The
NEVADA DUSTERS
The Story of a Major League Baseball Franchise
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Phillies @ Dusters
April 2-4, 1963
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From Dodger Blue to Duster Red
Al Childress, Las Vegas Sun
Maury Wills, the 1962 National League MVP who stole 85 bases for the Los Angeles Dodgers last year, will take the field on Opening Day 1963 dressed in a Nevada Dusters uniform.
"We did not look at the free agent pool with an eye toward finding another middle infielder," said Duster owner and general manager Conn Hudson. "Primarily, we were looking for pitchers. We were interested in [former Cincinnati starter] Jim O'Toole. [Former Los Angeles Angels outfielder] Albie Pearson was also available. In fact, I couldn't believe how many quality players were free agents this year. But when I saw Maury's name I knew we couldn't pass on him."
Hudson thought he had the Nevada Duster middle infield settled for 1963, with Jerry Adair to return as shortstop, and Ken Hubbs, who performed very well in September and during the World Series, at second base.
But Wills brings a much-needed element -- speed on the basepaths -- to the club. As it stands now, he is slated to be the Opening Day shortstop, which allowed Adair to move back to second base, where he feels more comfortable. Hubbs will have to settle for backing up Wills and Adair.
Hudson acknowledged that the negotiations with Wills was a long and tiring process. The shortstop was seeking $6.4 million for four years. The parties eventually agreed on a contract that will pay Wills $5.85 million for the next five years, and includes a one-year player's option worth $6.25 million for 1968. This makes him the highest paid player on the roster.
"I'm very excited about joining this ballclub," Wills told reporters. "Last year they went to the World Series without me. I'm going to contribute everything I have so that I can go with them this year."
Baseball writers were nearly unanimous in their praise for the signing of Wills. "He brings an entirely new dimension to the Nevada Dusters, said Cy Machlie of Sports Illustrated. "He may not steal 85 bases in 1963, but if he steals half that many he will almost double Nevada's base-theft total of last season. Wills won't hit many home runs, but the Dusters have several hitters who can handle that end. With Wills the club should have significantly more scoring opportunities."
Some, though, questioned whether the Dusters might have been wiser to spend the money on a starter to replace Bob Shaw, who became a free agent when Nevada declined to negotiate to get last year's Cy Young Award winner back for this season.
 PHILADELPHIA PHILLIES @ NEVADA DUSTERS
April 2-4, 1963
Horizon Field (Las Vegas, NV)
DL: Wayne Granger (rp-Montana Wolves R), fractured eye bone, 21 days.
Philadelphia Phillies Game 1 starting lineup:
Bob Allison (rf), Billy Klaus (3b), Jackie Brandt (cf), Dick Allen (1b), Leon Wagner (lf), Clay Dalrymple (c), Bobby Wine (ss), Billy Consolo (2b), Chris Short (sp)
April 1, Game 1
Nearly 19,000 fans were on hand at Horizon Field for Opening Day, and they were treated to a rendering of the "Star Spangled Banner" by celebrity (and Dusters fan) Ann-Margret, followed by a game laden with offensive fireworks. The Phillies came to LasVegas with a potent lineup augmented by the offseason acquisitions of Jackie Brandt (29 homers with Baltimore in '62) and Bob Allison (16 homers with Minnesota in '62), and when the dust had settled Philadelphia had tallied four roundtrippers, one by Allison, one by Brandt, and two by first baseman Dick Allen. Nevada starter Joe Horlen lasted just four innings, giving up three runs on five hits, two of them solo blasts by Allen. Allison got his in the 5th against reliever Barney Schultz, giving the Phillies a 4-1 lead. But Clete Boyer trimmed that lead with his two-run shot in the 5th, and a Tom Tresh RBI single in the 8th tied it up and sent the game to extra innings. Bill Dailey muzzled the Phillies in the top of the 10th and Lee Maye's walk-off solo homer in the bottom of the inning gave Dailey the first Duster win of the '63 campaign. In his first game in a Nevada uniform, shortstop Maury Wills was 0-for-4. Boyer finished 3-for-5 with three runs and a pair of ribbies.
