Biographies 4
Bill Pinckard – Los Angeles, California
Played four years pro baseball. In 1952, he was the home run king of the Class A Western league with 35 home runs for Denver. Joined the Mallards in 1955 as an outfielder and batted .348 in 46 at-bats. He initially signed to join the team at the beginning of the season but played in Rochester, Minnesota. Then he joined the Mallards on July 19 and debuted on July 22 in right field. He had three RBI’s on July 24 in a 19-5 win over Dickinson at Dickinson. Returned to California on August 8 because of sickness in his family. Did not return
Othello Renfroe – Newark, New Jersey
Well known Negro League player with the Cleveland Buckeyes, Kansas City Monarchs, Atlanta Black Crackers and Indianapolis Clowns from 1945 to 1953. Left home at the age of 15 to be bat boy for the Chicago American Giants. Broke in with the Kansas City Monarchs and played three seasons there before joining the Cleveland Buckeyes. In 1946 he batted .360 and was chosen to play shortstop for the West in the annual Negro League All-Star game in Chicago. Played winter baseball in the Mexican league in 1950-51 and the Venezuelan league in 1949-50 and 1948-49. Also played winter baseball in Puerto Rico. Came to the Mallards (along with teammate Sugar Cain) with a .327 batting average in 1951 from Torreson of the Mexican league. Versatile player that could play all positions. He was a great showman and a favorite player for the Mallards. Played catcher for the Mallards in 1953 after Phil Tomkinson jumped the club and until Joe Massaro was obtained. In 1953 played shortstop when Zoonie McLean was injured. In 1954 he played right field after Yogi Giammarco jumped the club. Even though he was listed as a utility player, he spent little time on the bench and usually found himself near the top of the batting order. On July 2, 1951 he had a home run, two doubles and a single to lead the Mallards to a 12-4 win over Brandon at Minot. In 1954 he had a 22 game hitting streak. On August 15, 1954 versus the Brandon Greys he extended his hitting streak to 21 games with a single before being ejected from the game for fist fighting with Lou Louden. Minot won 7-6. That hit put him at 37 hits in the last 80 at-bats for a .463 average. He was offered a contract for the 1955 season but thought he deserved more money based on his 1954 performance and value to the club as a multi-position player. Renfroe later became a sports broadcaster at WIGO, Atlanta and sports editor of the Atlanta Daily World.
Year Home runs RBI’s Average
1951 3 18 .337
1953 3 44 .275
1954 3 39 .349
Totals 9 101 .317
Murray Richardson – McConnell, Manitoba
Left handed pitcher with three seasons in the Brooklyn Dodger farm system. Two seasons with North Battleford of the Saskatchewan League in 1953 and 1954. Pitched for the Carman Cardinals in 1952. Joined the Mallards in 1954 for weekday only appearances in Brandon and appeared in two games with a 1-0 record. Rejoined the team for 1955 and pitched a 1-0 record.
Mickey Rocco – St. Paul, Minnesota
Major league player for the Cleveland Indians from 1943 through 1946 appearing in 440 games. Career major league batting average of .258. Played Pro ball for 18 years. Started playing amateur baseball at 14 years old. Signed with the St. Paul Saints upon high school graduation and started his professional career at Portsmouth. Played for the Mallards early in 1953 but was released on June 22 though batting .296 with four home runs. Joined the Winnipeg Royals after his release from the Mallards.
Jesse Rogers – Kansas City, Missouri
Signed with the New York Giants system and broke in with Oshkosh of the Class D Wisconsin State League in 1953. Promoted to St. Cloud of the Northern League in 1954 and batted .307 with 23 home runs and then was sent to Johnstown of the Class A Eastern League that same season and batted .299 with 13 home runs. Came to the Mallards from Reading of the Class A Eastern League. Played centerfield for the 1957 Mallards and batted .363 with 14 home runs and 66 RBI’s.
Dean Scarborough – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Signed by the New York Yankees in 1946. Southern Minnesota League batting average leader for three years (1950 –1952) with Springfield prior to joining the Mallards on June 22, 1953 as a shortstop to fill in for the injured Zoonie McLean. Played one game at that position and after that played first base when Mickey Rocco resigned from the team. Led the league in hitting with a .357 batting average in 1953. Played again in 1954 and did some pitching along with playing first base and right field. Pitched opening day 1954 at Brandon and was credited with a 13 – 3 win. On July 18, 1954 he had 5 RBI’s in a 18 – 7 Mallard win over the Carman Cardinals at Minot. Played again in 1955. On July 20, 1955 he had three doubles and three RBI’s in a 6-5 win over the Dickinson Packers at Minot. His pitching record was 1-2. Joined the team in late 1956 to replace Bob Van Eman and batted .386 in the remaining three weeks of the season.
