The
NEVADA DUSTERS
The Story of a Major League Baseball Franchise
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Cardinals @ Dusters
May 25-27, 1962
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Achilles Heel
At the conclusion of the second Cardinals series, Las Vegas Sun sportswriter Al Childress wrote a no-holds-barred assessment of the Nevada Dusters pitching staff -- as Childress put it, the club's Achilles heel. "The scary part," wrote Childress, "is that the Dusters' fortunes rest on a pair of rookies, Dave McNally (6-0) and Joe Horlen (7-3). If anything happens to either one of them the Dusters may freefall to the NL cellar." Childress pointed out that the 3.82 staff ERA -- only slightly above the NL average --was deceiving, because without McNally's 1.64 and Horlen's 2.25, that team average would be "stratospheric." Steve Barber, declared Childress, looked like a wash-out, as Barber wasn't faring much better at AAA Bakersfield than he had with the Dusters (1-5, 4.97 ERA). Bob Shaw (4-2, 4.25) might come around, but it didn't look like Tony Cloninger (2-5, 4.70) ever would. As for the bullpen, it was too soon to say if the trade for Jim Umbricht would pay off, as Umbricht had pitched only three innings (and earned a 6.00 ERA.) The only person performing well in the bullpen was Bill Dailey (1-1, 3.15, 2 saves), who had replaced the struggling Claude Raymond as closer. Childress proceeded to review the work of the hurlers Conn Hudson had traded away after acquiring the franchise. Warren Spahn, now with the Orioles, was 4-4, 3.01. Lew Burdette, also in the Baltimore starting rotation, was 6-2, 2.34. Don McMahon, now in the Cubs bullpen, was 0-1, 1.74 with 4 saves, while Denny Lemaster, now a White Sox reliever, was 3-1, 2.05 with one save. Bob Buhl, pitching for St. Louis was 3-7, 4.85. "You would think he was a Duster with those numbers," wrote Childress. The bottom line was that Hudson had made grave mistakes in selecting the pitchers he wanted for his club, and that was a shame, because the Nevada hitters were for the most part having an outstanding season.
Nevada Dusters: Minor League Report (as of 5.27)
Bakersfield Bullets (AAA), 20-17
Donn Clendenon (1B) 76ab, 26h, 19r, 16rbi, 4hr, 5bb, 8k, 0sb, .342/.373/.579
Bubba Morton (RF) 142ab, 43h, 30r, 29rbi, 3hr, 18bb, 13k, 4sb, .303/.383/.408
Steve Barber (P) 4gs, 2W, 1L, 3.18era, 22.2ip, 9r, 8er, 19h, 2hr, 11bb, 12k, .226baa
Bobby Locke (P) 2gs, 2W, 1L, 2.25era, 24.0ip, 7r, 6er, 21h, 1hr, 2bb, 8k, .236baa
Salt Lake City Saints (AA), 29-20
Glen Clark (1B) 84ab, 24h, 15r, 14rbi, 1hr, 11bb, 12k, 0sb, .286/.381/..369
Denis Menke (SS) 85ab, 18h, 11r, 11rbi, 2hr, 12bb, 13k, 1sb, .212/..317/.353
Tony Oliva (RF) 197ab, 68h, 39r, 41rbi, 4hr, 13bb, 18k, 5sb, .345/.381/.,508
Cookie Rojas (2B) 182ab, 54h, 25r, 26rbi, 1hr, 14bb, 16k, 2sb, .297/.348/..379
