Holdrege White Sox

Nebraska Minor League Baseball
Nebraska State League
Holdrege White Sox 1956

In 1956, the Holdrege White Sox took the field as a class "D" team in the Nebraska State League. The city was one of the two smallest in the league with a population of about 4,400. Del Lefler led the ticket drive for the town and although the town was one of the smaller markets in the league they were third in the league in season ticket with 690 fans buying season tickets. Individual game tickets could be purchased at Hilsabek Sporting Goods in addition to the box office at the ball park.

Holdrege was a White Sox farm team in 1956. They were managed by Frank "Skeeter" Scalzi. The 43 year old Ohio native had been in the "show" for 11 games in 1939 with the Giants.

The team played at Holdrege Fairgrounds Park, one of the few parks without a grass infield. Before the season a new coat of paint was applied and the Bears logo from the towns NIL days on the outfield wall was replaced with the White Sox. The dugouts were upgraded with water fountains in each dugout.

Following an old baseball tradition, various incentive awards were scheduled for the first game. J. C. Martin received four of the five dollar awards. ($5.00 for the first put out, $5.00 for the first double, $5.00 for the first foul catch and $5.00 for the first double play).

Mutual sponsored a radio game of the day during the season. While it was typically a major league game, on July 9th the national Mutual game of the day was broadcast from Holdrege as they hosted Kearney. Rex Barney came to town to broadcast the game. Kids were admitted free that day but the raucous crowd was unable to bring a victory to the home team as Kearney defeated the White Sox.

For the season, Holdrege was led by lefty Gary Peters on the mound and Camilo Carreon with the stick. The lineup was heavy with left handed hitters and left handed pitchers. They managed a 33-30 record for the year.

Roster:
Joe "J.C." Martin was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1956. The nineteen year old from Axton Virginia held down the first base position for the White Sox in 1956. The port side batter averaged .276. He played for Davenport and Dubuque in 1957 and Duluth in 1958. He started the 1959 season with Indianapolis and was promoted to the parent club in September of 1959. He played a total of fourteen years in the majors with three different teams.

Seventeen year old Tom Plath was an all star at second base for the White Sox. The Chicago youngster averaged .327 for the year.

Third base was split between Raymond Etchebarron , from Puente California, played 35 games at third, 19 in the outfield and averaged .297 and Salvatori LaSpina who played 23 games at the hot corner, 11 in the outfield and averaged .260.

Alan Koch was a 17 year old from South Gate California. He was a regular at short and averaged .243.

Behind the mask was Ron Butcher . He was good with the glove and light with the bat as he averaged .198 for the year.

The outfield for the year saw three lefty's and five total regular players for the year. Vernon Neal stood on the left side of the plate for 35 games and managed a hefty .343 average.

Basil "Bill" Harrison from Washington DC played in 45 games. He was signed by the White Sox after playing for Georgetown University.

The third port side batter was Don Gordon who averaged .219. William Rozich played in 44 games and averaged .254 and Camilo Carreon played in 34 games and had a .350 average.

Pitchers
They were led by Gary Peters. The nineteen year old from Pennsylvania led the league in strikeouts. He was responsible for 10 of their 33 victories during the season. He also batted .321 in 40 games. He was promoted to Dubuque for 1957 where he was 10-6. In 1958 he was in Colorado Springs and Davenport. In 1959 he played for Indianapolis and made his major league debut in September of 1959. He spent most of 1960 and 61 with San Diego making brief appearances with the Sox each year. He finally became a regular with the Sox in 1963. He played for the Sox for until 1972. His two best years were 1963 when he was 19-8 and an all star team selection and 1964 when he was 20-8. He had a lifetime record of 124-103.

Ben Birsa was one of a cadre of left handed flingers and managed a 7-6 record in 19 appearances.

Jerry Schneider from Jasper Indiana was another lefty in 1956. He appeared in 17 games and had a 1-6 record.

Alan Brice was signed by the White Sox as an amateur free agent in 1956. The eighteen year old pitcher from Tampa Florida was described as a 6'5" string bean by the local press. He was 6-3 in 15 appearances and managed a .292 average in the batters box. His major league career consisted of 3.3 innings pitched in 1961 with the parent White Sox.