There was a time when no town was too small to field a professional baseball team. In 1949, the high point for the minor leagues, there were 59 leagues and 464 cities with teams, two-thirds of them in so-called bush leagues classified as C and D. Most of the players were strangers outside the towns where they played, but some achieved hero status and enthralled local fans as much as the stars in the majors.Left on Base in the Bush Leagues: Legends, Near Greats, and Unknowns in the Minors profiles some of the most fascinating characters from baseballs golden era. It includes the stories of players such as Ron Necciai, the only pitcher in history to strike out 27 batters in a single game; Joe Brovia, one of the most feared hitters to ever play in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), who had to wait 15 years for a shot in the majors; and Pat Stasey, a mellow Irishman who Cubanized minor league baseball in Texas and New Mexico, helping to bring down the walls of segregation. Compelling and timeless, their stories touch on many issues that still affect the sport today.Left on Base in the Bush Leagues provides an entertaining glimpse into a time when baseball was a game and the players were regular guys who often held second jobs off the field. Featuring hundreds of personal interviews with the players, their teammates, managers, and opponents, this bookcreates a colorful tapestry of the minor leagues during the 1950s and 60s.

Gaylon H. Whitewas a sportswriter for theDenver Post,Arizona RepublicandOklahoma Journalbefore working in the corporate world for nearly forty years. He is the author ofThe Bilko Athletic Club: The Story of the 1956 Los Angeles Angels (2014) andSingles and Smiles: How Artie Wilson Broke Baseballs Color Barrier(2018), and co-author with Ransom Jackson ofHandsome Ransom Jackson: Accidental Big Leaguer(2016), all published by Rowman& Littlefield.

ForewordWes Parker

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

1:Bushes and Bushers: Three Bush League Legends and Two Unknowns

2:Following a Dream: Walter Buckel and the Biggest Little Baseball City in the United States

3:Round Trip to Nowhere: Bob Round Trip Crues

4:The Man Who Wore the Texaco Star: Joe Bauman

5:Father, Son, and Little League: Tom and Tommy Jordan

6:The Mellow Irishmans Merry Band of Cubans: Pat Stasey and the Big Spring Broncs

7:The Bobo and Jojo Show: Bobo Newsom and Joe Engel

8:A Boy Named Kingston: Al Pinkston

9:Playing Drunk: Joe Taylor

10:A Whiff of the Big Time: Joe Brovia

11:Unwanted: Bob Dillinger

12:Made for Hollywood: Carlos Bernier

13:A Tale of Two Legends: Ron Necciai and Steve Dalkowski

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author