Witter Field

Wisconsin Rapids Wisconsin

Home of the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters

Former home of the Wisconsin Rapids
Twins
Senators
White Sox
Other teams joining Wisconsin Rapids in the league were the 1st place Oshkosh Giants, the Sheboygan Indians, the Janesville Cubs, the Fond du Lac Panthers, the Green Bay Bluejays, the Appleton Papermakers and the Wausau Lumberjacks. Aside from Wisconsin Rapids, only Wausau's Athletic Park and Janesville's fairgrounds grandstand remain from the old Wisconsin State League. Chester Gugala was promoted to Class C Superior in 1951 and retired from the game at the age of 21 deciding to take a different route in life. There was no replacement for him in the power department. William Rogowski (18 2B, 7 Hrs, .258) and Doug Cossey (12 2B, 7 HRs, .285) were the team's top power hitters. The pitching however got much better as Robert Hattenback went 16-7 with a 3.36 ERA on the season and Walter Yowell had a record breaking season. At 18-7, 1.90, leading the league in both wins and ERA... Yowell's performance was so good, that no other pitcher in the 25 year professional history of this stadium would ever win that many games again. Yowell's 18 wins would stand the test of time for the best pitching performance ever. The White Sox finished at 60-58 giving Witter Field its first above .500 season, and finishing in 4th place. Things should have been looking up in the Rapids but only 33,000 came through the gate... last in the 8 team league.