Jim Bouton (P) 9gs, 4W, 1L, 2.98era, 42.1ip, 21r, 14er, 40h, 3hr, 19bb, 18k, .245baa
Dave Eilers (RP) 1gs, 2W, 1L, 2.48era, 36.1ip, 15r, 10er, 29h, 1hr, 13bb, 12k, .227baa, 1sv
Phil Niekro (P) 10gs, 6W, 1L, 2.33era, 65.2ip, 23r, 17er, 50h, 2hr, 27bb, 25k, .210baa, 1cg
Jim Roland (P) 5gs, 1W, 1L, 2.11era, 38.1ip, 10r, 9er, 26h, 1hr, 15bb, 13k, .188baa
Tucson Stingers (A), 8-7, 19-22
Tommie Aaron (1B) 122ab, 30h, 14r, 14rbi, 0hr, 14bb, 15k, 1sb, .246/.324/.303
Gene Alley (SS) 113ab, 34h, 19r, 16rbi, 0hr, 11bb, 15k, 2sb, .301/.360/.381
Jesus Alou (RF) 105ab, 29h, 19r, 16rbi, 1hr, 3bb, 7k, 1sb, .276/.294/.333
George Banks (3B) 149ab, 42h, 27r, 25rbi, 1hr, 19bb, 22k, 1sb, .282/.368/.389
Wes Parker (1B) 54ab, 22h, 11r, 14rbi, 2hr, 13bb, 6k, 2sb, .407/.515/..648
Cecil Butler (P) 5gs, 1W, 2L, 2.85era, 41.0ip, 17r, 13er, 30h, 3hr, 12bb, 12k, .203baa
Clay Carroll (P) 3gs, 0W, 1L, 2.62era, 34.1ip, 13r, 10er, 32h, 4hr, 9bb, 13k, .244baa, 1sv
Paul Doyle (P) 0gs, 0W, 2L, 3.11era, 37.2ip, 20r, 13er, 33h, 4hr, 11bb, 16k, .239baa, 2sv
Hank Fischer (P) 4gs, 2W, 2L, 4.02era, 40.1ip, 22r, 18er, 49h, 3hr, 12bb, 21k, .297baa
Herb Hippauf (P) 4gs, 0W, 1L, 3.20era, 45.0ip, 22r, 16er, 41h, 2hr, 20bb, 12k, .243baa, 3sv
Dick Kelley (P) 3gs, 2W, 2L, 2.58era, 38.1ip, 14r, 11er, 35h, 0hr, 9bb, 22k, .236baa
Larry Maxie (P) 3gs, 2W, 0L, 1.35era, 33.1ip, 7r, 5er, 19h, 0hr, 12bb, 9k, .171baa
Montana Wolves (R), 17-12
Sandy Alomar (2B) 26ab, 8h, 3r, 4rbi, 0hr, 5bb, 2k, 2sb, .308/.419/.385
Bob Bailey (3B) 84ab, 28h, 19r, 18rbi, 4hr, 19bb, 13k, 4sb, .333/.462/.571
Jerry Grote (C) 57ab, 15h, 11r, 11rbi, 0hr, 11bb, 6k, 0sb, .263/.382/.316
Walt Hriniak (C) 24ab, 10h, 6r, 7rbi, 3bb, 4k, 0sb, .417/.464/..500
Felix Millan (2B) 60ab, 18h, 9r, 11rbi, 0hr, 4bb, 2k, 0sb, .300/.354/..350
Tony Perez (1B) 88ab, 36h, 20r, 25rbi, 4hr, 15bb, 10k, 0sb, .409/.486/.659
Roger Repoz (CF) 59ab, 19h, 9r, 11rbi, 2hr, 8bb, 12k, 1sb, .322/.408/.508
Woody Woodward (SS) 79ab, 27h, 11r, 13rbi, 0hr, 7bb, 10k, 1sb, .342/.395/..430
Wade Blasingame (P) 4gs, 3W, 0L, 1.99era, 22.2ip, 5r, 5er, 16h, 1hr, 4bb, 11k, .198baa
Bruce Howard (P) 2gs, 1W, 0L, 2.42era, 22.1ip, 9r, 6er, 19h, 1hr, 11bb, 5k, .226baa
Marcelino Lopez (P) 1gs, 0W, 2L, 6.00era, 9.0ip, 7r, 6er, 17h, 0hr, 6bb, 1k, .286baa
Dan Schneider (P) 0gs, 1W, 1L, 1.23era, 22.0ip, 7r, 3er, 22h, 1hr, 3bb, 6k, .265baa, 3sv
Cecil Upshaw (P) 4gs, 1W, 0L, 2.18era, 20.2ip, 7r, 5er, 20h, 2hr, 2bb, 6k, .260baa
FAST TRACK
Salt Lake City Saints: Tony Oliva (RF), Jim Roland (P), Phil Niekro (P)
Tucson Stingers: George Banks (3B), Larry Maxie (P)
Montana Wolves: Bob Bailey (3B), Tony Perez (1B), Wade Blasingame (P)
 Tucson Stingers (A)
St. Louis Cardinals (20-28) @ Nevada Dusters (27-21)
May 25-27, 1962
Horizon Field, Las Vegas, NV
DL: Larry Maxie (P-Tucson Stingers), dislocated shoulder, two days. Jerry Grote (C-Montana Wolves), hip pointer, six days.
