1956 Columbia Gems Roster
Team Record: 64-76
Finished 6th in the SAL
Manager: Hank Biasatti (64-76)
Affiliation: Kansas City Athletics
Location: Columbia, South Carolina
Ballpark: Capital City Stadium
Attendance: 49,604, Avg. 709
The Columbia Gems of the South Atlantic League ended the 1956 season with a record of 64 wins and 76 losses, finishing sixth in the SAL.
The Gems plated 608 runs and allowed 700 runs. Joseph Pahr led all qualifying hitters on the roster with a .315 average. Ken Johnson topped Columbia with 12 wins and a team-best 3.42 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Members of the 1956 Columbia Gems who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were George Brunet, Jerry Schypinski, Bob Davis, Don Plarski, Gus Keriazakos, Bill Kern, Bill Oster, Ken Johnson, Al Pinkston and Hank Biasatti.
Hank Biasatti served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Avitable | S | L | March 10, 1935 | 5'11" | 173 | |
| Willie Bartolovich | September 6, 1933 | |||||
| Hank Biasatti | L | L | January 14, 1922 | 5'11" | 175 | Beano, IT |
| Fred Bourbeau | R | R | 5'8" | 160 | ||
| Alonso Brathwaite | R | R | February 18, 1930 | 5'11" | 174 | , PA |
| George Brunet | R | L | June 8, 1935 | 6'1" | 195 | Houghton, MI US |
| Bob Davis | R | R | September 11, 1933 | 6'0" | 170 | New York, NY US |
| Ron Esrang | R | 5'11" | 165 | |||
| Stanley Guie | R | R | 6'3" | 215 | ||
| Jack Hale | L | L | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Hugh Holder | R | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Al Isreal | L | April 19, 1927 | 5'10" | 175 | ||
| Ken Johnson | R | R | June 16, 1933 | 6'4" | 210 | West Palm Beach, FL US |
| Gus Keriazakos | R | R | July 28, 1931 | 6'3" | 187 | West Orange, NJ US |
| Bill Kern | R | R | February 28, 1933 | 6'2" | 184 | Coplay, PA US |
| Jim Miller | L | L | September 21, 1928 | 6'1" | 160 | Doylestown, PA US |
| Chuck Orner | R | 5'8" | 180 | |||
| Bill Oster | L | L | January 2, 1933 | 6'3" | 198 | New York, NY US |
| William Padget | R | R | December 8, 1921 | 6'1" | 180 | Richburg, SC US |
| Joseph Pahr | R | May 5, 1928 | 5'9" | 180 | Chicago, IL US | |
| Al Pinkston | L | R | October 22, 1917 | 6'5" | 225 | Newbern, AL US |
| Don Plarski | R | R | November 9, 1929 | 5'6" | 160 | Chicago, IL US |
| Bob Quinn | L | L | 5'8" | 170 | ||
| Buddy Reedy | L | R | December 10, 1929 | 5'11" | 170 | Savannah, GA US |
| Ralph Reiss | L | L | 6'0" | 175 | ||
| William Riale | L | R | March 22, 1933 | 6'1" | 185 | Brogue, PA US |
| William Robertson | L | R | 5'10" | 160 | ||
| LeRoy Schmidt | L | L | 6'1" | 170 | ||
| Jerry Schypinski | L | R | September 16, 1931 | 5'10" | 170 | Detroit, MI US |
| David Shea | R | 6'2" | 192 | |||
| Raymond Steele | R | R | June 7, 1934 | 6'4" | 195 | |
| Bill Stuifbergen | R | 6'4" | 205 | |||
| Robert Swanson | R | R | February 3, 1923 | 6'1" | 170 | Buffalo, NY US |
| Gilberto Valentin | R | R | May 1, 1931 | 5'9" | 170 | Mayaguez, PR |
| Robert Voegtlen | R | L | 6'3" | 180 | ||
| Osmond Walker | L | L | 5'9" | 155 | ||
| Carl Watson | L | L | May 5, 1933 | 6'0" | 175 | Georgetown, DE US |
| George Wegerek | R | 6'2" | 175 | |||
| Ken Wild | R | R | November 16, 1926 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Bob Williams | R | June 23, 1929 | 6'0" | 178 | ||
| Wiley Williams | R | L | March 8, 1927 | 6'1" | 200 | Greenville, SC US |
| Charles Wrinn | R | R | December 1, 1931 | 6'3" | 195 |
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.
