1956 Abilene Blue Sox Roster
Team Record: 73-67
Finished 5th in the BSL
Manager: Al Evans (73-67)
Affiliation: Kansas City Athletics
Location: Abilene, Texas
Ballpark: Blue Sox Stadium
Attendance: 83,700, Avg. 1,196
The Abilene Blue Sox of the Big State League ended the 1956 season with a record of 73 wins and 67 losses, finishing fifth in the BSL.
The Blue Sox plated 766 runs and yielded 765 runs. Al Isreal topped all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .326. Ben Swaringen and Evans Killeen led Abilene with 17 wins each, while Ben Swaringen recorded a 3.35 ERA, tops among qualifying pitchers.
Players from the 1956 Abilene Blue Sox who spent time in the Majors during their careers included George Brunet, Al Silvera, Evans Killeen, Gordon MacKenzie, Chet Boak and Ed Donnelly.
Al Evans served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Ala | R | R | August 3, 1930 | 5'10" | 210 | |
| Jim Barrett | L | L | August 20, 1933 | 6'1" | 185 | Sioux City, IA US |
| Willie Bartolovich | September 6, 1933 | |||||
| Frank Billings | L | March 25, 1934 | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Chet Boak | R | R | June 19, 1935 | 6'0" | 180 | New Castle, PA US |
| Alonso Brathwaite | R | R | February 18, 1930 | 5'11" | 174 | , PA |
| George Brunet | R | L | June 8, 1935 | 6'1" | 195 | Houghton, MI US |
| Allen Chester | R | R | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Mike Coppola | R | R | June 29, 1932 | 6'1" | 199 | Stamford, CT US |
| Theodore Del Rio | R | R | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| Alfred DePhillips | R | R | September 17, 1932 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| Ed Donnelly | R | R | December 10, 1932 | 6'0" | 175 | Allen, MI US |
| Hal Gordon | R | 6'0" | 182 | |||
| Jack Hale | L | L | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Hugh Holder | R | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Al Isreal | L | April 19, 1927 | 5'10" | 175 | ||
| Richard Jack | R | R | 6'9" | 215 | ||
| Willard Johnson | L | June 24, 1930 | 6'0" | 170 | ||
| Evans Killeen | R | R | February 27, 1936 | 6'0" | 190 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Kenneth Kinnamon | R | R | May 28, 1934 | 6'4" | 185 | |
| Charles Kowalski | L | L | 6'1" | 205 | ||
| Gerard Lefebvre | R | R | 5'7" | 155 | ||
| Gordon MacKenzie | R | R | July 9, 1937 | 5'11" | 175 | St. Petersburg, FL US |
| Rudy Mayling | R | 6'1" | 175 | |||
| Ronald Mills | L | October 4, 1933 | 6'0" | 190 | ||
| Bob Nonnenmocher | S | L | February 17, 1937 | 6'2" | 185 | |
| Arthur Oody | R | L | July 12, 1933 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Paul Petrosky | R | 6'0" | 175 | |||
| Bob Quinn | L | L | 5'8" | 170 | ||
| Ralph Reiss | L | L | 6'0" | 175 | ||
| LeRoy Schmidt | L | L | 6'1" | 170 | ||
| Al Silvera | R | R | August 26, 1935 | 6'0" | 180 | San Diego, CA US |
| Richard Simpson | R | R | 5'10" | 170 | ||
| Ben Swaringen | S | R | August 27, 1936 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Rodney Tangeman | R | R | July 10, 1932 | 6'1" | 185 | Guttenberg, IA US |
| Chuck Thomas | R | R | January 27, 1932 | 5'10" | 188 | Miami, FL US |
| Tom Venditelli | R | April 6, 1930 | 5'9" | 165 | Providence, RI US | |
| Robert Voegtlen | R | L | 6'3" | 180 | ||
| Kenneth Wade | R | R | 6'0" | 170 | ||
| Osmond Walker | L | L | 5'9" | 155 | ||
| George Wegerek | R | 6'2" | 175 |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