Lineup: Wills, Power, Williams, Boyer, Maye, Tresh, Adair, Carreon, Horlen
Record: 1-0
Dusters 5, Phillies 4
April 3, Game 2
A decision Ben Naylor wanted to make early in the season was whether Hector Lopez, who'd had a poor spring training, or Tom Tresh, who'd had an excellent one, would be a regular in the outfield. Nails gave Tresh the nod for the second game in a row, and Tresh went 0-for-4, while Lopez came in as a pinch hitter in the late innings and hit a home run, one of five Duster roundtrippers that set a club record for most long balls in a single game. The fireworks started early. Vic Power's solo shot in the 1st was followed by a three-run blast by Johnny Blanchard and Philly starter Art Mahaffey was finished after just one-and-a-third innings. It was already 7-0 Nevada when Blanchard opened the 3rd with his second dinger of the day. Meanwhile, starter Tony Cloninger shut the Phillies out for six innings; Billy Consolo got the first Philadelphia base hit in the 6th. One frame later Leon Wagner hit a two-run homer off reliever Bob Duliba, but Lee Maye stretched the Nevada advantage to 9-2 with his solo home run in the bottom of the 7th. The Lopez homer in the 8th made it 10-2 and Cloninger (6.1ip, 1h, 4bb, 1r, 1er, 1k, 1.42) got his first win of the year.
Lineup: Wills, Power, Williams, Boyer, Tresh, Maye, Blanchard, Adair, Cloninger
Record: 2-0
Dusters 10, Phillies 2
April 4, Game 3
Steve Barber returned to Horizon Field, this time in the uniform of the opposing team, as he started for Philadelphia against Dave McNally in a battle of the lefties. A wild pitch by Barber and an error charged to Philly right fielder Bob Allison led to a 1-0 Duster lead early, but both Barber and McNally were stingy with the hits allowed until the 6th, which Vic Power opened with a homer. Then Billy Williams tripled and scored on a Clete Boyer grounder, Lee Maye singled, and Tom Tresh cranked a two-run shot over the right field fence to make it 5-0. Dick Allen's three-run homer in the 8th against reliever Claude Raymond made it close, but Raymond and closer Bill Dailey combined to get the next four outs and preserve the win for McNally (6.1ip, 3h, 1bb, 0r, 0er, 5k, 0.00 ERA). Duster pitching combined for nine strikeouts. Dailey earned his first save, Lee Maye went 2-for-4 with two runs scored, and the Dusters had swept their first series of the year. When asked about the slew of Nevada home runs (of which there were nine in the series), Ben Naylor said, "It's good to see 'em swinging the bats so well, but on the other hand I wouldn't expect nine every series. I don't think we'll quite make 500 home runs on the season."
Lineup: Wills, Power, Williams, Boyer, Maye, Tresh, Adair, Carreon, McNally
Record: 3-0
Dusters 5, Phillies 3
 Nevada Dusters financial update:
Average Attendance: 15,572 ... Revenue YTD: $1.2M ... Profit YTD $440K ... Cash: $24.4M ... Team Payroll: $35.1M
Series Stats:
2B: Maye, Power, Boyer
3B: Williams
HR: Boyer, Maye (2), Blanchard (2), Power (2), Lopez, Tresh
SB: Power, Wills
R: Power (4), Boyer (3), Maye (5), Wills, Williams (2), Tresh (2), Blanchard (2)
RBI: Boyer (4), Maye (3), Tresh (3), Power (2), Williams, Blanchard (4),Lopez
IP: Horlen 4.0, Schultz 3.0, Brewer 3.0, Dailey 1.2, Cloninger 6.1, Duliba 1.2, McNally 6.1, Raymond 2.0
K: Horlen 2, Schultz 2, Brewer 2, Dailey 3, Cloninger 1, Duliba 2, McNally 5, Raymond 3
ER: Horlen 3, Schultz 2, Cloninger 1, Duliba 2, Raymond 3, Dailey 1
W: Dailey, Cloninger, McNally
L: --
SV: Dailey
Around the Leagues:
BAL--Robin Roberts (p) gets his 250th win.
