1956

1956 (League History: 1955 / 1957)

1956 AARBL League File

1956 AARBL Rosters

1956 AARBL Stats

Wilmington Tops So Cal in 7 for Title!

1956 AARBL World Series MVP Shortstop Johnny Logan

The 1956 World Series was by far the most exciting one yet. The Wilmington Hornets waged an epic battle against the So Cal Knights that was resolved in the bottom of the ninth inning of game seven. The decisive blow came off the bat of Bob Thurman, whose solo home run set off a celebration in Wilmington. There were several hitting stars for the Hornets as Eddie Mathews hit .296 with nine RBIs, and Al Smith hit .348. Game seven star Bob Thurman also chipped in with four hits in nine at bats. However, the real offensive star for Wilmington was Johnny Logan, who hit .437, scored five runs, and went 4 for 4 in the decisive game, and won the MVP honors. The pitching staff was led by Billy Pierce. Pierce, the 1955 AARBL Cy Young winner, went 2-0 with a 3.07 E.R.A. Also contributing to the championship was Bobby Shantz who allowed only a single run in nine innings of relief. The Knights were led offensively by Ray Boone who hit .400 for the series, and clubbed 2 home runs and Ted Williams, who hit .385 with 5 RBIs. Bob Rush led the So Cal Staff with a 2-0 record, and a 3.18 E.R.A.

During the regular season, Wilmington and the defending champion Peoria Chiefs tied atop the Eastern Division with identical 94-60 records. The tie was broken in a three game playoff series that was won by Wilmington outfielder Jim Rivera's walk off homer in the bottom of the ninth inning of game three. In the West, So Cal compiled an 88-66 record and bested the second place Butte Stompers by 3 games, and the third place North Bend Tadjers by 6 games. The award voting was dominated by Peoria and North Bend. For the second consecutive season, Ted Kluszewski of the Chiefs won the Triple Crown. Kluszewski led the league with 55 home runs, 166 runs batted in, and a .365 average (tying the league record set by him in 1955), and easily won both the MVP and Babe Ruth Awards. Meanwhile, North Bend south paw Herb Score won the Cy Young, and teammate Frank Robinson won the Rookie of the Year award. Butte hurler Marv Grissom won the Rolaids Reliever Award. The league also witnessed two No Hitters. The first was thrown by Butte Stompers hurler on opening day, and the second was thrown by Lew Burdette of the Des Moines Dusters.

1956 AARBL World Series:

So Cal vs. Wilmington

Game 1:	So Cal	3	Wilmington	4
Game 2:	So Cal	11	Wilmington	6
Game 3:	Wilmington	3	So Cal	0
Game 4:	Wilmington	1	So Cal	5
Game 5:	Wilmington	0	So Cal	11
Game 6:	So Cal	7	Wilmington	11
Game 7:	So Cal	10	Wilmington	11

Wilmington Stats

So Cal Stats

1956 AARBL Playoff File

1956 AARBL Playoff Rosters

1956 AARBL Playoff Stats

Game 1

BOXSCORE: 1956 So Cal Knights At 1956 Wilmington Hornets 10/12/1956

BOXSCORE: 1956 So Cal Knights At 1956 Wilmington Hornets           10/12/1956

Knights            AB R H RBI AVG     Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG

