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United
League of
American Base Ball Clubs
est.
1951
LEAGUE
FILE (6/23) ·
HEADLINES
· NEWS
LOG · TRANSACTIONS ·
INJURIES ·
FINANCES
STANDINGS ·
BOX
SCORES · SCHEDULE ·
BATTING ·
PITCHING ·
FIELDING · LEADERS
LEAGUE
RULES · TEAM INFO ·
ROSTERS ·
FREE
AGENTS · TOP
PROSPECTS · TOP
FARMS
TOP
PERFORMANCES ·
RECORD
BOOK · PAST
LEADERS · CAREER
LEADERS
BEGINNINGS ·
CITIES ·
BALLPARKS ·
PLAYER PHOTOS (1957)
·
OOTP 6.1 PATCH
TOTAL UL
· 1951 ·
1952 · 1953 ·
1954 ·
1955 ·
1956
·
1957 DRAFTS
4/7 (Season Preview) ·
4/17 ·
5/1 ·
5/16 ·
6/1 ·
6/16 ·
7/5 ·
7/16 ·
7/31 ·
8/16 ·
9/1 ·
9/17 ·
9/24
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Zernial
Breaks Home Run Record
Ozark Ike's Hat
Trick into History
CHICAGO (Sept. 19) -- Chicago's Gus Zernial broke the single season home
run record in dramatic fashion today, belting solo clouts in three
consecutive innings to surpass Ralph Kiner's 1953 record in front of a
raucous crowd of 25,318 at Wrigley Field. Zernial and Kiner entered
the season's final two weeks tied with 40 HR each, one shy of the
record. Zernial homered off Bobby Shantz in the second and third
innings and off Willard Schmidt in the fourth. All three were solo
shots, and the third was Zernial's 100th RBI of the year. The Colts
won 9-2.
In addition to the single season record (which Zernial
threatened last season, before stalling to finish with 39), the
33-year-old outfielder enters the record books on two other counts.
He becomes the first player in UL history with two 3-HR games (his
previous hat trick was on April 17, 1952 with Boston). And he joins
Gil Hodges as the only teammates in UL history with three-homer games in
the same season. Hodges, who joined the Colts this year, had three
home runs on May 12. Unlike 1956, Zernial is finishing strong this
year, batting .344-8-19, 1.181 OPS in 17 games in September.
[Zernial hit #44 on Sept. 23 and has seven more games in which to add to
his total -- or be caught by Kiner, who has 41].
Maroons Win Series,
Take Narrow Lead
Colonels 1.5 Back
with Seven to Play
ST. LOUIS (Sept.
24) -- With a week to go in the 1957 United League season, the St. Louis
Maroons are nursing a fragile 1.5-game lead. The Maroons combined
solid pitching and timely hitting to take two out of three games in a
pivotal series at Sportsman's Park, the clubs' last head-to-head
meeting. In the Sept. 17th opener, Spec Shea (16-13, 3.42) anchored
a seven-hitter and Dick Kokos, Hector Lopez, and Gene Woodling homered for
a 5-2 win. The next night, Stan Musial snapped out of a 17-game
homerless streak, hitting 3-for-4 and driving in three runs as the Maroons
toppled Herm Wehmeier 5-2. In the finale, Louisville rallied late,
scoring six runs off Ray Moore and Paul Minner for an 8-2 win, as Bob
Porterfield (7-11, 4.13) tossed a seven-hitter.
On Saturday the 20th, the Colonels returned home, where they
split the first four games of a five-game set with third place
Chicago. Walt Moryn and Gus Zernial homered as the Colts rattled
Porterfield's cage in a 7-3 rout (the Horsies led 7-0 in the
eighth). Meanwhile, the Maroons won three of four in Los Angeles,
extending their lead to 1.5 games. Luis Aparicio doubled, tripled,
and drove in four runs in a 12-3 blowout on Saturday, and on Monday Paul
Minner shut down the Outlaws, winning 4-2 on Hector Lopez' game-winning
homer in the eighth.
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| Bob Porterfield snapped a four-game loss streak to shut down St. Louis 8-2 on Sept. 19, averting a three-game sweep. |
30-30
Vision
Aaron, Mays in
Exclusive Club
DETROIT (Sept. 19) --
Willie Mays clobbered a 2-1 Tom Brewer fastball into the cheap seats at
Briggs Field today and entered the record books with baseball's second 30
HR-30 SB season. Mays, 25, stole at least 30 bases in 1952-1954, and
hit 36 and 35 home runs the last two seasons, but until this year had
never done both in the same season. The speedy centerfielder was
recently renewed for another seven years with the Monuments, who made him
the first overall selection in the 1951 Initial draft.
Mays joins a club founded by Hank Aaron less than a month
ago. "Hammerin Hank" his his 30th home run on Aug.
26. Aaron (.297-34-89, 52 SB) missed 30-30 by four home runs last
year. Aaron's teammate Jackie Jensen came close to 30-30. In
four seasons (1952-55), Jensen was within five home runs of the benchmark,
coming closest in 1955 (.270-28-82, 50 SB).
Cleveland, Here We Come!
BOSTON
(Sept. 24) -- Boston Beacons owner Charlie Qualls confirmed today that the
club would relocate to Cleveland, Ohio for the 1959 season. The club
will play its last game at Fenway Park next September before moving 650
miles west to its new home on the shores of Lake Erie. Irate Boston
baseball fans were calling for a boycott of the club in a confused effort
to force it to stay in Beantown.
The Secret To My Suck
Less?
by Charlie Qualls
The Boston Beacons will be attempting the UL’s first successful
city-to-city transplant when they pack their trunks for Cleveland, Ohio.
Faced with diminishing fan interest and attendance well below 75% of the
league average, the Beacons decided they wouldn’t be missed in Beantown.
Hopes are that a move will invigorate a franchise that has never produced
a winning record.
An Erie Feeling
The United League will make its Cleveland debut in 1959, taking over the
lease of spacious Cleveland Stadium. The stadium is slapped between
Lake Erie and Downtown Cleveland. Originally built in 1932 in the
hopes of luring the Olympic Games to Cleveland, the stadium was home to
the American League's Cleveland Indians from 1932-1950 and has been a
football-only venue since 1951. Dubbed “the Mistake By The
Lake,” the 78,000-seater offers a roomy outfield and a pitcher friendly
environment, something Fenway Park seemed to offer only to visiting
pitchers.
Records Toppled in Brooklyn
BROOKLYN (Sept. 24) -- The Superbas continue to rewrite the hitting record
books this season. On Tuesday, Minnie Minoso broke the single season
run record, previously held by Sam Jethroe (1951), when he scored his
125th run in a 10-5 loss at Washington. The next day, Granny Hamner
tied Jackie Robinson's 1952 record of 202 hits in a season. Hamner
leads Minoso by one point (.363 to .362) going into the final week of the
season. Both Hamner and Minoso have a shot at Jackie Robinson's
league record .371 average (1951). Hamner's 16-game hitting streak
was broken on Thursday the 18th, one shy of his career best. Also
this week, Hobie Landrith edged ahaed of St. Louis' Gene Woodling for
fifth place in the batting race, giving Brooklyn a clean sweep of the top
five hitters in the league.