WSA signed Bubba Phillips (3b), CIN signed Richie Ashburn (cf), BAL signed Dick Calmus (p), BOS signed Bobby Del Greco (cf)
PIT--Bill Mazeroski (2b), dislocated hip, six weeks.
 What Really Happened...
April 1 -- The New York Mets purchase Duke Snider from the Los Angeles Dodgers for $40,000.
April 2 -- The Pittsburgh Pirates trade outfielder Howie Goss and cash to the Houston Colt .45's for outfielder Manny Mota.
Philadelphia Phillies at Nevada Dusters
April 3, 1963
TOP OF THE FIRST
Tony Cloninger takes the mound for the Dusters.
Bob Allison grounded to short. <--->
Billy Klaus lined out to short. <--->
Jackie Brandt grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the first, the game is tied at 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Art Mahaffey takes the mound for the Phillies.
Maury Wills grounded to the shortstop. <--->
Vic Power homered around the foul pole in right. <--->
Billy Williams walked. <--1>
Clete Boyer lined out to the third baseman. <--1>
Tom Tresh walked. <-21>
Lee Maye singled down the third base line, scoring a run. <3-1>
Johnny Blanchard homered over the left field fence for three RBIs. <--->
Jerry Adair grounded to second. <--->
5 runs, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the first, Nevada leads 5 to 0.
TOP OF THE SECOND
Dick Allen walked. <--1>
Leon Wagner grounded to second for a double play (4-6-3). <--->
Clay Dalrymple walked. <--1>
Bobby Wine grounded to the shortstop. <--1>
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the second, Philadelphia trails 5 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Tony Cloninger flied out to center. <--->
Maury Wills singled through the left side. <--1>
Vic Power doubled over the right fielder. <32->
Billy Williams singled to right, scoring a run. <3-1>
Clete Boyer doubled into the left field corner, scoring a run. <32->
Paul Brown came in to pitch for the Phillies. <32->
Tom Tresh flied out to center. <32->
Lee Maye grounded to second. <32->
2 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the second, Nevada leads 7 to 0.
TOP OF THE THIRD
Billy Consolo struck out. <--->
Paul Brown grounded to second. <--->
Bob Allison grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the third, Philadelphia trails 7 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Johnny Blanchard homered into the right field seats. <--->
Jerry Adair flied out to left. <--->
Tony Cloninger walked. <--1>
Maury Wills struck out. <--1>
Vic Power struck out. <--1>
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the third, Nevada leads 8 to 0.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Billy Klaus popped up behind home plate. <--->
Jackie Brandt popped up to the shortstop. <--->
Dick Allen grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, Philadelphia trails 8 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Billy Williams flied out to center. <--->
Clete Boyer singled to left-center. <--1>
Tom Tresh grounded to third for a double play (5-4-3). <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, Nevada leads 8 to 0.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Leon Wagner flied out to left. <--->
Clay Dalrymple popped up to second. <--->
Bobby Wine grounded to first. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, Philadelphia trails 8 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Lee Maye singled to right. <--1>
Johnny Blanchard grounded to the third baseman. <-2->
Jerry Adair grounded to short. <3-->
Tony Cloninger grounded to the pitcher. <3-->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, Nevada leads 8 to 0.