G.McDougald 2B      5 1 2 1 .400     J.Rivera RF         4 0 1 1 .250

S.Amoros RF        3 1 0 0 .000     J.Temple 2B         4 0 0 0 .000

T.Williams LF       4 0 1 2 .250     E.Mathews 3B        4 0 0 0 .000

D.Snider CF         4 0 0 0 .000     S.Lopata C          4 0 0 0 .000

G.Crowe 1B          3 0 0 0 .000   H-B.Sarni C           0 0 0 0 ----

A-W.Herzog 1B         1 0 1 01.000     V.Wertz 1B          3 1 1 0 .333

R.Boone 3B          4 0 1 0 .250     G.Hodges LF         2 0 0 0 .000

B-B.Gardner 3B        0 0 0 0 ----   I-J.Groth LF          0 0 0 0 ----

H.Naragon C         3 0 0 0 .000     A.Smith CF          3 1 1 2 .333

R.Crone P           0 0 0 0 ----     J.Logan SS          2 0 1 0 .500

D.Groat SS          2 1 1 0 .500   C-D.Gernert PH        0 0 0 0 ----

J-E.Valo PH           1 0 0 0 .000   E-B.Martin PR         0 1 0 0 ----

D.Newcombe P        2 0 0 0 .000   G-C.Neal SS           0 0 0 0 ----

F-G.Triandos C        1 0 0 0 .000     R.Craig P           2 0 0 0 .000

                                        D-B.Thurman PH        1 1 1 11.000

                                          B.Miller P          0 0 0 0 ----

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      33 3 6 3                 Totals      29 4 5 4

A-Subbed Defensively (1B) For Crowe In 6th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Boone In 8th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Logan In 8th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Craig In 8th Inning

E-Pinch Ran For Gernert In 8th Inning

F-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Newcombe In 8th Inning

G-Subbed Defensively (SS) For Martin In 9th Inning

H-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Lopata In 9th Inning

I-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Hodges In 9th Inning

J-Pinch Hit For Groat In 9th Inning

INJURY: George Crowe INJURED (for 2 more games) in 6th inning

Knights......... 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 - 3 6 0

Hornets......... 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2    - 4 5 1

Knights                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

D.Newcombe LOSS(0-1)      7       5   4   4   2   7   1 105   5.14 A1 D1

R.Crone                   1       0   0   0   0   1   0 11   0.00 D2

Totals                    8       5   4   4   2   8   1

Hornets                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

R.Craig WIN(1-0)          8       6   3   1   3   5   0 129   1.13 A1 D7

B.Miller SAVE(1st)        1       0   0   0   0   1   0   8   0.00 D8

Totals                    9       6   3   1   3   6   0

ATTENDANCE- 45,224 DATE- Friday, October 12th 1956 TIME- Day

UMPIRES- Charlie Berry, James Duffy, Red Flaherty, Bill Grieve

T- 1:49

LEFT ON BASE- Knights: 7 Hornets: 3

DOUBLE PLAYS- Knights: 0 Hornets: 0

ERRORS- E.Mathews

DOUBLES- G.McDougald(1st), T.Williams(1st), W.Herzog(1st), R.Boone(1st),

         B.Thurman(1st)

HOME RUNS- A.Smith(1st)

STOLEN BASES- J.Rivera(1st)

SACRIFICE HITS- D.Newcombe

WALKS- S.Amoros, H.Naragon, D.Groat, G.Hodges, D.Gernert

STRIKE OUTS- S.Amoros, G.Crowe-2, R.Boone, D.Newcombe, G.Triandos, J.Rivera,

             J.Temple, E.Mathews, S.Lopata, V.Wertz, G.Hodges-2, R.Craig

45,224 fans watched an exciting game at Wrigley Field. The Wilmington Hornets

topped the So Cal Knights by the slimmest of margins, 4 to 3.

Wilmington won the game with a rally in the 8th inning scoring 2 runs using 2

hits. Dick Gernert led off and started the attack as he drew a walk. Bob

Thurman stepped up to the plate and he doubled bringing in a run. Jim Rivera

then ripped a base-knock scoring the final run of the inning. Bob Miller

pitched a perfect ninth to earn his 1st save.

The victory went to Roger Craig(1-0) who went 8 innings, allowing 3 runs. Don

Newcombe(0-1) absorbed the loss. He pitched 7 innings allowing 5 hits and 2

walks.

