In 1957 the Superior Senators were a farm team of the Washington Senators. The Nebraska State League was a class "D" league and wholly owned by Major League Baseball. The league in today's vernacular would be called a rookie league.
Superior was one of the smallest markets in professional baseball but the Senators still managed to draw over 19,000 fans during the season. The team played their home games at Brodstone Memorial Field.
The teams in the Nebraska State League played a 56 game schedule in 1957, starting in July and ending just before Labor Day. Superior was 27-29 for the year ending in a tie for 6th place in the 8 team league.
The Senators were fifth in fielding, third in pitching and sixth in batting for the season.
Roster:
First base for the Senators in 1957 was held down by Robert Hardy
An NSL all star, the port side slugger played in all 56 games and averaged .276
for the season.
Second base for Superior in 1957 was split between three players. R. Shane Le Stourgeon . he played in 27 games and averaged .257 while swinging from the left side of the plate. He was a 1983 inductee into the Texas Lutheran Hall of Fame. Fred Beck played in 19 games total and averaged .114. Tom Metternich held down the keystone position for 19 games and managed a .256 average.
The regular at third base for the Senators was Don Goddard . He played in 36 games and had a .176 average. Lenis Bond swung from the port side and averaged .339 in 18 games.
Fred Hill was an ironman at shortstop for Superior in 1957. He averaged .276 while playing in 51 games. Yes, this is the legendary baseball coach Fred Hill. He played his college ball at Upsala before being signed as an amateur free agent by the Senators. The litany of awards as a college baseball coach is long and impressive. A complete biography of his baseball accomplishments can be found on the Rutgers baseball web site.
Putting on the mask behind the plate for the Senators in 1957 was George Raitt He was the top fielding catcher in the league and averaged .273 for the year.
Outfield:
Robert Boyd was a fixture in the garden for the
Senators in 1957. The port side batter from Mankato KS, He was named an NSL all star and
led the team in hitting with a
.313 average.
Robert Hall roamed the outfield for 45 games and averaged .255 for the year.
Edgar Pounds was a switch hitter who averaged .211 in 44 games.
Ray White was another switch hitter who averaged .161 in 40 games.
Ralph Koeper played in 29 games and averaged .219.
Pitchers:
James Barbee was the leading pitcher for Superior in
1957. He pitched in 14 games and played in 29. He had a 6-3 record and
had a team leading 106 strikeouts.
Pearce Corley was a left handed hurler who pitched in 17 games and had a 3-2 record.
Roger Herr appeared in 11 games and had a 1-4 record.
Robert Scalzi had a 4-6 record in 15 games. He also had 103 strikeouts. From Stamford Conn. he as named an NSL all star.
Dale Wise had a 3-2 record as a pitcher in 1957.