TRADES
Chicago Cubs offer Jake Jaeckel (RP) for Johnny Blanchard (C). DECLINED
St. Louis Cardinals Game 1 starting lineup:
Julian Javier (2B), Charlie James (RF), Curt Flood (CF), Stan Musial (RF), Fred Whitfield (1B), Mike Shannon (3B), Julio Gotay (SS), Jimmie Schaffer (C), Bob Gibson (P)
 [May 25, Game 1]
Dave McNally faced Cardinals ace Bob Gibson as the third series between the two clubs got underway. The Dusters jumped out in front early as Billy Williams jacked a two-run homer over the left field fence in the 2nd. Redbird shortstop Julio Gotay (who would go 4-for-4 on the day), opened the top of the 3rd with a solo homer, his first of the year, to cut the Nevada lead in half. They got another run in the 7th to tie the game. With Bob Duliba on the mound in the 8th, Minnie Minoso singled and Julian Javier drew a walk, at which point Ben Naylor was ejected from the game for arguing that Duliba's last pitch to Javier on a 3-2 count was clearly a strike. When asked after the game why he argued balls and strikes with the home plate umpire -- a certain one-way ticket to the clubhouse, Nails replied, "I just lost my temper. It happens. He [the ump] didn't have a strike zone today, that I could see." As it turned out the call, good or bad, didn't hurt the Dusters; with two men on, Duliba managed to pitch out of trouble and the game went into extra innings still knotted at 2. But Gotay hit an RBI single in the 11th to put the Cards up by a run and the Dusters went quietly in the bottom of the inning. Jim Brewer, on the hill for the 11th, took the loss, his third of the season.
Lineup: Power, Lopez, Williams, Adair, Boyer, Blanchard, Tresh, Schaive, McNally
Record: 27-22
Cardinals 3, Dusters 2
[May 26, Game 2]
The middle game of the series did not start auspiciously for the Dusters, as the first man starter Bob Shaw faced, Julian Javier, hit a solo home run into the left field bleachers. But Mack Jones, starting in left for Billy Williams, hit a triple with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 1st, and then scored on a Tom Tresh single to right. In the St. Louis 4th, three singles, a double and a stolen bases added up to three runs and a tie ballgame. It remained tied until the 7th, when Johnny Schaive singled, went to second on Shaw's sac bunt, and scored when Vic Power hit a single down the first base line, giving Nevada a 5-4 edge. Ben Naylor summoned Jim Brewer from the bullpen -- the same Brewer who had surrendered the Redbirds' winning run in the previous game -- to preserve the lead, and Brewer (with a little help from Johnny Blanchard, who threw out Stan Musial trying to steal second) did just that. In the 8th Clete Boyer hit a solo homer as insurance, and Nevada went on to win 6-4. Shaw's record improved to 5-2, and Brewer earned his first save. Cards shortstop Julio Gotay, who'd gone 4-for-4 yesterday, was 3-for-4 today. Conn Hudson regretfully announced that the 11,771 who showed up for the game was the lowest turnout yet at Horizon Field.