Game 2

BOXSCORE: 1956 So Cal Knights At 1956 Wilmington Hornets 10/13/1956

BOXSCORE: 1956 So Cal Knights At 1956 Wilmington Hornets           10/13/1956

Knights            AB R H RBI AVG     Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG

G.McDougald 2B      4 2 1 0 .333     J.Rivera RF         5 2 3 2 .444

S.Amoros RF        4 2 2 2 .286     J.Temple 2B         3 1 1 0 .143

T.Williams LF       4 1 1 3 .250     E.Mathews 3B        4 1 1 4 .125

R.Sievers 1B        5 0 1 2 .200     S.Lopata C          4 0 0 0 .000

D.Snider CF         5 0 0 0 .000   B-B.Sarni C           0 0 0 0 ----

R.Boone 3B          4 2 3 1 .500     V.Wertz 1B          3 0 0 0 .167

D-W.Herzog PR         1 1 0 0 .500     G.Hodges LF         3 0 0 0 .000

R.Crone P           0 0 0 0 ----   C-J.Groth LF          1 0 0 0 .000

R.Campanella C      4 1 1 0 .250     A.Smith CF          4 0 1 0 .286

D.Groat SS          3 1 0 2 .200     J.Logan SS          4 1 1 0 .333

B.Rush P            3 0 0 0 .000     D.Donovan P         1 0 0 0 .000

E-E.Valo PH           1 1 1 0 .500     B.Shantz P          1 0 0 0 .000

F-H.Plews 3B          0 0 0 0 ----   A-B.Thurman PH        1 1 1 01.000

                                          B.Miller P          0 0 0 0 ----

                                          N.King P            0 0 0 0 ----

                                        G-D.Gernert PH        1 0 0 0 .000

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      38 11 10 10                 Totals      35 6 8 6

A-Pinch Hit For Shantz In 7th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Lopata In 8th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Hodges In 8th Inning

D-Pinch Ran For Boone In 9th Inning

E-Pinch Hit For Rush In 9th Inning

F-Subbed Defensively (3B) For Valo In 9th Inning

G-Pinch Hit For King In 9th Inning

Knights......... 2 1 0 2 0 0 0 1 5 - 11 10 1

Hornets......... 3 0 0 0 1 0 2 0 0 - 6 8 2

Knights                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

B.Rush WIN(1-0)           8       7   6   6   3   6   1 134   6.75 A1 D8

R.Crone                   1       1   0   0   0   1   0 13   0.00 D9

Totals                    9       8   6   6   3   7   1

Hornets                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

D.Donovan                 3 2/3   5   5   3   0   4   2 51   7.36 A1 B9

B.Shantz                  3 1/3   0   0   0   0   4   0 34   0.00 C1 D1

B.Miller L(0-1) BS(1st)   1 1/3   4   6   6   2   2   1 43 23.14 D2 E3

N.King                    0 2/3   1   0   0   0   1   0 10   0.00 E4

Totals                    9      10 11   9   2 11   3

ATTENDANCE- 48,448 DATE- Saturday, October 13th 1956 TIME- Day

UMPIRES- Jim Honochick, Bill Summers, Carl Hubbard, Frank Umont

T- 2:18

LEFT ON BASE- Knights: 4 Hornets: 6

DOUBLE PLAYS- Knights: 0 Hornets: 0

ERRORS- D.Snider, E.Mathews, J.Logan

DOUBLES- R.Sievers(1st), R.Boone(2nd), B.Thurman(2nd)

TRIPLES- J.Temple(1st)

HOME RUNS- S.Amoros(1st), T.Williams(1st), R.Boone(1st), E.Mathews(1st)

SACRIFICE HITS- S.Amoros, J.Temple

SACRIFICE FLIES- D.Groat

WALKS- G.McDougald, T.Williams, J.Temple, E.Mathews, V.Wertz

STRIKE OUTS- G.McDougald-2, R.Sievers-2, D.Snider-4, R.Campanella, B.Rush-2,

             E.Mathews, S.Lopata, G.Hodges, A.Smith, J.Logan, D.Donovan,

             D.Gernert

WILD PITCHES- B.Rush-2

Sandy Amoros hit one over the fence and had 2 RBI as the So Cal Knights

defeated the Wilmington Hornets 11 to 6 at Wrigley Field.

So Cal erupted with the game winning runs in the 9th inning when they scored 5

runs on 4 hits. The big moment was provided by Roy Sievers who helped quiet

the crowd when he doubled scoring two baserunners. A wild and woolly affair,

this game saw the lead change 5 times.