Year Home runs RBI’s Average
1953 2 28 .357
1954 2 60 .328
1955 2 42 .289
1956 1 6 .386
Totals 7 136 .314
Hal Schacker
Right handed pitcher for the Boston Braves organization. Pitched in 6 games for the Braves in 1945. In 1948 was chosen for the Florida International League All-star Team. Previously pitched for Hartfield of the Eastern League and Indianapolis of the American Association Was 9-3 with a team in the Provincial League in 1950. Joined the Mallards as a pitcher on July 4, 1951. Finished the 1951 season with the Mallards with a 4-4 record.
Fred Shepard
Outfielder picked up as a mid-season replacement in July 1950 from the Louisiana Travelers. Played for the Birmingham Black Barons in the Negro league 1945-1948. Played for Mallards in 1950 and 1951. Batted .222 in 1950 with 6 RBI’s. No statistics are available from 1951.
Mike Schultz – Wells, Minnesota
Right handed pitcher. Former farmhand recently released by Little Rock of the Class AA Southern Association. Was with Binghampton of the Class A Eastern League from 1953 to 1955. Played for the Grand Forks Chiefs of the Northern League. Pitched for the Mallards in 1956 with a 2-1 record.
Don Smith – Minot, North Dakota
Local player with semi-pro and amateur experience with Lacrosse, Wisconsin in the Western Wisconsin League. Joined the Mallards at the beginning of the 1956 season as a pitcher and utility player. Played regularly at the beginning of the season. That year he pitched 16 innings with a 0-1 record and batted .208 but had 2 home runs and 4 RBI’s in 48 plate appearances. In 1957 he batted .218 with 1 home run and 14 RBI’s.
Henry Smith
Second baseman from the Indianapolis Clowns picked up to replace Leonard Williams mid-July 1950. Batted .229 with 6 RBI’s.
Artis Stewart
Right handed pitcher picked up from the Louisiana Travelers as a replacement player in July 1950. Traded back to the Travelers for Frank Pickens in mid-July. No pitching decisions.
Marly Strong – Fargo, North Dakota
Played for Seminole, Oklahoma in the Class D Sooner League and Madisonville, Kentucky in the Class D Kitty circuit in 1949. Played for Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin and Superior of the Class C Northern League (batted .292) in 1948. Played backup catcher and utility player for the Mallards in 1950. One of only five players to play the entire season. Batted .236 with 7 RBI’s.
Ted Strong – South Bend, Indiana
Played for the Minot Merchants in 1949 and batted .351. He poled one of the longest home run ever seen in Municipal Park against the Fargo-Moorhead Twins on Sept 9, 1950. The drive sailed 60 feet over the right field wall. One of the all-time basketball greats with the original Harlem Globetrotters. Played for the Chicago American Giants in 1935 and 1938 then joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League and played for them for a decade except for two years in the Army. His 43 home runs with the 1941 Monarchs topped the League. Five time Negro League All-star. Played third base for the Mallards in 1950 until July 10 when he jumped the club. Appeared in 23 games and batted .236 with 7 RBI’s.
Ed Sudol
Nine seasons of organized baseball experience. In 1949 he played for El Dorado of that same league and batted .301. Played for Savannah in the Class A Atlantic (Sally) League. Mallard manager Otto Huber was Ed’s pilot in 1947-1948 at Carta Vieja in the Panama League. In 1947 he played for Stamford and Poughkeepsie of the Class B Colonial League. Played for Greenville, Mississippi of the Class C Cotton League in the spring of 1951 before joining the Mallards as a first baseman. Had five hits including two doubles in a double header on opening day 1951. He batted .268 for the Mallards in 1950. Later was a major league umpire. He was behind the plate in 1974 when Hank Aaron broke Babe Ruth’s career home run record, called Jim Bunning’s 1964 perfect game, no-hitter and worked three World Series.
