Superior and Fremont duked it out for the league championship during the 1911 season. After winning the league in 1910, Fremont was looking forward to repeating. They returned their leading pitcher, Harry Smith and many of their regulars. Superior after finishing nine games out of first in 1910 was excited about all the new ball players in their fold for 1911.
Superior and Fremont were the only two teams in contention for most of the year. Superior was in 7th place at the end of May but by mid June they were in a battle with Fremont for the top spot. The two teams then ran away from the rest of the league as the third place team finished 17 games back. Superior wound up in first place by two games at the end of the season. The Fremont fans and local paper were not happy with some of the decisions made by the league president, Henry Sievers who was from Superior were considered to be unfair by the Fremont fans.
Roster:
Dennis Bockewitz managed the Brickmakers in 1911. He played in 101 games at first and averaged .297 for the year. He started his professional career in 1906. He played for Marshalltown and Cedar Rapids in 1906, Dubuque and Cedar Rapids in 1907, Pine Bluff in 1908 and Marianna in 1909. His NSL career started in 1910 with Superior and he played in Superior in 1910, 1911 and 1912. He also played 42 games for Dayton in the class "B" Central League in 1912. He was back in Superior for 1913 and finished his professional career with Beatrice in 1914.
McDowell was a regular at second. He averaged .335 in 110 games, with 83 at second.
The hot corner was handled by Bert Orr . He averaged .256.
Morris Michael was at short for Superior in 1911. He averaged .188 for the season.
Ed Spellman was the man behind the mask for Superior in 1911. He averaged .284. The 22 year old from Omaha Nebraska started his professional career in 1910 with Superior. His last professional game was in 1929 as a 40 year old with Waterloo. He played for Omaha in the Western League in 1919, Norfolk in the second iteration of the NSL in 1922. In all he played in 11 different leagues from the Northern League to the Pacific Coast League.
Putting on the catchers mask for 37 games was Frank Prucha .
Norm Coyle led the Nebraska State League in 1911 with a
.354 batting average. The 21 year old from Arkansas also led the league with 153 hits during the
season.
G. C. Allen was another heavy hitter for Superior and he
led the league run scored with 95. He averaged .288 for the year.
F. Bockewitz was the third regular in the garden in
1911. He averaged .195.
Pitchers:
Roy Irvin pitched a no hitter for Superior during the year
and was one of the leading pitchers in the league. He pitched in 24 games
and had a 17-7 record.
Charles Gibson returned for the 1911 season and was 16-11 in 27 games.
Wild Bill Luhrson was a 27 year old from Buckley Illinois.
He appeared in 14 games and managed 9-5 record. He had a cup of coffee with Pittsburg in 1913
managing a 3-1 record in 5 appearances. He played for 14 different minor league teams during his career.
George Stevens was a leading pitcher for Superior in
1911. He had an 18-6 record for the year leading the league in winning
percentage. He did not join the team until June when Peru Normal school
was dismissed for the summer.