1951 Asheville Tourists Roster
Team Record: 85-55
Finished 2nd in the TSL
Manager: Ray Hathaway (85-55)
Affiliation: Brooklyn Dodgers
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Ballpark: Old McCormick Field
Attendance: 71,248, Avg. 1,018
Playoffs - Asheville Tourists 3 games, Rock Hill Chiefs 2
Finals - Spartanburg Peaches 4 games, Asheville Tourists 0
The Asheville Tourists of the Tri-State League ended the 1951 season with a record of 85 wins and 55 losses, finishing second in the TSL.
The Tourists scored 852 runs and conceded 647 runs. William Kerr led all qualifying hitters on the roster by connecting at a .339 clip. Ralph Butler topped Asheville with 21 wins, while Jim Cater added 15 or more victories as well Ralph Butler recorded a 2.68 ERA, best among pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Players from the 1951 Asheville Tourists who spent time in Major League Baseball during their careers included Chris Kitsos, Norm Larker, Ray Shearer and Fred Waters.
Ray Hathaway served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Bigham | R | R | September 11, 1932 | 6'2" | 175 | Union County, NC US |
| Don Brate | L | L | 5'11" | 165 | ||
| Ralph Butler | R | R | August 13, 1931 | 5'10" | 170 | |
| Jim Cater | L | L | July 31, 1926 | 6'2" | 185 | Pickens, SC US |
| Robert Crain | R | R | November 3, 1926 | 5'11" | 170 | Gorham, IL US |
| Rudolph Dillard | R | R | 5'10" | 173 | ||
| Gil Hawkins | R | R | February 12, 1929 | 5'11" | 195 | Flemingsburg, KY US |
| Donald Jones | R | L | August 23, 1929 | 6'3" | 180 | Seattle, WA US |
| Bill Kearns | R | 6'1" | 178 | |||
| William Kerr | L | 6'0" | 180 | |||
| William Ketcham | R | R | June 20, 1927 | 6'1" | 177 | Huntington, NY US |
| Chris Kitsos | S | R | February 11, 1928 | 5'9" | 165 | New York, NY US |
| Joe Kwiatkowski | R | 5'10" | 170 | |||
| Norm Larker | L | L | December 27, 1930 | 6'0" | 185 | Beaver Meadows, PA US |
| Bob Loddeke | R | R | December 28, 1927 | 6'1" | 175 | |
| Frank McCluskey | R | September 15, 1926 | 6'2" | 180 | New York, NY US | |
| Gerard Orleman | R | R | August 22, 1925 | 6'0" | 182 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Angelo Prestamo | R | 6'0" | 175 | |||
| Ray Shearer | R | R | September 19, 1929 | 6'0" | 200 | Jacobus, PA US |
| Claude Siple | R | February 23, 1923 | 6'0" | 170 | ||
| George Skordian | R | R | 5'11" | 175 | ||
| Robert Sweeney | R | R | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| George Tesnow | L | May 21, 1924 | 6'0" | 180 | Pembroke, NY US | |
| Fred Waters | L | L | February 2, 1927 | 5'11" | 185 | Benton, MS US |
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.
