The Holdrege White Sox were a minor league baseball team based in

Holdrege, Nebraska Holdrege is a city in Phelps County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 5,495 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Phelps County. The Nebraska Prairie Museum is located in Holdrege. History Holdrege was established in 1883 wh ...

. The White Sox played as members of the short–season Class D level Nebraska State League from 1956 to 1959 as an affiliate of the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and p ...

. Holdrege first fielded a team in the 1903

Central Nebraska League The Central Nebraska League was an Independent level minor league baseball league that played in the 1903 season. The five–team Central Nebraska League consisted of franchises based exclusively in Nebraska. The Central Nebraska League played j ...

, winning the league title. The White Sox hosted home minor league games at Holdrege Fairgrounds Park.

History

Holdrege, Nebraska first fielded a minor league team in 1903, when the Holdrege team became members of the 1903

, an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

level five–team league that folded after one season. The last known standings were published on July 24, 1903, shortly before the

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and Giltner teams disbanded. The Red Cloud Indians and McCook would disband shortly thereafter, leaving only Holdrege remaining. Holdrege then played the remainder of the 1903 season as a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel can ...

. The last known standings had the Holdrege Silver Aces in first place with a 19–7 record, tied with McCook, who had an identical record. Decades later, the Holdrege "White Sox" resumed minor league play in Holdrege. The White Sox played four seasons as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League, from 1956 to 1959, as an affiliate of the

. Holdrege finished the 1956 season with a 33–30 record to place sixth and last in the Nebraska State League standings. The White Sox finished in third place in 1957 with a record of 33–23. In 1958, Holdrege finished in last place with a record of 29–34 to place sixth. In their final season of play, Holdrege placed second with a 39–23 record. There were no Nebraska State League playoffs in the seasons that Holdrege played. On opening day in 1956, fans came to the Hotel Dale in Holdrege to see

Carl Hubbell Carl Owen Hubbell (June 22, 1903 – November 21, 1988), nicknamed "the Meal Ticket" and "King Carl", was an American Major League Baseball player. He was a pitcher for the New York Giants of the National League from 1928 to 1943, and remained o ...

, who was a participant in opening day festivities at Fairgrounds Park. Holdrege had a tradition of Saturday night being "shopping night" in the business district. As a result, Holdrege played Saturday games during the afternoon, as the city's electrical system could not support lights in both the business district and the ballpark being on at the same time. The Nebraska State League permanently folded after the 1959 season. Holdrege, along with the 1959 league members

Hastings Giants The Hastings Giants was the final nickname of the minor league baseball teams, based in Hastings, Nebraska between 1887 and 1959. The Hastings Giants played in the short-season Class D level Nebraska State League from 1956 to 1959. Earlier Hasti ...

Grand Island Athletics Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and comm ...

Kearney Yankees The Kearney Yankees were a minor league baseball team that played in the Class D level Nebraska State League from 1956 to 1959. Hosting home games at Kearney Memorial Field, Kearney was a minor league affiliate of the New York Yankees. History Ba ...

McCook Braves The McCook Braves were a minor league baseball team based in McCook, Nebraska. From 1956 to 1959, the McCook Braves played as members of the short-season Class D level Nebraska State League as an affiliate of the Milwaukee Braves for their durati ...

and

North Platte Indians The North Platte Indians were a minor league baseball team based in North Platte, Nebraska. Preceded by the North Platte Buffalos, the North Platte teams played as members of the Class D level Nebraska State League from 1928 to 1932 as the Buffa ...

also permanently folded their franchises.

The ballpark

The Holdrege White Sox hosted minor league home games at Holdrege Fairgrounds Park. The ballpark was also known as "White Sox Park" during minor league play there. On July 24, 1956, the wooden grandstands burned down. The bleachers were quickly rebuilt, and some damaged light poles were also replaced at the ballpark. The park was a favorite of hitters, averaging about three home runs per game. The field is still in use today at the Phelps County Fairgrounds.

Timeline

Year-by-year records

Notable alumni

* Alan Brice (1956) *

Cam Carreon Camilo Carreón (August 6, 1937 – September 2, 1987) was an American professional baseball player. The catcher appeared in 354 games over all or parts of eight Major League Baseball seasons between and for the Chicago White Sox, Cleveland Indi ...

(1956) * Jim Hicks (1959) *

Jerry McNertney Gerald Edward McNertney (born August 7, 1936) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher in 1964 and then from 1966 to 1973. Career Born in Boone, Iowa, McNertney signed with th ...

(1958) * JC Martin (1956) *

George Noga George Stephen Noga (November 5, 1927 - February 5, 1998) was an American retired infielder, manager and scout in professional baseball. A native of New York, New York, Noga spent the latter portion of his playing days and all of his managing career ...

(1958, MGR) *

Gary Peters Gary Charles Peters Sr. (born December 1, 1958) is an American lawyer, politician, and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Michigan since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representativ ...

(1956) 2 x MLB All-Star; 1963

AL Rookie of the Year In Major League Baseball, the Rookie of the Year Award is given annually to two outstanding rookie players, one each for the American League (AL) and National League (NL), as voted on by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). The aw ...

Skeeter Scalzi Frank John "Skeeter" Scalzi (June 16, 1913 – August 25, 1984) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A 5-foot, 6 inch (1.68 m), 160-pound (72.6 kg) shortstop and third baseman, Scalzi threw and batted right-handed. ...

(1956, MGR) *

Fred Talbot Frederick Wilson Talbot (born 17 December 1949) is a Scottish former television presenter. He spent much of his career in North West England. In February 2015, and again in May 2017, he was found guilty of a string of indecent sexual assaults ...

(1959) *

Al Weis Albert John Weis (born April 2, 1938) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an infielder from 1962 to 1971 for the Chicago White Sox and the New York Mets. A light-hitting batter with only seven ...

(1959)

References

{{Reflist, 2

External links

Holdrege - Baseball ReferenceHoldrege - Baseball Reference II
Phelps County, Nebraska Baseball teams established in 1956 Defunct minor league baseball teams 1956 establishments in Nebraska 1959 disestablishments in Nebraska Defunct baseball teams in Nebraska Professional baseball teams in Nebraska Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates Baseball teams disestablished in 1959 Nebraska State League teams