Lineup: Power, Lopez, Adair, Boyer, Blanchard, Jones, Tresh, Schaive, Shaw
Record: 28-22
Dusters 6, Cardinals 4
[May 27, Game 3]
The final game of the series followed a script by now all too familiar to Nevada Dusters fans -- pitching that could not stand up to the opposition and hitting that was often good enough to win the day. As had happened in the previous game, Julian Javier opened the game with a solo homer off starter Tony Cloninger. The Cards added another run in the 1st but the Dusters tied it in the 2nd as Johnny Schaive came through with a three-sacker for a pair of RBIs. St. Louis scored a run in the 3rd and one inning later combined three hits with a walk and a hit batsman to take a 5-2 lead. But the Dusters came roaring back, loading the bases in the bottom of the 4th for Lee Maye's two-run single and a RBI double by Billy Williams. Another run scored when Jerry Adair reached on a miscue by Cards shortstop Julio Gotay, and Clete Boyer added an RBI single. All that added up to a 7-5 Nevada lead halfway through the contest. Johnny Blanchard hit his team-leading eleventh homer in the 5th and Tom Tresh cranked a solo shot to right in the 6th and it was 9-6. The Redbirds scored a run in the 8th off reliever Claude Raymond and another in the 9th off Bill Dailey, but Blanchard threw out Javier trying to steal second for the last out. Cloninger allowed five runs on nine hits in four innings; Duliba got the win and Dailey the save. Nevada had won each of the three series with St. Louis two games to one, and remained in fourth place in the NL five games behind Pittsburgh. Conn Hudson had hoped his club could gain some ground against the injury-plagued Cardinals, because coming up was Nevada's first clash with the San Francisco Giants (31-17).
Lineup: Coleman, Maye, Williams, Tresh, Adair, Boyer, Schaive, Blanchard, Cloninger
Record: 29-22
Dusters 9, Cardinals 8
 Stan Musial (STL)
Nevada Dusters financial update:
Revenue: $12.5M ..... Profit: $3.3M ..... Cash: $7.9M ..... Team Payroll: $21.1M
Series stats:
2Bs: Williams
3Bs: Jones, Schaive
HRs: Williams, Boyer, Blanchard, Tresh
SBs: Power, Schaive
Runs: Power, Williams (2), Lopez, Adair (2), Boyer (2), Blanchard (3), Jones, Schaive (2), Maye, Tresh
RBIs: Williams (3), Power, Boyer (2), Jones (3), Tresh (2), Maye (2), Schaive (2), Blanchard
Around the leagues:
CIN signs free agent Chuck Tanner (RF) for $430,000/1 yr.
NYM signs free agent Danny O'Connell (3B) for $2,150,000/1 yr.
LAD signs free agent Jim Snyder (2B) for $320,000/1 yr.
LAD signs Danny Wigham (P) for $18,000/1 yr.
LAA-Tom Satriano (3B), mild shoulder separation, three weeks.
CHC--Cal Koonce (P), spiked achilles tendon, three weeks.
CIN--Jerry Lynch (LF), broken tibia, two months.
BAL--Frank Bolling (2B), pulled groin, two weeks.
CHC--Jack Curtis (P), wrist stress fracture, five weeks.
NYM--Clem Labine (P), sprained lower back, two weeks.
BOS--Merlin Neppert (P), stretched ankle ligament, two weeks.
WSA releases Jim King (RF).
St. Louis Cardinals at Nevada Dusters
May 26, 1962
TOP OF THE FIRST
Bob Shaw takes the mound for the Dusters.