Roland Summers
Left handed pitcher for the Philadelphia Meteors when recommended to the Mallards by Ben Cain, Sugar Cain’s brother. Was 19 years old when he joined the Mallards along with Mal Murray. Pitched for the Mallards in 1952 with a record of 0-2.
Vernon “Pete” Taylor – Severin, Maryland
Pitched two innings of relief for the St. Louis Browns in 1952. Six seasons of Class AA experience including Little Rock of the Southern Association in 1955, Oklahoma City of the Texas League in 1954 and San Antonio of the Texas League in 1950 – 1953. Right hander who joined the Mallards June 21, 1956 and had an 8-7 record with two shutouts.
Bob Tiller – Minot, North Dakota
Well known local athlete that was a charter member of the Minot Merchants. He was their catcher in 1947 and 1948 moving to third base in 1949 when Cliff Kempf joined the Merchants. He was also a star football player at the Minot college where he was a fullback and halfback. Joined the Mallards as a backup catcher and utility player in 1952. He batted .250 in 12 at-bats.
Brad Tolson – Tucson, Arizona
Right handed pitcher from the University of Arizona. In 1949, played for Alexandria in Minnesota’s North Central League. After their season ended he played several games for the Minot Merchants. Pitched for the Mallards in 1950 and 1951. Hard luck pitcher with several one run losses and a combined record of 2-8.
Phil Tomkinson
Six years experience in pro ball including 1950 with the Minneapolis Millers and 1951 with Ottawa of the Class AAA International League. Catcher for the Mallards at the start of the 1953 season but left the club on May 23 and returned to pro ball when his contract was sold by Minneapolis (AAA) to Oklahoma City of the AA Texas League. Was batting .125 at the time; not good for a AAA level player.
Del Triplett – Kenmare, North Dakota
Played for the Minot Merchants in 1948 and 1949. A long time Minot and surrounding area amateur player and coach at Lansford High School. Moved to right field for the 1950 Mallards to make room for Len Williams at second base. Batted .331 for the 1949 Merchants. He batted .216 with 13 RBI’s in 1950.
Bob Turner
Played for the Kansas City Monarchs in 1946. In 1951 started out with the Southwest International League. Joined the Mallards from the Regina Caps on July 29, 1951 and caught for the rest of the season. Hit a home run in game 5 of the playoffs against the Winnipeg Buffaloes. Batted .182 with 6 RBI’s. Also, played for the Carman Cardinals in 1953.
Bill Upton – St. Louis, Missouri
Right handed pitcher with six years of pro experience including appearances in two games for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1954. Played for Spartenberg in the Tri-State League, Indianapolis, Ottawa, and Savannah. Previous two seasons were with Savannah of the Class A Sally League. Recommended to the Mallards by catcher Chuck Orner. Pitched in 1957 for the Mallards with a 7-6 record.
Bob Van Eman – McKeesport, Pennsylvania
Ten years of organized baseball experience. Joined the Mallards as an outfielder for the 1956 season from Mobile of the Southern Association where he was batting .312. In the Class AA Texas League in 1955 he batted .286 playing for Tulsa and Shreveport. He was a batting champion in 1952 batting .387 for Wichita Falls, Texas of the Big State League. He also had 20 home runs. Played for San Diego in 1953 and Shreveport in 1954. Batted .313 with 8 home runs and 46 RBI’s for the Mallards. Knocked in eight runs and had two home runs in a game in July 1956 to bring the Mallards to victory from a 8-0 deficit. Resigned on August 1 to return to pro baseball.
Bill Washburn – Greensboro, North Carolina
Left handed pitcher with eight years of pro experience with Greensboro Class C, Salina Class C, Macon Class A, Wilkes-Barre Class A and Spartansburg Class B. In 1952 was with Plessisville, Quebec and pitched a record of 18-6. In 1949 through 1951 was with St. Hyacinthe of the Provincial League with a 7-7 record. Pitched for the Mallards at the start of the 1953 season but was released on June 22 although he had pitched well including a six hit victory against the Brandon Greys on the day of his release. It was not clear why he was released along with Mickey Rocco. Played for Winnipeg after his release from the Mallards. In the spring of 1954 he pitched for Winston-Salem in the Class B Carolina League. Re-joined the Mallards on July 5, 1954 and on August 10 he pitched a six hit 6-1 victory over the Carman Cardinals to clinch the pennant for the Mallards. Also pitched for the Mallards in 1955 but was released before the end of the season.
