1954 Corpus Christi Clippers Highlights Corpus Christi Class B finished the 1954 season in third place with a fine 87-60 record under player and manager Billy Capps The Clippers played in the Big State League and were signed under contract in affiliation with the Milwaukee Braves, prior to the team moving to Atlanta. Billy Capps, 35 years old, hit a solid .313 with 24 doubles, 5 triples and 3 homers in 98 games, 368 at bats. He played third base, pinched hit as well as managed the team. Charles Bigham, Outfielder, 28 years old, posted a robust .356 batting average which was third highest in the Big State League. One of the fastest runners in the entire league Charles Bigham lined 16 triples in 1954 along with 24 doubles and 9 homers. Alfred Facchni, Shortstop and Third baseman, 25 years old. A noted fielder with a strong, quick throwing arm, he hit 8 doubles and 11 triples, plus one homer in 93 games, 372 at bats and had the 13th highest batting average in the league, .328. Juan Senties, Outfielder, age 25. A fleet footed defensive outfielder and a speedy base runner, Juan Senties led Corpus Christi with 34 doubles, which was ninth highest in the Big State League. His .325 batting average ranked 16th highest in league. He collected 34 Ds, 11 Ts and 5 home runs. Wally Schroeder, Outfielder, age 29. He had loads of pro baseball experience and was one of the team leaders. A solid batsman he had a .326 batting average in 1954, 15th highest in league. Wally Schroeder blasted 17 doubles and 5 triples in 50 games. Vince Liberto, Outfielder, age 28. An experienced batsman, Vince hit .308 with 23 doubles and 13 homers in 120 games. Dean Stafford, Outfielder, age 32. His stats include two teams combined, he hit 48 doubles, led the leagues with 38 homers and with a .362 batting average in 146 games. During the 1950s, in the major leagues the Milwaukee Braves had home run hitting Joe Adcock playing first base and Dean Stafford never got a chance to go and replace Adcock, that is the way it was. Lonnie Goldstein, First Baseman LH. A former major leaguer during the mid 1940s, Lonnie Goldstein could still hit the baseball at age 36. A clutch hitter, his .323 batting average was 17th highest in league. In 1954 he hit 16 doubles and 6 homers. Born in Austin, Texas USA on May 13, 1918, he served two years in U.S. Military during World War 2. James Jones, Second Baseman, age 25. An all-around athlete James Jones was solid on pivots on turning double plays and a capable batter. He hit .267 with 19 doubles, 3 Ts, 1 Hr in 130 games, 479 at bats. William Bowers, Catcher, age 25. Solid defensively, Bill Bowers compiled a .264 batting average in 105 games, with 13 Ds, 5 Ts and 6 homers. Sylvester Henry, Catcher, age 25, hit ,267 in 57 games and James Fairchild, Shortstop, age 25, hit .300 in 14 games and Linnel Roberts, First Baseman, 29, hit .307 in 50 games Ron DelPlano, 21 years old hit 0.59 in 11 games and Donald Petschow, 3B, C and OF, 30 years old hit .293 in 40 games and Thomas Catts played 5 games Walter Peterson, Outfielder, .309 with 5 Ds, 11 Ts, 3 Hrs in 44 games and Edward Peacock, Catcher, 25 yrs old, .154 in 18 games
Baseball Historian The Famous "Green Box" What's a green box and why is it so famous? Well, just like a baseball dugout, that's where the stories are told. The "Green Box" appeared on the Baseball Historian web site during our inception back in 1999 and has been holding kangaroo court ever since. Enjoy the stories... | 1954 Corpus Christi Clippers Pitchers | | An affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves the Corpus Christi Clippers finished the 1954 season with an 87-60 record under 35 year old, player/manager Billy Capps 1954 Big Sky League Class B minors Note: Most of these baseball players had their baseball career interrupted because they served in the U.S. Military Corpus Christi Clippers Pitchers Jim Vitter, age 29, was one of the top pitchers of the Big Sky League in 1954. He was the Clippers big winner with a 23-11 record and a 2.75 ERA in a league leading 295 innings. Jim