1937 Season |
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. |
Groping For Stability |
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. Ozark dropped out of the league on June 26th. The Evergreen Greenies became the 9th city to obtain an AFL franchise, replacing Ozark. The Troy team were nicknamed both the Trojans and the Cotton Bolls, which probably didn't go over well with the Enterprise Boll Weevils. Virgil Trucks made his first league appearance in the playoffs for Andalusia. He pitched two 3-hit shutouts, winning 5-0 and 3-0. Ozark dropped out of the league on June 26th MAJOR LEAGUERS IN THE AFL Yam Yaryan, Virgil Trucks of Andalusia; Tom Lanning, Doc Wingard, Al Zachary of Dothan; Benny Zientara of Evergreen; Wilmer Morrell, Bobby Bragan, Adrain Zabala of Panama City; Charlie Moss, Joe Dobson of Troy; Walter Brown, Pete Reiser of Union Springs |