1954 AFL SEASON
The fifteenth AFL season was one where
the hitting skills of the league’s best batter brought national
attention to the league. Neal Cobb might have climb through the
ranks into the higher levels of organized ball had it not been
for two factors: Cobb got a late start playing organized ball
because of the war, but a bigger factor was Cobb’s personality.
A distant relative of Ty Cobb, Neal was the antithesis to Ty
in personality. Neal Cobb was a mild mannered guy who never wanted
to be too far from the scrubby nothern Florida panhandle town
of Crestview. Cobb still lives outside of Crestview, and is known
to virtually everone in the area. Whenever the opportunity came
for Neal to step up to a higher level, he’d turn it down in order
to stay in the panhandle. In 1954, He drew quite a bit of attention
as he hit everything in sight. Cobb finished the year with a
.432 batting average, the highest in all the major leagues. For
this accomplishment, Cobb received a sterling silver bat and
his official award was presented to him by Dazzy Vance. Cobb wasn’t
the only .400 hitter on the Crestview Braves: former major leaguer
Fred Williams batted .403. Despite the firepower, the Braves
could only manage a fifth-place finish. Financial difficulties
almost caused the Reinke family, who owned the Crestview team,
to fold in tent, but the Braves managed to stay afloat and complete
the season. One way that the Reinke family saved money was by
personally running the consession stand during home games.
The Crestview Braves replaced Eufaula, putting four teams
in the Florida Panhandle. For many years, the AFL had one or
no Florida teams. In 1954, Every team was either in Florida or
within 30 miles of the border.
John Streza, The league’s home run champ, started his pro career
way back in 1938 with the Union Springs Springers.
Fred « Pappy » Williams, managed Crestview, batted
.403 and stole 44 bases in 1954. This was quite an accomplishment
for a player in the twilight of his career. Williams played briefly
for Cleveland in 1945, and started his career in the East Dixie
league in 1935.
The only future major leaguer in the AFL in 1954 was Marshall
Renfroe.
Humberto Lopez, Graceville’s speedy outfielder, stole 71 bases
in 1954, the second best total in league history.
Dave Hutchinson, Panama City pitcher, had 5 balks during the
season.
Andalusia/Opp had the only two no-hitters of the season, one
by Austin McDonald and the other by Myron Garland.
ELSEWHERE IN 1954
Nesbit Wilson (1955 Crestview, 1956 Donalsonville, 1957 Fort
Walton Beach, 1957-58 Pensacola) leads the Florida International
League in runs (96) and RBI’s (109). Wilson is called up to Montgomery
in the South Atlantic League, where he bats .379.
| Dothan | 72 | 53 | 1 | .576 | ** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andalusia – Opp | 71 | 55 | 0 | .563 | 1.5 |
| Fort Walton Beach | 68 | 57 | 1 | .544 | 4 |
| Graceville | 63 | 62 | 0 | .504 | 9 |
| Crestview | 55 | 69 | 0 | .444 | 16.5 |
| Panama City | 46 | 79 | 0 | .368 | 26 |
1954 Season
Won
Lost
Tie
PCT
GB
| 1954 Shaugnnessey Playoffs |
|---|
| Dothan defeated Fort Walton Beach, 4 games to 2 |
| Graceville defeated Andalusia-Opp, 4 games to 2 |
| Graceville defeated Dothan, 4 games to 3 |
| Team | Attendance | AVG * |
|---|---|---|
| Graceville | 42,260 | 670 |
| Dothan | 38,050 | 603 |
| Andalusia – Opp | 26,925 | 427 |
| Panama City | 20,055 | 318 |
| Crestview | 16,565 | 262 |
| Fort Walton Beach | 14,510 | 230 |
| Totals: | ||
| Playoffs: | 19,049 | ** |
| All star game | 3,035 | ** |
The average is based on 63 home games. Some postponed games
were not made up.
