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The 1937 Season
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Stars of the future and the past
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Season Highlights & Events
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Everett « Yam Yaryan |
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Wecome to the AFL
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Goodbye
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1937 AFL players who played in the majors:
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The second AFL season began with the infant league trimmed down to a leaner organization.
The league had lost the Abbeville franchise mid-season in 1936, and over the winter the search for a replacement continued unsuccessfully. There were inquiries, but a legitimate ownership group didn’t materialize. The question of what to do with a seven team league was answered in early spring when the Enterprise Barons decided they could not continue financially and folded. The league was left with six teams, and a 130 game schedule, divided into two half seasons, was drawn up for the new smaller circuit. President Grant had lots of issues to be concern with, but the biggest was the move of the Class B Southeastern League into AFL territory. Pensacola, Montgomery, Selma, and Mobile were all west of the general AFL markets, but the presence of Class B teams in these cities meant less media coverage of the AFL, especially in Montgomery, where the Montgomery Advertiser had taken notice of the AFL during the 1936 season. Coverage that might have gone to Troy or Andalusia now went to the Montgomery Bombers. The first half of the season was won by the Andalusia Bulldogs, lead by catcher-manager Everett « Yam » Yaryan. Yaryan had played in the majors with the Chicago White Sox in the early twenties, and afterward had moved around the minors, spending a few successful years with the Birmingham Barons. Although Yaryan was over 40 years old, he still could play ball, and his lengthly professional experience made him a valuable manager. Union Springs, who had dominated early on, had faded out of first place when injuries to key players took the wind out of their sails. The Springers rebounded in the second half of the season and took the pennant with relative ease. Union Springs had an informal relationship with the St. Louis Cardinals during their 3 years of existence, and although they were not an official part of the Cardinals farm system, they did manage to send 6 players into the majors through that system. One Springer who went virtually unnoticed was a third baseman who had just a handful of swings before moving on. This player was just a young kid that St. Louis had taken an interest in, and the Cards were sending around to various leagues to see where he might fit. While he didn’t have an impact in Union Springs, he would develop into a major league star: Pete Reiser. The hopes for franchise stability were dashed on July 29th, when the Ozark Cardinal franchise ceased operation. After sending out inquiries to all potential cities in the area, the league found a buyer in the person of George Murphy, a sports enthusiast who felt he could make a franchise succeed in his town, Evergreen, Alabama. Evergreen, on the western edge of the league’s territory, was a small town even for AFL standards, but Murphy brought the team there anyway. The Greenies would finish the mess that Ozark started, winning 31 and losing 87. The league playoffs pitted the Springers, with a total of 77 wins, and the Bulldogs, who had faded in the second half to win only 68 games total. Andalusia surprised the more powerful Springers with Yaryan leading the offensive attack and another youngster who, like Reiser, would become a major league star. This 19 Birmingham kid, who was signed just in time for the playoffs, would pitch two brilliant games, one a shutout. 19 year-old Virgil Trucks lead the Bulldogs to victory and attracted a lot of attention from baseball scouts. Trucks would demonstrate his immense talents to the rest of the league in 1938. |
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Virgil Trucks shows his stuff
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The Andalusia Bulldogs won their second consecutive playoff championship. Yam Yaryan
of Andalusia caught, managed and batted clean-up for Andalusia, all at the age of 44.
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Ozark dropped out of the league on June 26th.
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Evergreen Alabama became the 9th city to obtain an AFL franchise, replacing Ozark.
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The Troy team went by two nicknames: the Trojans and the Cotton Bolls.
This 1937 urges ladies to come see Joe Dobson pitch. |
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Virgil Trucks made his first league appearance in the playoffs for Andalusia. He
pitched two 3-hit shutouts, winning 5-0 and 3-0. |
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Main Street, Union Springs Alabama
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Name Changes
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Pete Reiser model glove. Pete had a couple at bats at Union Springs
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Cuban baseball card of Adrian Zabala
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Joe Dobson
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« Joe Dobson and John Fugatt, hurlers from the training camp of the New Orleans
Pelicans reported to manager (Charlie) Moss today to begin their tryout with the local ball club. Both pitcher hail from Arizona where they played semi-pro ball last season. They reported to New Orleans for a tryout this year and were sent to Troy for a bit more seasoning… »
– Troy Messenger, 1937 |