Baseball in Paris, Illinois

Overview

The record of the Midwest League franchise in Paris, Illinois.

Paris spent the 1950s in our league, and left fingerprints all over the record book. This franchise had some terrific seasons and showcased some exceptional players.

Two Lakers pitchers won 21 games. Jim Zapp's RBI record has lasted well over a half-century. In 1951, the Paris franchise won 70% of its games. And Clint McCord may be the best player this league ever saw.

Finally, there's the Paris/Dubuque thing....

Lakers Stadium hosted the second Mississippi-Ohio Valley League All-Star Game in 1951.

Summary

• Midwest League seasons: 10
• Won/Lost overall: 643/592, .521
• Best season: 84/36, .700 (1951)
• Championship Playoffs Won: 1
  • Championship Series Won/Lost: 13/9, .591
• Best MWL Won/Lost Record: 2 seasons

Paris joined MWL predecessor Mississippi-Ohio Valley League on January 15, 1950, as an expansion franchise. The Paris franchise folded on February 12, 1960.

Seasonal Results
Other Leagues

Team Names

• Paris Lakers, 1950-59

Affiliations

• Independent, 1950-54
• Chicago Cubs, 1955-59

Officers, Managers, & Coaches

Ballpark

• Twin Lakes Park
  • apparently also known as Lakers Stadium

Attendance record

• 60,350 (1956)

Ballparks & Attendance

Best Seasons

• Hitter (take your pick!):
  • Clint McCord (1951) .363, 16 HR, 118 RBI; 132 runs scored
  • Clint McCord (1952) .392, 15 HR, 109 RBI
  • Jim Zapp (1952) .330, 20 HR, 136 RBI
• Pitcher: Joe Schaffernoth (1956) 2.72, 21 wins

Best Big League Career

• John Buzhardt (1955)

Awards

• none

Paris Highlights

Team Records

Hitters

• Batting: Clint McCord (1952) .392
• Home Runs: Carroll "Tex" Gholson (1956) 30
• Runs Batted In: Jim Zapp (1952) 136

Seasonal Hitting Leaders

Pitchers

• Wins: Neil Maxa (1952) & Joe Schaffernoth (1956) 21
• Won/Lost (10 decisions): Fred Williams (1951) 15/4, .789
• Earned Run Average: Harvey Branch (1958) 2.69
• Strikeouts: Harvey Branch (1958) 213

Seasonal Pitching Leaders

Notes

This summary originated as the June 11, 2001, Midwest League Tidbit on the Midwest League Mailing List.

Sources

These pages draw heavily on several sources:

• Wolff & Johnson, Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball
• Midwest League 1981 Record Book
• Kevin Saldana, This Date in Minor League Baseball History
• Pat Doyle, Professional Baseball Players Database

Notes

This one was fun!

The MWL record book has a couple errors; one is an omission of the Paris Home Run record holder, the other is some confusion about the 8/29/56 game between Paris and Dubuque.