Vintage Copy Of The Sioux City Soos & Topeka Hawks Affiliate Teams Rosters 1956

Description: This vintage copy of the Sioux City Soos and Topeka Hawks affiliate teams rosters from 1956 is a must-have for any baseball enthusiast. It features multiple players from both teams and is a great addition to any sports memorabilia collection. The rosters provide an interesting glimpse into the past and the teams' lineups from over 60 years ago. Whether you are a fan of the Sioux City Soos or the Topeka Hawks, or simply enjoy collecting vintage sports memorabilia, this item is sure to impress. SIOUX CITY SOOS (1947-1960) Western League (1947-1958) Three-I League (1959-1960) Tombstone Born: 1946 Western League founding franchise Folded: November 28, 1960 Western League Champions: 1948, 1950 & 1951 Three-I League Championships:None The Sioux City Soos of 1947-1958 were the fourth and final baseball club to play under the Soos name in the Northwest Iowa city. Earlier versions of the Soos played in 1904, 1908-1909 and 1940-1941. The latter day Soos joined the Class A Western League for its inaugural season in the summer of 1947. Sioux City won three Western League playoff crowns during a nine-year working agreement with the New York Giants of the National League. Sioux City fans missed out on two opportunities to enjoy the greatest Giant of the era. In 1950, the Giants signed 19-year Willie Mays out of the Negro American League. The Giants initially considered sending the Say Hey Kid to Sioux Falls, but Soos management wouldnt integrate the team. Instead he was sent to the Class B Trenton Giants in New Jersey for the 1950 season. The following summer, Mays was tearing up the Class AAA American Association, hitting .477 for the Minneapolis Millers through late May. On May 24, 1951, Mays and the Millers were due to play an exhibition game against the Soos in Sioux City. But the afternoon of the game, the Giants summoned Mays to New York to join the Major League club. He missed the exhibition and never played another game in the minors. Floyd River Flood Tragedy struck Sioux City on June 8th, 1953. The Floyd River flooded, killing 14 people. Soos Park was inundated with water which killed the infield grass and washed away much of the stadiums outfield fencing. Neverthless, the Soos were able to complete the 1953 campaign. Post-Giants Troubles The Giants pulled out at the end of the 1955 season and the late 1950s were not kind to the Soos. In 1956 the St. Louis Cardinals took over as parent club. But the Soos played poorly and team owner Adam Pratt threatened to fold the team in mid-summer unless a list of demands was met. One demand was that the Western League immediately adopt a split season format, which would give the Soos a fresh start to drum up fan interest in July and August. Another was that the Chamber of Commerce drum up $15,000 in immediate ticket sales through a Save The Soos campaign. Attendance dropped to an all-time low of 42,000 fans during the summer of 56. The Soos muddled through the 1957 and 1958 seasons without a firm Major League working agreement in place. Sioux City dropped out of the Western League in December 1957, but returned to the fold a few months later, in time to field a Soos team for 1958. 1958 proved to be the final season of the Western League, which folded in February 1959. Kansas City Athletic Era & Demise After the Western League shuttered, the Soos soldiered on for two further seasons in the Three-I League as a Kansas City Athletics farm club. (The Three-I stood for Illinois, Indiana & Iowa). Notable players during the Athletics era included shortstop Dick Howser (1959-1960) and pitcher Diego Segui (1960). Howser became an All-Star for the Kansas City As in 1961 and managed the Kansas City Royals to a World Series victory in 1985. Segui pitched 15 seasons in the Majors and led the American League in ERA in 1970. The Soos finally caved to persistent financial troubles and went out of business in November 1960. In Memoriam Soos owner Adam Pratt died on August 23, 1980 at the age of 78. Shortstop Dick Howser died after a battle with brain cancer on June 17, 1987. Topeka Hawks baseball team The Topeka Hawks minor league baseball team is shown in this photograph from 1956. The Hawks were affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers, and finished fourth in the Class A Western League with a 70-68 record. Future major league pitcher Marshall Bridges led the Western League in both wins (18) and strikeouts (213); Jack O'Donnell led the league in ERA (3.32). The team outpaced other league competitors with a total attendance of 103,938 during the 1956 season

Price: 25 USD

Location: Aurora, Colorado

End Time: 2025-01-06T18:29:41.000Z

Shipping Cost: N/A USD