Julian Javier homered into the left field bleachers. <--->
Charlie James singled in the right field gap. <--1>
Charlie James was caught stealing second. <--->
Bill White grounded to the pitcher. <--->
Stan Musial grounded to short. <--->
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the first, St. Louis leads 1 to 0.
BOTTOM OF THE FIRST
Bob Buhl takes the mound for the Cardinals.
Vic Power lined out to right. <--->
Hector Lopez singled down the third base line. <--1>
Jerry Adair hit an infield single to the shortstop. <-21>
Clete Boyer struck out. <-21>
Johnny Blanchard walked. <321>
Mack Jones tripled in the right field gap for three RBIs. <3-->
Tom Tresh singled to left, scoring a run. <--1>
Johnny Schaive grounded to first base. <--1>
4 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the first, Nevada leads 4 to 1.
TOP OF THE SECOND
Curt Flood grounded to short. <--->
Mike Shannon grounded to first. <--->
Julio Gotay doubled to left-center. <-2->
Jimmie Schaffer grounded to second. <-2->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the second, St. Louis trails 4 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE SECOND
Bob Shaw flied out to center. <--->
Vic Power grounded to first. <--->
Hector Lopez flied out to center. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the second, Nevada leads 4 to 1.
TOP OF THE THIRD
Bob Buhl struck out. <--->
Julian Javier lined out to center field. <--->
Charlie James popped up behind home plate. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the third, St. Louis trails 4 to 1.
BOTTOM OF THE THIRD
Jerry Adair flied out to center. <--->
Clete Boyer popped up to the shortstop. <--->
Johnny Blanchard grounded back to the pitcher. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the third, Nevada leads 4 to 1.
TOP OF THE FOURTH
Bill White singled to left. <--1>
Stan Musial lined out to left. <--1>
Curt Flood doubled over the center fielder, scoring a run. <-2->
Mike Shannon flied out to right. <-2->
Julio Gotay singled through the hole, scoring a run. <--1>
Julio Gotay stole second. <-2->
Jimmie Schaffer singled over the first baseman, scoring a run. <--1>
Jimmie Schaffer went for an extra base and reached second. <-2->
Bob Buhl struck out. <-2->
3 runs, 4 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
In the middle of the fourth, the game is tied at 4.
BOTTOM OF THE FOURTH
Mack Jones reached first on a fielding error by the shortstop. <--1>
Tom Tresh popped up to second. <--1>
Johnny Schaive grounded to second, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Johnny Schaive stole second. <-2->
Bob Shaw flied out to left. <-2->
0 runs, 0 hits, 1 error, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the fourth, the game is tied at 4.
TOP OF THE FIFTH
Julian Javier singled to center field. <--1>
Charlie James grounded to third, forcing the runner at second. <--1>
Bill White singled through the left side. <-21>
Stan Musial popped up to short. <-21>
Curt Flood grounded to the shortstop. <-21>
0 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 2 left on base.
In the middle of the fifth, the game is tied at 4.
BOTTOM OF THE FIFTH
Vic Power flied out to left. <--->
Hector Lopez lined out to second. <--->
Jerry Adair popped up to the shortstop. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the fifth, the game is tied at 4.
TOP OF THE SIXTH
Mike Shannon popped up to short. <--->
Julio Gotay grounded to first. <--->
Jimmie Schaffer grounded to second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the sixth, the game is tied at 4.
BOTTOM OF THE SIXTH
Clete Boyer grounded to the second baseman. <--->
Johnny Blanchard flied out to left. <--->
Mack Jones walked. <--1>
Mack Jones was caught stealing second. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the sixth, the game is tied at 4.
TOP OF THE SEVENTH
Minnie Minoso pinch hit for Bob Buhl. <--->
Minnie Minoso flied out to right. <--->
Julian Javier struck out. <--->
Charlie James struck out. <--->
0 runs, 0 hits, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the seventh, the game is tied at 4.
