 65 | 7 | New York Giants | 143,237 | Hugh Poland |
| Des Moines Bruins | 84 | 70 | 12 | Chicago Cubs | 147,549 | Charlie Root |
| Wichita Indians | 77 | 77 | 19 | St. Louis Browns | 126,729 | Joe Schultz |
| Denver Bears | 75 | 79 | 21 | Boston Braves | 379,180 | Earl Browne |
| Colorado Springs Sky Sox | 72 | 82 | 24 | Chicago White Sox | 107,264 | Buddy Hassett |
| Lincoln Athletics | 69 | 85 | 25 | Philadelphia Athletics | 68,884 | James Deshong |
| Pueblo Dodgers | 54 | 100 | 42 | Brooklyn Dodgers | 91,299 | Ray Hathaway |
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Playoffs: Wichita beat Omaha 3 games to 0. Sioux City beat Des Moines 3 games to 2. Sioux City won playoffs over Wichita 3 games to 1. |
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BA: Bill Taylor, Sioux City .346 Runs: Danny Holden, Denver, 131 Hits: Chuck Tanner, Denver, 195 RBI's: Tim Whisenant, Denver, 119 HR's: Pat Seerey, Colorado Springs, 44 Wins: Robert Mahoney, Omaha, 20 SO's: Robert Mahoney, Omaha, 162 ERA: Vern Fear, Des Moines, 2.83 |
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Omaha ran away with the 1950 season in the Western League. The St. Louis farm club had a number of promising players dominated the all star team with five selections including two of the four all star pitching selections.
Manager for the Cardinals for 1950 was Al Hollingsworth. Al was a St. Louis native and had an eleven year major league career with six different teams. The 42 year old played his last major league game in 1946. This was his first year as manager of the Omaha Cardinals.
Omaha led the Western League in fielding. The also led the Western League with 80 triples during the season. Don Stephens pitched only 31 innings for Omaha in 1950 but he had the only no hitter in the Western League in 1950 as he blanked Denver 5-0.
Fred McAlister and Harvey Zernia were selected by the Omaha fans as most popular players for 1950. They received a gift from B. Q. Haines Jeweler for thier selection. Omaha was led by pitcher Robert Mahoney who led the league in wins (20) and strike outs(162 in 224 innings). He was promoted to the majors in 1951 with the White Sox. The 23 year old from LeRoy Minnesota bounced from Chicago to the Browns in his two year major league stay. He managed a 2-5 record in his two years in the majors.
Octavia Rubert won 17 games for Omaha in 1950 and was also named to the all star team. He had 149k's for the year.
Harvey Zernia was named to the all star team at first base. He played for Omaha, the Seattle Rainers and the Buffalo Bison during his minor league career. Harvey was also the best fielding first baseman in 1950. In 1950 the port side swinger batted .318 and led the Western League first base position in fielding.
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Nick Adzick was an all star selection at catcher for Omaha in 1950. He caught 99 games and averaged .267 for the Cards. Fred McAlister played short stop for Omaha in 1950 and was selected as a Western League all star. Fred batted .251 while playing in 155 games.
In addition to the five all stars, the Omaha team had strong performances
from: Elwood "Bob" Clear led the Western League with four shutouts during the 1950 season. He had a 16-7 record with 129k's. The Denver native started his professional career with teh 1945 Batavia Clippers when he was 17. He was converted to a pitcher in 1948. After stops in Houston, Columbus and Rochester he returned to Omaha in 1954. He had 5 shutout in 54 and was 20-11. He stayed with Omaha as the franchise moved from the "A" Western League to the "AAA" American Association in 1955. He was 1-10 in 1955. By my count he played for 17 different minor league clubs, finally hanging up the cleats as player in 1967. He then coached in the Pirates and Angels chain, coaching for the Angels through the 1987 season. Jack Cohan pitched in 31 games, had a 13-10 record, 151k's in 212 innings pitched and averaged .267 at the plate. Jack entered the army after the season. Cohan saw action in the Korean War. He was injured and lost his right leg in action. Harry Helmer pitched in 11 games and had a 2-3 record. George Eyrich was 8-9 as a flinger for the Cards. Howie Phillips was a regular at 2nd base in 1950. He averaged .224. Bernie Creger played third base for Omaha in 1950. He was a 23 year old infielder who had played in 15 games for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1947. He averaged .266 and was one of a cadre of port side swingers on the Cardinals roster. Dick Landis was a catcher in 1950 and averaged .277 in 74 games. Charlie Frey was a regular in the outfield. He played in 93 games. He also swung from the port side and averaged .281. Bill Von Heuit played in 52 games and averaged .218. Roy Huff averaged .302 for the Cards while roaming the outfield for 149 games. Yes he too swung the bat from the left side. Jem Hercinger was one of the rare righties in 1950. The outfielder was a regular and averaged .260 in 110 games.
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