158,365
2513
| Team Fielding | G | DP | PB | PO | A | E | PCT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andalusia -Opp | 126 | 122 | 33 | 3294 | 1301 | 228 | .953 |
| Dothan | 126 | 82 | 30 | 3329 | 1314 | 247 | .949 |
| Crestview | 124 | 131 | 27 | 3238 | 1347 | 247 | .949 |
| Fort Walton Beach | 127 | 94 | 33 | 3369 | 1301 | 293 | .941 |
| Graceville | 125 | 98 | 21 | 3261 | 1278 | 306 | .937 |
| Panama City | 126 | 101 | 28 | 3244 | 1278 | 326 | .933 |
| Team Name | Managers | Batting Leader | Home Run Leader | RBI Leader | Wins Leader | Losses Leader | ERA Leader |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hamons / Frank Tepedino | Jim Burns .385 | Jim Burns 17 | Jim Burns 143 | Joe Barry 11 | Austin McDonald 12 | Austin McDonald 3.82 | |
| Fred Williams | Neal Cobb .432 | Fred Williams 7 | Neal Cobb 124 | John McKinstry 7 | Bill Mitnick 11 | Jim Stark 4.35 | |
| Ray Wilson | Jimmy Cantrell .326 | Glenn Butler 13 | Glenn Butler 93 | Spencer Daivs 23 | Charles Vowels 11 | Spencer Davis 2.83 | |
| Holt Milner | Al Rivenbark .353 | Bob Tarlton 8 | Al Rivenbark 108 | Marion Fincher 13 | Dick Wright 7 | Nick Berbesia 2.61 | |
| Roy Sinquefield | Bob Karasak .350 | Bob Karasak 10 | Reed Chadwick 86 | Al Rogers 3.06 | Al Rogers 14 | Al Rogers 14 |
| Team Offense | G | AB | R | H | TB | 2 | 3 | HR | SH | SF | SB | BB | HB | SO | RBI | LOB | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crestview | 124 | 4280 | 824 | 1249 | 1672 | 199 | 40 | 48 | 118 | 30 | 166 | 701 | 49 | 607 | 696 | 1088 | .292 |
| Fort Walton Beach | 127 | 4559 | 997 | 1321 | 2002 | 199 | 40 | 134 | 68 | 20 | 101 | 802 | 52 | 726 | 844 | 1137 | .290 |
| Andalusia – Opp | 126 | 4365 | 980 | 1224 | 1743 | 189 | 45 | 80 | 66 | 25 | 124 | 825 | 39 | 695 | 818 | 1079 | .280 |
| Graceville | 125 | 4394 | 858 | 1225 | 1680 | 198 | 79 | 33 | 61 | 31 | 115 | 757 | 41 | 731 | 705 | 1140 | .279 |
| Panama City | 126 | 4268 | 745 | 1182 | 1580 | 186 | 37 | 56 | 93 | 20 | 58 | 729 | 55 | 683 | 655 | 1107 | .277 |
| Dothan | 126 | 4289 | 789 | 1141 | 1573 | 166 | 52 | 54 | 103 | 23 | 102 | 745 | 32 | 736 | 683 | 1106 | .266 |
| 1954 Hitting Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Runs Scored | Frank Tepedino | Andalusia – Opp | 149 |
| Hits | Neal Cobb | Crestview | 188 |
| Doubles | Jim Burns | Andalusia – Opp | 42 |
| Triples | Bob Berry | Graceville | 17 |
| Home Runs | John Streza | Fort Walton Beach | 31 |
| Sacrifices | Bob Westerman | Crestview | 23 |
| Bases On Balls | Frank Tepedino | Andalusia – Opp | 118 |
| RBIs | Jim Burns | Andalusia – Opp | 143 |
| Stolen Bases | Humberto Lopez | Graceville | 71 |
| Strikeouts | Edsell Beck | Andalusia – Opp | 96 |
| Batting Average | Neal Cobb | Crestview | .432 |
| 1954 Pitching Leaders | Name | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Hank Hemmerly | Fort Walton Beach | 41 |
| Innings | Spencer Davis | Dothan | 242 |
| Wins | Spencer Davis | Dothan | 23 |
| Loses | Al Rogers | Panama City | 14 |
| Win Percentage | Spencer Davis | Dothan | .852 |
| Strikeouts | Spencer Davis | Dothan | 196 |
| Shutouts | Nick Berbesia / Art Shockley |
Graceville / Dothan |
2 |
| ERA | Nick Berbesia | Graceville | 2.61 |
| Runs | Hank Hemmerly | Fort Walton Beach | 156 |
| Earned Runs | Hank Hemmerly | Fort Walton Beach | 118 |
| Bases On Balls | Hank Hemmerly | Fort Walton Beach | 166 |
| Hits | Marion Fincher | Graceville | 247 |
| Hit Batsmen | Hank Hemmerly | Fort Walton Beach | 18 |
| Wild Pitches | Lee Salmonson | Fort Walton Beach | 19 |
The 1954 All Star Game
The league scheduled their thirteenth All star game for June
21st. The game was played in Dothan, and featured a 9th-inning
rally by the All-stars to beat the Rebels, 7-5. Spencer « Onion »
Davis, unavailable for the pitching assignment, started in left
field for the Rebels.
| LEAGUE ALL-STARS | TEAM | POS | DOTHAN |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Hamons | Andalusia – Opp | MGR | Ray Wilson |
| Ron Lacey | Crestview | C | Tom Patton |
| Reed Chadwick | Panama City | C | Bob Thornell |
| Marv Sheridan | Andalusia – Opp | 1st | Dick Wieder |
| Leon Adair | Andalusia – Opp | 2nd | Homer Wilson |
| Frank Tepedino | Andalusia – Opp | SS | Don Camden |
| Frank Mirelli | Fort Walton Beach | 3rd | John Fafara |
| Bob Karasak | Panama City | Of | Don Catchot |
| Dick Hicks | Fort Walton Beach | Of | Spencer Davis |
| Neal Cobb | Crestview | Of | Dwight Tucker |
| Al Rivenbark | Graceville | Ut | Hugh Coy |
| Ernie Pearce | Graceville | Ph | ** |
| Al Rogers | Panama City | P | Art Shockley |
| Marion Fincher | Graceville | P | Wayland Garland |
| Ron Sturgill | Fort Walton Beach | P | ** |
| Austin McDonald | Andalusia – Opp | P | ** |
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