Bob Rush(1-0) went 8 innings allowing 6 runs for the victory. Bob Miller(0-1)

suffered the loss in relief. He allowed 4 hits and 2 walks in 1 and 1/3

innings.

Game 3

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights 10/15/1956

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights           10/15/1956

Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG     Knights            AB R H RBI AVG

J.Rivera RF         5 0 1 1 .357     G.McDougald 2B      4 0 2 0 .385

J.Temple 2B        5 0 2 0 .250     G.Triandos C        2 0 0 0 .000

E.Mathews 3B        4 0 1 0 .167     T.Williams LF       4 0 1 0 .250

S.Lopata C          4 0 0 0 .000     R.Boone 3B          3 0 1 0 .455

B-B.Sarni C           0 0 0 0 ----     D.Snider CF         4 0 0 0 .000

V.Wertz 1B          4 0 0 0 .100     R.Sievers 1B        4 0 1 0 .222

G.Hodges LF         4 1 1 0 .111     S.Amoros RF         2 0 0 0 .222

C-J.Groth LF          0 0 0 0 .000    D.Groat SS          3 0 0 0 .125

A.Smith CF          4 0 2 0 .364     R.Roberts P         2 0 0 0 .000

J.Logan SS          3 1 1 1 .333     D.Gross P           0 0 0 0 ----

B.Pierce P          4 1 2 0 .500   A-E.Valo PH           1 0 0 0 .333

                                          T.Acker P           0 0 0 0 ----

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      37 3 10 2                 Totals      29 0 5 0

A-Pinch Hit For Gross In 7th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Lopata In 8th Inning

C-Subbed Defensively (LF) For Hodges In 8th Inning

Hornets......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 - 3 10 0

Knights......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 0 5 2

Hornets                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

B.Pierce WIN(1-0)         9       5   0   0   3   6   0 124   0.00 A1

Totals                    9       5   0   0   3   6   0

Knights                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

R.Roberts LOSS(0-1)       6 2/3 10   3   2   1   4   0 117   2.70 A1 D4

D.Gross                   0 1/3   0   0   0   0   0   0   4   0.00 D5 D5

T.Acker                   2       0   0   0   1   1   0 27   0.00 D6

Totals                    9      10   3   2   2   5   0

ATTENDANCE- 46,837 DATE- Monday, October 15th 1956 TIME- Night

UMPIRES- Hank Soar, Ed Runge, Carl Hubbard, Johnnie Stevens

T- 1:55

LEFT ON BASE- Hornets: 9 Knights: 6

DOUBLE PLAYS- Hornets: 2 Knights: 1

ERRORS- R.Sievers, D.Groat

DOUBLES- J.Rivera(1st), G.Hodges(1st), A.Smith(1st), T.Williams(2nd)

STOLEN BASES- S.Amoros(1st)

CAUGHT STEALING- J.Temple

SACRIFICE HITS- G.Triandos

WALKS- E.Mathews, J.Logan, G.Triandos, R.Boone, S.Amoros

STRIKE OUTS- J.Rivera-2, J.Temple, S.Lopata, A.Smith, G.Triandos, D.Snider-3,

             S.Amoros-2

GIDP- V.Wertz, G.Triandos

Billy Pierce threw a complete game shutout as the Wilmington Hornets outscored

the So Cal Knights 3 to 0.

Pierce(1-0) was in control of the game from the outset. He was stingy on the

mound, allowing just 5 hits and 3 walks in 9 innings. Wilmington banged out

10 on the night.

Robin Roberts(0-1) took the loss. He surrendered 3 runs and 10 hits in 6 and

2/3 innings.