Year Pitching record
1953 3-2
1954 7-2
1955 3-2
Paul “Moose” Wasseth – New Haven, Connecticut
Brown University player recommended by Lefty Lefebvre for the 1950 season. Batted .340 for Fort Fairfield Maine’s semi-pro club in 1949. Played third base for the Mallards in 1950. Batted .168 with 1 home run and 10 RBI’s.
Frank Watkins
Local Manitoba player and right handed pitcher. Pitched for the Minot Merchants in 1949 and the Brandon Greys in 1950. Pitcher for the Mallards in their first loss in ManDak League play on opening day (May 24, 1950). Picked up by the 1951 Mallards on July 24 when released by the Brandon Greys. Pitched game 5 of the 1951 playoffs against the Winnipeg Buffaloes and won 6-2. Season record was 0-1.
Bob Whitcher – Lynn, Massachusetts
Left handed pitcher with thirteen years of pro experience. Signed and appeared in six games with the Boston Braves in 1945. Pitched for Evansville of the Class B Three-Eye League in 1946-1948. Was 4-1,13-11 and 14-11 those three years. Pitched for Saginaw (13-13) in 1949. Managed Brantford in a semi-pro Ontario League in 1950. Pitched for Rochester of the South Minny League and was 5-5 in 1951. Came to the Mallards from Colorado Springs of the Class A Western League in 1953. Released on August 2, 1953. Season record was 2-3.
Bob Wiles
Left handed pitcher signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1947. Assigned to the Utica, New York Class A ball club and had a 3-2 record. Pitched for the Mallards in 1951 and released on June 7.
Charles Wiles
Younger brother of Bob Wiles by two years. In 1950 played for Grand Rapids Class A Central Loop. Played semi-pro ball for Fort Wayne and Mankato of the Southern Minnesota League. Catcher for the Mallards in 1951 until he jumped the club on July 1. Batted .202 with 15 RBI’s.
Dewey Williams
Twenty years of experience including major league play with the Chicago Cubs from 1944 – 1947 appearing in 193 games. Also played briefly with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948. Joined the Mallards in late season 1955. Previously with the Williston Oilers (1954) and the Bismarck Barons. Caught for the Mallards in 1955 and 1956. Returned to the Williston Oilers in 1957. Played two games for the Mallards in 1957 as a fill-in catcher for sore-armed Chuck Orner. Batted .230 with 5 home runs and 23 RBI’s for the 1955 Mallards and .227 with 1 home run and 9 RBI’s for the 1956 Mallards.
Leonard “Preacher” Williams – Lakeland, Florida
Infielder played for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1949. Played second base for the Mallards in 1950. Got the Mallards first hit on opening day, May 24, 1950. Led off Minot’s first ManDak League home game in 1950 by blasting a home run over the left field wall. He was a smooth and skillful second baseman and dependable hitter. Jumped the club on July 10. Was batting .358 at the time.
Mike Williams
ManDak league pitcher with the Winnipeg Royals and also played with the Regina Caps in 1953. Tried out for the Mallards beginning August 1, 1953. Pitched on August 4, 1953.
Lester “Big Spoon” Witherspoon – Deland, Florida
Right handed pitcher played for the Indianapolis Clowns of the Negro American League in 1949. Earlier played for the Homestead Greys. Played for the 1950 Mallards but developed a sore arm and resigned from the club on July 8.
George Wopinek – Chicago, Illinois
Played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization. In 1954 was with Williamsport in the Class A Eastern League. That year he led the league in home runs with 16 and batted .284. Joined the Mallards on August 17, 1955 as a late-season replacement for the injured Butch Davis. Hit home runs against Dickinson in games 2 and 3 of the 1955 championship series. Batted .381 in 21 at-bats prior to the playoffs.
Steve Wylie – Fort Wayne, Indiana
Tall slender, right handed pitcher for the 1949 Minot Merchants with a record of 15 and 6. Played for the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro American League in 1944 and 1945 compiling a 23-3 record the first year and 22-2 in the second year. Pitched a no-hitter against the Cincinnati Clowns on June 19, 1945. In 1946 pitched for Vera Cruz in the Mexican loop. Toured with Satchel Paige All-Stars in 1947 before joining the Brandon Greys. In 1948, he traveled with the Ligon All-Stars. Pitched for the Mallards in 1950. Jumped the club on July 2 with a record of 3-0.