Twin Falls Cowboys
Twin Falls Cowboys | |
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Minor league affiliations | |
Class | Class C |
League | Pioneer League |
Major league affiliations | |
Team |
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Minor league titles | |
League titles (3) |
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Team data | |
Ballpark | Jaycee Field |
The Twin Falls Cowboys were a Class C minor league baseball team from 1939 to 1942 and 1946 to 1951 in the Pioneer League. Their affiliation was with the Seattle Rainiers in 1939, and later the New York Yankees from 1946 to 1951. The Cowboys played at Jaycee Field in Twin Falls, Idaho, located in the northeast corner of the city's Harmon Park.[1][2]
History
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/56/Twin_Falls_Cowboys_1939.png/220px-Twin_Falls_Cowboys_1939.png)
The Cowboys' home ballpark was constructed during the spring of 1939, as a WPA project costing $30,000.[3] The team's first Pioneer League game was played on May 2, 1939, when they lost an away game to the Pocatello Cardinals by a score of 17–1.[4] The Cowboy's first home game in Twin Falls was played on May 5, when the Cowboys again lost to the Cardinals, 6–3.[5]
Statistics for the team between the 1939 and 1949 seasons are incomplete; also, the league did not operate from 1943 to 1945 due to World War II. Records do show that the Cowboys were the Pioneer League champions three times; 1939, 1947, and 1948.[citation needed]
The Cowboys were second in the Pioneer League in 1950, posting a 76–50 record under manager Wally Berger.[6] Ray Posipanka hit 32 home runs for the Cowboys, leading the team; Svend Jessen contributed 25 more home runs en route to posting a league leading 141 team home runs during the 136 game season.
Second baseman Don Trower took over as manager in the 1951 season, in which the Cowboys went 71–68.[6] However, the team lost its biggest offensive threat in Dick Conway, a 6 feet 3 inches (1.91 m) tall catcher from Lynn, Massachusetts. Conway, 19, was in his first season of professional baseball and leading the Pioneer League in home runs (12) at the time of his death. He was killed during a pre-game warm-up in Ogden, Utah, on June 29, 1951,[7] when he was struck over the heart by a throw from Trower while distracted; he died within minutes of the impact.[8]
In 1952, the Magic Valley Cowboys became Twin Falls' team in the Pioneer League; meanwhile the Boise Yankees became New York's minor league affiliate in the Pioneer League.
Season records
[edit]Season | Manager(s) | W–L | Win % | Finish | Playoffs | Ref |
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1939 | Eddie Leishman Wes Schulmerich Charles Wry | 72–52 | .581 | 1st | champions† | [9] |
1940 | Frank Tobin Ray Jacobs | 53–76 | .411 | 6th | none | [10] |
1941 | Andy Harrington | 39–90 | .302 | 6th | none | [11] |
1942 | Tony Robello | 51–67 | .432 | 5th | none | [12] |
1943–45 | league paused due to World War II | |||||
1946 | Earl Bolyard | 72–56 | .563 | 2nd | lost in finals | [13] |
1947 | 77–60 | .562 | 2nd | champions | [14] | |
1948 | Charlie Metro | 75–51 | .595 | 2nd | champions | [15] |
1949 | 78–47 | .624 | 1st | lost in first round | [16] | |
1950 | Wally Berger | 76–50 | .603 | 2nd | lost in finals | [17] |
1951 | Don Trower | 71–68 | .511 | 4th | lost in finals | [18] |
† The league did not hold playoffs in 1939; the Cowboys became champions by finishing first in league standings.[19]
All-stars
[edit]Season[20] | Name & Position |
---|---|
1939 | Ernest "Ernie" Bishop, 2B Joseph "Joe" McNamee, C Charles Wry, P |
1940 | Pete Hughes, OF |
1947 | Jack Radtke, 2B George Leyrer, OF Charles "Chuck" Balassi, OF Harold "Hal" Danielson, C Walter Eads, P Earl Bolyard, Mgr. |
1948 | Gil McDougald, 2B Harold "Hal" Danielson, C Dale Maycock, P |
1949 | Svend "Red" Jessen, 1B Bill Renna, OF Otto Schroeder, P |
1950 | Svend "Red" Jessen, 1B Ray Posipanka, 3B Ivan Abromowitz, P |
1951 | Vern Campbell, OF James "Jim" Russell, P |
Notable players
[edit]See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ Matthews, Mychel (January 28, 2016). "Hidden History: Twin Falls' 1st Baseball Team, the Irrigatiors". magicvalley.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.
- ^ Matthews, Mychel (March 23, 2017). "Hidden History: The Cowboys baseball team". magicvalley.com. Retrieved August 9, 2017.
- ^ "Workers Push Ballyard Job At Twin Falls". The Salt Lake Tribune. Tribune Intermountain Service. March 26, 1939. Retrieved August 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Cardinals Run Wild, Cop 17-1 Contest". The Salt Lake Tribune. Tribune Intermountain Service. May 3, 1939. Retrieved August 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Pocatello 6, Cardinals 3". The Post-Register. Idaho Falls, Idaho. May 7, 1939. Retrieved August 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Twin Falls, Idaho Encyclopedia". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "Young Ballplayer Killed When Hit By Thrown Ball Prior to A Game". The Daily Standard. Sikeston, Missouri. AP. June 30, 1951. Retrieved August 15, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Gorman, Robert M.; Weeks, David (2009). Death at the Ballpark: A Comprehensive Study of Game-related Fatalities of Players, Other Personnel and Spectators in Amateur and Professional Baseball, 1862-2007. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786452545. Retrieved 2015-11-09.
- ^ "1939 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1940 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1941 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1942 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1946 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1947 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1948 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1949 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1950 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "1951 Twin Falls Cowboys". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
- ^ "Twin Falls Cowboys Win Pioneer League". Nevada State Journal. Reno, Nevada. September 18, 1939. Retrieved August 11, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "All-Star Teams 1939-present". milb.com. Retrieved August 7, 2017.
Further reading
[edit]- Crump, Steve (June 18, 2010). "Twin Falls' all-time baseball team? You might be surprised". magicvalley.com. Retrieved August 6, 2017.