The Alabama Florida League Web Site

1939 Alabama - Florida League Season

OVERVIEW

The fourth AFL season started with lots of changes: Virgil Trucks was gone, having been sent to Beaumont in the Texas League to test his skills at a higher level. Also gone was former league president George Grant. Grant was fed up with the criticism he received in his handling of the Dothan playoff dispute from the previous season and he resigned. Yam Yaryan, the rotund catcher, manager, and fan favorite of the Andalusia Bulldogs accepted a managing job with the Gadsden Pilots of the Class B Southeastern League. The AFL named Charles T. Laney as their new president. Laney had worked under George Grant prior to his appointment, and he was a logical choice to take over the presidency. His first task as League Prexy was to stabilze two weak franchises: The Union Springs Springers had folded after the 1938 season and in it's place, a franchise was awarded to tiny Tallassee, Alabama. The Evergreen Greenies franchise, which was poorly run from the beginning also folded. New ownership was found just a short drive up Highway 31 in Greenville, Alabama. Tallassee was an interesting choice for an AFL franchise, being only 20 miles Montgomery and their popular Class B Montgomery Rebels of the Southeastern League. The Indians, as the Tallassee team was called, took advantage of their proximity to the state capital and negotiated a farm team deal with the Rebels. Both teams thought that there would be a mutual benefit in that fans could follow the progress of Indians that moved up or Rebels that moved down a notch. The Indians started slowly, struggling to stay out of the cellar, but scratched their way up the league table after free spirit manager Ross "Rosy" Gilhousen was relieved of his managerial duties and allowed to concentrate on playing outfield. Tommy Kane became the new manager. Under Kane, Tallassee started to gel. As July began, the Indians had managed to get within sight of league leading Dothan. On July 15th, the Browns and Indians squared off at Tallassee in a game which would determine not only the league leadership, but the host the upcoming All Star game. A crowd estimated between 4000 and 5000 came to see the game and honor manager Kane, who was given credit for the amazing resurgence. The Indians lost, 13-3, but continued to play well throughout the rest of the season, finishing a close second to Dothan. The Indians carried their hot streak right into the playoffs, where they bested Troy. Andalusia beat Dothan in the other first round playoff, setting up an Andalusia-Tallassee finale. The series went all seven games with Tallassee taking the final game for the playoff championship. The Indians' 1939 season performance would be the beginning of a short but successful run..

POINTS OF INTEREST

When folks from other areas of the country see the name Tallassee, they inevidibly transpose it into Tallahassee, as in the Florida capital. If you've done this yourself, you're in good company: The Sporting News annual baseball guides from the 50's and 60's all credit Tallahassee as the 1939 AFL champions.

There were 3 triple plays during the season, two by Panama City and an unassisted triple play by Bubba McDermott of Tallassee.

Major leaguers playing in the AFL in 1939: Ed Borom and Bob Ferguson of Tallassee, Royce Lint of Andalusia, and Max Rosenfeld of Panama City, and former major leaguers Ernie Wingard of Dothan and Paul Karlow of Greenville.

The Greenville franchise was owned and managed by Paul Kardow, who pitched for Cleveland in 1936. Kardow soon realised he was in over his head and went back to just being just a pitcher. He finished the season at Greenville....South Carolina.

The Panama City Pelicans forfeited a game in July (the forfeit was later overruled and ordered replayed by Laney) because their bus broke down on the way to Andalusia in an area of rural Alabama where there were no phones. The team was unable to let the Rams or the league know they were stranded. The Pelicans would disband after the season, ending the Florida part of the Alabama - Florida League until their return in 1951. The league would adopt the new name, the Alabama State League, in 1940.

ELSEWHERE IN 1939

Luman Harris of Atlanta in the Southern League won a game with only one pitch. The pitch resulted in a bases-loaded fly out with two outs in the 9th. Atlanta won the game in the bottom of the 9th.

George Jansco of Jackson (Miss) in the Southeastern League, hits 65 doubles.