Game 4

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights 10/16/1956

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights           10/16/1956

Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG     Knights            AB R H RBI AVG

J.Rivera RF         4 0 0 0 .278     G.McDougald 2B      4 0 0 0 .294

J.Temple 2B         4 0 1 0 .250     S.Amoros RF         4 0 0 0 .154

E.Mathews 3B        4 0 0 0 .125     T.Williams LF       2 1 0 0 .214

S.Lopata C          3 0 0 0 .000     D.Snider CF         4 2 2 3 .118

V.Wertz 1B          3 1 1 1 .154     G.Crowe 1B          4 1 2 0 .286

G.Hodges LF         3 0 0 0 .083     R.Boone 3B          2 1 1 0 .462

A.Smith CF          3 0 0 0 .286     H.Naragon C         3 0 1 0 .167

J.Logan SS          3 0 1 0 .333     D.Groat SS          2 0 1 1 .200

R.Craig P           1 0 0 0 .000     D.Newcombe P        3 0 0 1 .000

B.Shantz P          0 0 0 0 .000

A-D.Gernert PH        1 0 0 0 .000

N.King P            0 0 0 0 ----

B-B.Thurman PH        1 0 1 01.000

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      30 1 4 1                 Totals      28 5 7 5

A-Pinch Hit For Shantz In 6th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For King In 9th Inning

Hornets......... 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 4 0

Knights......... 2 0 0 3 0 0 0 0    - 5 7 0

Hornets                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

R.Craig LOSS(1-1)         3 2/3   5   5   5   3   3   2 67   4.63 A1 B9

B.Shantz                  1 1/3   0   0   0   1   1   0 16   0.00 C1 C4

N.King                    3       2   0   0   1   3   0 39   0.00 C5

Totals                    8       7   5   5   5   7   2

Knights                  IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

D.Newcombe WIN(1-1)       9       4   1 1   0   4   1 113   2.81 A1

Totals                    9       4   1   1   0   4   1

ATTENDANCE- 49,310 DATE- Tuesday, October 16th 1956 TIME- Night

UMPIRES- Lee Ballanfant, Lenny Roberts, Bill Jackowski, Al Barlick

T- 1:55

LEFT ON BASE- Hornets: 2 Knights: 5

DOUBLE PLAYS- Hornets: 2 Knights: 1

DOUBLES- J.Logan(1st)

HOME RUNS- V.Wertz(1st), D.Snider-2(2nd)

SACRIFICE HITS- D.Groat

WALKS- T.Williams-2, R.Boone-2, H.Naragon

STRIKE OUTS- J.Rivera, A.Smith, R.Craig, D.Gernert, G.McDougald-2, S.Amoros-2,

             R.Boone, D.Groat, D.Newcombe

GIDP- S.Lopata, H.Naragon

Center fielder Duke Snider slammed 2 homeruns and had 3 RBI and Don Newcombe

delivered 9 solid innings as the So Cal Knights topped the Wilmington Hornets

by a score of 5 to 1 at Ebbets Field.

Snider made sure the So Cal fans enjoyed themselves. He lifted one out of the

park for a two run home run in the 1st inning and hit a bases-empty home run

(his 2nd of the season) in the 4th inning. After the 4th inning, neither

team was able to score.

Newcombe(1-1) was the winner allowing 1 run for the game. Roger Craig(1-1) was

the loser. He allowed So Cal 5 runs in 3 and 2/3 innings of work.

Bob Bush lamented, 'Newcombe was really aggressive today. He kept coming

after our hitters. Heck, why not. he kept sitting our guys down one after

another - like so many bowling pins!'

Game 5

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights 10/17/1956

BOXSCORE: 1956 Wilmington Hornets At 1956 So Cal Knights           10/17/1956

Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG     Knights            AB R H RBI AVG

J.Rivera RF         4 0 0 0 .227     G.McDougald 2B      5 3 3 1 .364

J.Temple 2B         4 0 1 0 .250     S.Amoros RF         5 1 2 1 .222

E.Mathews 3B        3 0 0 0 .105     T.Williams LF       2 2 1 2 .250

S.Lopata C          4 0 0 0 .000     R.Sievers 1B        4 2 1 0 .231

V.Wertz 1B          3 0 0 0 .125     D.Snider CF         5 2 2 4 .182

G.Hodges LF         3 0 0 0 .067     R.Boone 3B          4 1 2 3 .471

A.Smith CF          3 0 1 0 .294     R.Campanella C      3 0 1 0 .286

J.Logan SS          3 0 1 0 .333     D.Groat SS          4 0 1