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Billy Consolo singled to right. <--1>
Joe Adcock pinch hit for Paul Brown. <--1>
Billy Consolo stole second. <-2->
Joe Adcock flied out to center. <-2->
Bob Allison walked. <-21>
Billy Klaus grounded to first for a double play (3-6-1). <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, Philadelphia trails 8 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Fergie Jenkins came in to pitch for the Phillies. <--->
Maury Wills grounded to first. <--->
Vic Power singled through the left side. <--1>
Billy Williams popped up to short. <--1>
Clete Boyer grounded to the shortstop. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, Nevada leads 8 to 0.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Jackie Brandt popped up to short. <--->
Dick Allen walked. <--1>
Bob Duliba came in to pitch for the Dusters. <--1>
Leon Wagner homered over the left field fence for two RBIs. <--->
Clay Dalrymple popped up behind home plate. <--->
Bobby Wine grounded to the third baseman. <--->
2 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, Philadelphia trails 8 to 2.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Tom Tresh grounded to second. <--->
Lee Maye homered over the right field fence. <--->
Johnny Blanchard grounded to first base. <--->
Jerry Adair grounded to second. <--->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, Nevada leads 9 to 2.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Billy Consolo singled to right field. <--1>
Bob Skinner pinch hit for Fergie Jenkins. <--1>
Bob Skinner struck out. <--1>
Bob Allison struck out. <--1>
Billy Klaus grounded to second. <--1>
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, Philadelphia trails 9 to 2.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Dallas Green came in to pitch for the Phillies. <--->
Hector Lopez pinch hit for Bob Duliba. <--->
Hector Lopez homered over the center field fence. <--->
Maury Wills singled through the left side. <--1>
Vic Power singled in the left field gap. <-21>
Billy Williams popped up to short. <-21>
Clete Boyer grounded to second, forcing the runner at second. <3-1>
Tom Tresh popped up behind home plate. <3-1>
1 run, 3 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, Nevada leads 10 to 2.
TOP OF THE NINTH
Barney Schultz came in to pitch for the Dusters. <--->
Jackie Brandt lined out to right. <--->
Dick Allen walked. <--1>
Leon Wagner struck out. <--1>
Clay Dalrymple flied out to center field. <--1>
DUSTERS WIN: 10-2
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Phillies (PHI) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 3 0
Dusters (NEV) 5 2 1 0 0 0 1 1 x 10 15 0
PHILADELPHIA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
B. Allison (RF) 3 0 1 0 0 0 1 0 .125
B. Klaus (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J. Brandt (CF) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .111
D. Allen (1B) 1 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 .400
L. Wagner (LF) 4 1 0 1 1 2 1 0 .375
C. Dalrymple (C) 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B. Wine (SS) 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B. Consolo (2B) 3 2 0 0 0 0 1 1 .333
A. Mahaffey (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
P. Brown (P) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
J. Adcock (PH) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
F. Jenkins (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B. Skinner (PH) 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 .500
D. Green (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 28 3 5 2 1 2 4 1
HR: L. Wagner (1)
PHILADELPHIA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
A. Mahaffey 1.1 7 2 2 7 7 0 47 47.25
P. Brown 3.2 3 1 1 1 1 2 49 2.45
F. Jenkins 2.0 2 0 1 1 1 0 23 4.50
D. Green 1.0 3 0 1 1 1 0 17 9.00
TOTALS 8.0 15 3 5 10 10 2 136
NEVADA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
M. Wills (SS) 5 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .222
V. Power (1B) 5 4 0 2 1 1 1 0 .600
B. Williams (LF) 4 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 .125
C. Boyer (3B) 5 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 .500
T. Tresh (CF) 4 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .125
L. Maye (RF) 4 3 0 2 1 2 0 0 .750
J. Blanchard (C) 4 2 0 2 2 4 0 0 .500
J. Adair (2B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
T. Cloninger (P) 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000
B. Duliba (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
H. Lopez (PH) 1 1 0 1 1 1 0 0 .500
B. Schultz (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 38 15 3 10 5 10 2 0
2B: V. Power (1), C. Boyer (1)
HR: J. Blanchard 2 (2), V. Power (1), L. Maye (2), H. Lopez (1)
NEVADA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
T. Cloninger 6.1 1 4 0 1 1 1 91 1.42
B. Duliba 1.2 2 0 1 1 1 2 28 5.40
B. Schultz 1.0 0 1 0 0 0 1 18 3.00
TOTALS 9.0 3 5 1 2 2 4 137
WP: T. Cloninger (1-0)
LP: A. Mahaffey (0-1)
Temperature: 47F
Wind: 5 MPH (in from center)
Attendance: 14,384
Time: 2:39
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