Vitter relied on a fastball that seemed to gain speed during the last 15 feet to home plate. His hits to innings pitched was totally awesome, 177 hits for a 5.4 hits per 9 innings. And, he yield just 8 homers all season. Jim Vitter started 33 games plus relieved in 10 others. He also led the league in wins with 23 and in WHIP with 0.844. Jim Vitter was awarded the Big State League 1954 Pitcher of the Year by www.baseballhistorian.com Earl Caldwell, age 49. He was a former major league pitcher, 8 seasons interrupted by World War 2, and loved playing baseball. He pitched for the Phillies in 1928, pitched in minors from 1929-34, then pitched with old St. Louis Browns from 1935-37. His best major league season was with the Chicago White Sox in 1946 when he posted a sterling 13-4 record plus 8 saves with a stingy 2.08 ERA. And here in 1954 Earl Caldwell pitched for two teams, Harlingen and Corpus Christi, and combined had a 12-4 w/l record with a 2.47 ERA in 7 starts plus 24 relief games. Ray Sims, age 23, pitched in minors from 1949-51, served in Military 1952-53, rejoined minors with Corpus Christi in 1954-1955. Ray Glen Sims pitched the best ever in 1954, fashioning a 12-10 record with a 3.85 earned run average per 9 innings (ERA). He started a career high 21 games and relieved in 10 others, a total of 166 innings. Jack Larson, age 23, got the call and the ball often in 1954 from Clippers manager Billy Capps. He started 1954 season with Tyler (minors) and shortly after joined the Clippers. Jack Larson had a combined 10-10 record with a 4.61 ERA in 20 starts plus 14 relief games. He issued just 50 walks in 160 innings, the 2nd best ratio per 9 innings (3.3) on the team and yielded less than a homer per/inning. Jack Larson tossed a mixture of off-speed curves among a medium range sinking fastball. James Price, age 27, a starting pitcher. He started pitching in minors in 1948 and moved steadily up thru the minors and in 1953 upon reaching Harlingen, an unaffiliated league, he compiled a team leading 24-4 w/l record with a 1.93 ERA. For Corpus Christi in 1954 James Price assumed the role of one the teams main starters. He went 10-6 with a 5.32 ERA in 19 starts. Kermit Luckenbach, age 25. He had the lowest ERA on the Clippers team and was their reliable relief pitcher. He appeared in 7 starts and 18 relief games, fashioned a 5-2 record with a 2.38 ERA in 102 innings. His .6 homers per 9 innings was one of the lowest on Corpus Christi. Kermit Luckenbach was a fast ball pitcher and could really fire it over home plate. Albert Point, age 26, pitched with 4 minor league teams in 1954, Lincoln Single-A, CC, Temple and Galveston. Combined Albert Point had a 8-8 record in 12 starts and 15 relief games. Al Point, a power pitcher, often pitched for one team and the next night was relieving for another. That was life in the minors during the early 1950s. Wofford Williams, age 22. Our records are incomplete on Wofford Williams. His stats show he pitched 13 relief games and had a 2-1 record for Corpus Christi in 54. He probably did not play baseball in minors from 1955-56 (maybe Military). In 1957 pitcher Wofford Williams played for Lawton and Gainesville. Bill Toshell, age 27, combined to had a 8-6 record for two teams, including the Clippers, in 1954. William Toshell had 13 starts plus 3 relief appearances that year. Benny Bonnie, age 22, had a 3-4 w/l record with a 3.27 ERA in 11 starts and seven relief appearances for Corpus Christi in 1954. Benjamin Bonnie yielded 6 homers, 34 bases on balls in 88 innings. Elwood Moore, age 36, was a long time minor league pitcher, doing what he loved pitching. Elwood Moore pitched for two teams in 1954 and combined to go 7-2 with a 3.64 ERA in 11 starts, 3 relief games, pitched 94 innings. Blade Alvarado pitched in 2 games & Charles Hinman 1-0 in 1 game & Jodie Howington, age 32, 0-1 in 2 games & Luis Ramirez, age 20, 1-1 in 13 games & Jack Wilkerson 0-0 in 1 G Eddie Hughers, age 24, 2-3 in 8 games & Danny Parra, age 33, 0-1 in 4 games Baseball Historian Minor League Stats | |
