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Writer's pictureSteve Potter

7/7/2020 : Phillies Minor League History - The Appleton PaperMakers


Time Period - 1947 to 1949


Venue : Goodland Field


City : Appleton, WI


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Franchise History :


Appleton, Wisconsin has been a steady home to Minor League Baseball since the 1940s. Originally known as the Appleton Papermakers, the still existing franchise became the Foxes in 1963—which they stayed until the conclusion of the 1994 season. In 1995, the Appleton Foxes turned into the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers.


The Timber Rattlers are a non-stock, community-owned team similar in structure to the Green Bay Packers organization. The Timber Rattlers franchise has been a member of the Midwest League since 1962 and is presently affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers.


Major League Affiliations over the years :


Cleveland Indians - 1941 to 1942 & 1946

Philadelphia Phillies - 1947 to 1949

St Louis Browns - 1950 to 1951

Boston Braves - 1952

Milwaukee Braves - 1953

Washington Senators - 1958 to 1959

Baltimore Orioles - 1962 to 1965

Chicago White Sox - 1966 to 1986

Kansas City Royals - 1987 to 1992

Seattle Mariners - 1993 to 2008

Milwaukee Brewers - 2009 to present


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The Stadium the Phillies teams played in :


Goodland Field :


Location: 1522 W. 4th Spencer & S. Outagamie Streets.

Capacity: 3,000 (1940); 3,500 (1950); 5,100 (1971); 4,300 (1990)

Fence distance : 330 - LF, 400 - CF, 330 - RF


Goodland Field, named for former Appleton mayor John Goodland, was called Spencer Street Athletic Field when built in 1937. It was a brick ballpark with a roofed grandstand.


The ballpark opened in 1940 as the Spencer Street Athletic Field and was the host of Appleton’s minor league baseball franchises till it’s final season in 1994.


Goodland Field was taken over by the Appleton School District which converted the site into a sports complex and renamed it Nienhaus Field after a local high school teacher and successful coach and 1994 Wisconsin State Golf Hall of Fame member Mary Beth Nienhaus. Nienhaus Field is used regularly by Appleton West baseball and softball teams,[6] as well as a number of area baseball, softball, and soccer teams.


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The Seasons :


1947


Wisconsin State League (D ) ... Managers : Andrew Latchic & Whitey Gluchoski ... 61-61 , 5th place ... Attendance: 91,401.


20 year old RHP Paul Geyer went 17-10 in 33 games ( 215 IP ) with a 3.27 ERA ... he played just one more season of professional baseball


1948


Wisconsin State League (D ) ... Manager : Whitey Gluchoski ... 48-77 , 7th place ... Attendance: 69,971.


20 year old outfielder Danny Schell hit .308 in 148 AB’s in his first pro season ... he would play in two major league seasons ( 1954 & 1955 ) with the Phillies and made 296 plate appearances in 1954 posting a .283 batting average with 7 homers and 33 RBIs ... Schell would play four more seasons thereafter at the AAA level in the Cardinals and Yankees systems ... he played 10 minor league seasons and finished with a career .298 batting average in 4,110 AB’s


1949


Wisconsin State League (D ) ... Manager : Frederick Clemence ... 57-69 , 6th place ... Attendance: 92,938.


No player on the roster reached the major leagues however 20 year old Harry Fredericks was fourth in the loop in batting average with a .339 mark in 431 AB’s in 126 games ... he also played in 1950 but missed the 1951 and 1952 seasons due to the Korean War ... returned in 1953 for two more minor league seasons before retiring after playing in a total of 295 games


Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️


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