War Memorial Stadium... "The Rockpile" by Bob Gaver located in Buffalo New York Former home of the Buffalo Bisons! |
"A group headed by Attorney Robert O. Swados, businessmen Van Beuren W. DeVries,
J. Fred Schoellkopf, Paul A. Schoellkopf and George F. Goodyear had acquired the
stock of Sportservice Corp. in 1965, and with it control of the club. The stated
aims of the new operators were: 1. Restore the image of community ownership.
2. Bring major league baseball to Buffalo. They were to fail in both objectives
a few years down the road. Meanwhile, failures on the field and at the box office
were to assert themselves immediately. The team, under new Manager Warren
(Sheriff) Robinson, was a disaster. At the end of May it was 8-21; on July 27
it was 30-79, and in the throes of a Buffalo-record 13-game losing streak. At this
point, the Mets in need of a coach because of an injury to Casey Stengel, mercifully
recalled Robinson and replaced him with Kerby Farrell. Under the old
master the team did turn around (21-17), but not enough to avert the last place
finish. The leading hitter, Cleon Jones, batted just .269. The three leading pitchers,
Dennis Musgraves, Don Rowe and Darrell Sutherland, each won eight games;
while Craig Anderson was 2-12, Carl Willey was 2-9 and Dennis Ribant 3-12. Duke
Carmel, drafted in the fall of '64 by the Yankees for $25,000, was re-purchased
for $12,500. He batted .163 in 82 games. Another old-timers game was scheduled.
Again, it was rained out. Attendance withered to 97,695. The club announced
it had lost $55,382" *Buffalo Bisons. The final record stood at a horrible 51-96
(.347). |