BOTTOM OF THE SEVENTH
Ed Bauta came in to pitch for the Cardinals. <--->
Tom Tresh grounded to second. <--->
Johnny Schaive singled to left field. <--1>
Bob Shaw laid down a sacrifice bunt to the pitcher. <-2->
Vic Power singled down the first base line, scoring a run. <--1>
Vic Power stole second. <-2->
Hector Lopez struck out. <-2->
1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, and 1 left on base.
At the end of the seventh, Nevada leads 5 to 4.
TOP OF THE EIGHTH
Jim Brewer came in to pitch for the Dusters. <--->
Lee Maye came in to play Right Field. <--->
Bill White struck out. <--->
Stan Musial singled to center. <--1>
Stan Musial was caught stealing second. <--->
Curt Flood grounded to third. <--->
0 runs, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
In the middle of the eighth, St. Louis trails 5 to 4.
BOTTOM OF THE EIGHTH
Jerry Adair grounded to the shortstop. <--->
Clete Boyer homered over the left field fence. <--->
Johnny Blanchard flied out to left field. <--->
Ray Sadecki came in to pitch for the Cardinals. <--->
Mack Jones struck out. <--->
1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, and 0 left on base.
At the end of the eighth, Nevada leads 6 to 4.
TOP OF THE NINTH
Mike Shannon grounded to third. <--->
Julio Gotay singled to left field. <--1>
Jimmie Schaffer struck out. <--1>
Wally Post pinch hit for Ray Sadecki. <--1>
Wally Post popped up to second. <--1>
DUSTERS WIN: 6-4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 + R H E
Cardinals (STL) 1 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 4 11 1
Dusters (NEV) 4 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 x 6 7 0
ST. LOUIS ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
J. Javier (2B) 4 2 0 1 1 1 1 0 .255
C. James (RF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 .230
B. White (1B) 4 2 0 1 0 0 1 0 .250
S. Musial (LF) 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .315
C. Flood (CF) 4 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 .265
M. Shannon (3B) 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .286
J. Gotay (SS) 4 3 0 1 0 1 0 1 .226
J. Schaffer (C) 4 1 0 0 0 1 1 0 .196
B. Buhl (P) 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 .077
M. Minoso (PH) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .289
E. Bauta (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
R. Sadecki (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .500
W. Post (PH) 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .263
TOTALS 36 11 0 4 1 4 6 1
2B: J. Gotay (9), C. Flood (8), J. Schaffer (1)
HR: J. Javier (4)
ST. LOUIS ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Buhl 6.0 4 2 0 4 4 1 80 4.94
E. Bauta 1.2 3 0 1 2 2 1 31 4.33
R. Sadecki 0.1 0 0 0 0 0 1 3 2.39
TOTALS 8.0 7 2 1 6 6 3 114
NEVADA ab h bb r hr bi k sb avg
V. Power (1B) 4 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 .335
H. Lopez (RF) 4 1 0 1 0 0 1 0 .313
L. Maye (RF) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .291
J. Adair (SS) 4 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 .290
C. Boyer (3B) 4 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 .271
J. Blanchard (C) 3 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 .282
M. Jones (LF) 3 1 1 1 0 3 1 0 .268
T. Tresh (CF) 3 1 0 0 0 1 0 0 .251
J. Schaive (2B) 3 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 .284
B. Shaw (P) 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .053
J. Brewer (P) 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000
TOTALS 30 7 2 6 1 6 3 2
3B: M. Jones (1)
HR: C. Boyer (6)
NEVADA ip h bb hr r er k pit ERA
B. Shaw 7.0 9 0 1 4 4 4 83 4.35
J. Brewer 2.0 2 0 0 0 0 2 23 4.21
TOTALS 9.0 11 0 1 4 4 6 106
WP: B. Shaw (5-2)
LP: E. Bauta (1-5)
SV: J. Brewer (1)
Attendance: 11,771
Time: 2:18
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