1939 Season	Won	Lost	Tie	PCT
Dothan	74	54	1	.578
Tallassee	73	56	0	.566
Andalusia	70	59	1	.543
Panama City	63	64	1	.496
Troy	62	68	0	.477
Greenville	44	85	1	.341

1939 Shaugnnessey Playoffs
Tallassee defeated Panama City: 3 games to 2, 1 tie
Andalusia defeated Dothan, 3 games to 2
Tallassee defeated Andalusia 4 games to 3

Team Name	Managers	Batting Leader	Home Run Leader	RBI Leader	Wins Leader	Losses Leader	ERA Leader
Andalusia Rams	Bruner Nix	Paul Armstrong .337	Emmett Manderson 13	Paul Armstrong 91	Harry Durheim 17	Harry Durheim 11	John Koneff 2.84
Dothan Browns	Ernie Wingard	Ernie Wingard .359	Ernie Wingard 18	Ernie Wingard 137	Jow Beaugez 15	Joe Beaugez 14	Charleston Jones 2.50
Greenville Lions	Paul Kardow / Howard Taylor / Charlie Richards	Ralph Morris .300	Ralph Morris 15	Emory Lindsey 74	Paul Mainous 11	Paul Mainous 14	Paul Mainous 3.84
Panama City Pelicans	Max Rosenfeld	Forrest Austin .318	Woody Davis 11	Woody Davis 111	Jim Titcomb 12	Jim Titcomb / Floyd Celey 12	Forrest Austin 4.21
Tallassee Indians	Ross Gilhousen / Tommy Kane	Cotton Goodell .348	Cotton Goodell 16	Malcolm DeWeese 84	Les Butcher 17	Les Butcher 9	Bob Ferguson 3.75
Troy Trojans	Holt Milner	Holt Milner .381	Bruce Middlebrooks 20	Holt Milner 119	Pershing Henderson 14	Pershing Henderson 14	Tom Head 2.97

Team Offense	G	AB	R	H	2	3	HR	TB	AVG	SH	BB	RBI	SB	K
Tallassee	129	4348	703	1251	200	39	63	1718	.288	141	457	636	144	526
Troy	130	4455	781	1255	221	37	104	1862	.282	115	515	689	106	573
Dothan	129	4529	825	1271	223	75	56	1812	.281	93	601	747	126	586
Andalusia	130	4271	708	1164	185	54	55	1622	.273	108	553	598	174	637
Panama City	128	4300	736	1175	194	57	47	1624	.273	121	560	647	140	581
Greenville	130	4308	610	1118	213	27	48	1529	.260	87	471	540	59	574

1939 Hitting Leaders	Name	Team
Runs Scored	Jim Cox	Dothan	126
Hits	Ernie Wingard	Dothan	180
Doubles	Jim Cox	Dothan	35
Triples	Woody Davis	Panama City	19
Home Runs	Bruce Middlebrooks	Troy	20
Sacrifices	Ed Borom	Tallassee	19
Bases On Balls	Jim Cox	Dothan	104
RBIs	Ernie Wingard	Dothan	137
Stolen Bases	Perrin Shoemaker	Tallassee	31
Strikeouts	Elmer Bohannon	Troy	81
Batting Average	Holt Milner	Troy	.381

1939 Pitching Leaders	Name	Team
Games	Les Butcher	Tallassee	39
Innings	Joe Beaugez	Dothan	253
Wins	Charleston Jones	Dothan	19
Loses	Joe Beaguez Pershing Henderson Paul Mainous Ed Kramer	Dothan Troy Greenville Troy	14
Win Percentage	John Koneff	Andalusia	.909
Strikeouts	Pershing Henderson	Troy	175
ERA	Charleston Jones	Dothan	2.50
Runs	Pershing Henderson	Troy	173
Earned Runs	Pershing Henderson	Troy	120
Bases On Balls	Pershing Henderson	Troy	155
Hits	Joe Beaugez	Dothan	270
Hit Batsmen	Les Butcher	Tallassee	13
Wild Pitches	Pershing Henderson	Troy