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.
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