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TL1 Arkansas Travelers

Eight Elected to the Texas League Hall of Fame Including Two Long Time Travs Execs

July 21, 2015 - Texas League (TL1)
Arkansas Travelers News Release


Carl Sawatski
Carl Sawatski
(Arkansas Travelers)

Little Rock, AR - The Arkansas Travelers are honored to announce the induction of Bert Parke and Carl Sawatski, two long time Traveler Executives into the Texas League Hall of Fame. At the meeting of the Texas League held in Corpus Christi on June 30, 2015, the Texas League Hall of Fame gained eight new members by unanimous vote of the league's Board of Directors. The group spans nearly the entire history of the league, from catcher Jay Clark, who played for the powerhouse Corsicana club in 1902, to Frank Tanana, the Texas League pitcher of the Year in 1973. One of the more remarkable of new members is pitcher Tom Walker, who tossed what may be the most amazing game in Texas League history while with the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, a 15-inning, 1-0, complete game, no-hit win versus Albuquerque on August 4, 1971.

"Bert Parke is one of those rare individuals who served with little credit, but whose impact is monumental in the success of our Arkansas Travelers franchise. This formal recognition of Bert is long overdue. Likewise, Carl Sawatski was a famous Cardinal player who served the Travelers as General Manager and went on to serve as President of the Texas League. Carl served with integrity and leadership that brought honor to both the League and the Travelers. We congratulate and honor these two fine men. We are so proud of them." ------ Russ Meeks, President, Arkansas Travelers.

Frank H. "Bert" Parke, Executive

A life-long resident of Little Rock, Bert's association with baseball in his hometown preceded the Arkansas Travelers, beginning when he joined a group that successfully brought baseball back to his home town in 1960. In the mid-1960's Bert joined the board and was named a member of the Travelers Executive Committee, serving as treasurer of the Travelers in the 1960's and 1970's. In 1980, following the death of Max Moses, Bert was elected President of the club, retaining that position until 2010 when he was named President Emeritus. During his involvement with the Travelers, Bert was active in moving the team to the Texas League in 1966, promoting the hiring of both Carl Sawatski and Bill Valentine as the General Manager of the Travelers, as well as helping to facilitate support for needed repairs to Ray Winder Field. During Bert's 30-year tenure as club President, he was also the Travelers representative on the Texas League Board of Directors.

"I am honored and humbled by this great honor. I never imagined being inducted into the Hall of Fame of the Texas League. I am truly surprised."----- Bert Parke.

Carl Sawatski, Executive

After retiring from a successful playing career, Carl Sawatski joined the Texas League as the General Manager of the Arkansas Travelers, serving the Travs from 1968 through the 1975 season. In 1976, Sawatski was elected President of the Texas League, serving the loop until his death in November 1991. His 16 years as head of the TL is the third longest tenure of any Texas League president, behind only J. Alvin Gardner and Tom Kayser. The Pennsylvania native joined both the Travelers and the Texas League during a time of instability and economic challenges in the minor leagues. In the 1960's Minor League Baseball was in an unsettled era that saw many cities lose their teams. During his tenure running the Arkansas club, Carl helped stabilize the Travelers business operations, guiding them for eight seasons, while winning the Texas League Executive of the Year award in 1970. By the mid-1970's, baseball was on the verge of a resurg ence and much more stability. During Carl's tenure at the top of the Texas League there were just three franchise shifts and league attendance grew by over one million fans from 1976 to 1991. In addition to his Texas League executive award in 1987, Carl was the recipient of Minor League Baseball's Warren Giles Award that annually honors outstanding service as a league president.

"This award is such an honor. My Dad would have been so proud to receive it. Moreover, his wife and biggest fan, Dorothy, would have been overcome with joy."------Chuck Sawatski, Carl's son.

A list of other new members and their information follows below:

Jay J. "Nig" Clarke, Catcher

YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1902 Corsicana 105 367 71 116 24 9 11 11 .316

1915 Houston 65 178 15 50 9 2 0 6 .281

Dick Dietz, Outfielder

YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1963 El Paso 134 469 128 166 25 5 35 101 91 91 6 .354

Chet Fowler, Player, Umpire

YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1930 Fort Worth 83 265 49 83 21 1 2 40 31 16 1 .313

1931 Fort Worth 105 408 64 102 13 9 1 42 33 38 10 .250

Frank Tanana, Pitcher

YEAR TEAM G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1973 El Paso 105 367 71 119 24 9 11 11 .316

Tom Walker, Pitcher

YEAR TEAM Win Loss Save PCT. G GS CG SHO IP H BB K ERA

1971 Dallas 13 - 9 - 2

.591 31 22 8 1 168 130 36 123 2.25

Bill Whittaker, Pitcher

YEAR TEAM WIN LOSS PCT. G GS CG SHO IP H BB K ERA

1917 Galveston 21-17 .553 47 23 2 270 234 82 116 2.43

1918 Fort Worth 7-7 .500 16 10 3 108 83 26 39 2.41

1919 Fort Worth 24-12 .667 38 31 9 338 263 83 132 1.84

1920 Fort Worth 24-6 .800 37 27 4 281 256 66 84 2.21

1921 Fort Worth 23-16 .590 49 22 5 311 286 86 132 2.43

1922 Fort Worth 10-9 .526 29 11 1 172 175 51 62 2.98

1926 Shreveport 0-8 .000 12 1 0 55 68 16 11 5.07

Check out the Arkansas Travelers Statistics




Images from this story

Bert Parke
Bert Parke
 Carl Sawatski
Carl Sawatski
  



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