1959 Columbus/Gastonia Pirates Roster
Team Record: 70-69
Finished 4th in the SAL
Manager: Ray Hathaway (70-69)
Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates
Location: Columbus, Georgia; Gastonia, North Carolina
Ballpark: Sims Legion Park, Golden Park I & II
Attendance: 47,533, Avg. 684
Playoffs - Columbus/Gastonia Pirates 3 games, Charlotte Hornets 2
Finals - Columbus/Gastonia Pirates 3 games, Charleston ChaSox 0
The Columbus/Gastonia Pirates of the South Atlantic League ended the 1959 season with a record of 70 wins and 69 losses, finishing fourth in the SAL.Columbus (42-35) transferred to Gastonia July 6.
The Pirates tallied 549 runs, worst in the circuit, and yielded 565 runs. Bill Jackson paced Columbus/Gastonia with 13 home runs Reginaldo Grenald recorded 60 runs batted in and topped hitters with significant playing time by hitting .286. William Dial led the squad with 11 wins and a team-best 2.85 ERA, leading pitchers with enough qualifying appearances.
Members of the 1959 Columbus/Gastonia Pirates who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were Jim Dickson, Jack Lamabe, Ray Hathaway, Howie Goss, Nick Koback, Bill Bell, John Oldham, Bob Thorpe, Elmo Plaskett, Red Swanson and Dave Wickersham.
Ray Hathaway served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Octavio Acosta | R | R | December 20, 1938 | 6'4" | 180 | |
| Bob Anderton | R | R | April 29, 1933 | 6'3" | 180 | Cullman, AL US |
| Bill Bell | R | R | October 24, 1933 | 6'3" | 200 | Goldsboro, NC US |
| Dick Brockell | R | R | August 4, 1934 | 6'4" | 198 | Wilmington, DE US |
| James Brown | R | October 26, 1934 | 6'0" | 180 | ||
| Duncan Campbell | R | R | October 21, 1937 | 5'10" | 175 | Bluefields, NI |
| Don Corella | L | L | April 14, 1934 | 6'2" | 185 | San Luis Obispo, CA US |
| William Dial | L | L | September 15, 1936 | 6'0" | 180 | Chillicothe, MO US |
| Jim Dickson | L | R | April 20, 1938 | 6'1" | 185 | Portland, OR US |
| Donald Dobrino | R | R | February 3, 1935 | 6'3" | 205 | Mount Olive, IL US |
| Joe Drotar | R | R | October 8, 1936 | 6'1" | 180 | Homestead, PA US |
| Jack Falls | L | R | June 14, 1931 | 5'11" | 186 | Gastonia, NC US |
| Aaron Flores | S | L | April 6, 1938 | 5'11" | 185 | Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas MX |
| Francis Glamp | R | 5'11" | 190 | |||
| Howie Goss | R | R | November 1, 1934 | 6'4" | 204 | Wewoka, OK US |
| Reginaldo Grenald | R | R | 5'11" | 170 | ||
| Reginald Hamilton | R | R | August 4, 1936 | 5'6" | 150 | Washington, DC US |
| Ray Hathaway | R | R | October 13, 1916 | 6'0" | 165 | Greenville, OH US |
| Thomas Hull | R | R | 6'3" | 185 | ||
| Rodger Irvine | R | R | September 1, 1940 | 6'3" | 182 | Toronto, ON CA |
| Bill Jackson | R | R | September 3, 1934 | 6'3" | 195 | Pocatello, ID US |
| David Jimenez | R | R | 6'3" | 188 | , CU | |
| John Kelly | S | L | January 10, 1937 | 6'4" | 195 | Detroit, MI US |
| Nick Koback | R | R | July 19, 1935 | 6'0" | 187 | Hartford, CT US |
| Jack Lamabe | R | R | October 3, 1936 | 6'1" | 198 | Farmingdale, NY US |
| Ray Looney | L | L | January 5, 1937 | 6'0" | 185 | McKeesport, PA US |
| Benny Malcolm | R | R | January 23, 1934 | 6'2" | 200 | |
| Willie Melendez | R | R | September 28, 1935 | 5'9" | 165 | |
| Freed Messner | R | R | September 5, 1935 | 6'1" | 200 | |
| Dick Newberg | R | R | June 28, 1937 | 6'3" | 207 | New Haven, CT US |
| John Oldham | R | L | November 6, 1932 | 6'3" | 198 | Salinas, CA US |
| Harold Perry | R | R | 5'11" | 150 | ||
| Elmo Plaskett | R | R | June 27, 1938 | 5'10" | 195 | Frederiksted, St. Croix VI |
| Benny Rich | R | R | 6'1" | 190 | ||
| Edward Sada | R | R | July 1, 1938 | 6'2" | 180 | San Diego, CA US |
| Red Swanson | R | R | October 15, 1936 | 6'1" | 175 | Baton Rouge, LA US |
| Michael Thornton | L | L | April 14, 1940 | 6'3" | 210 | |
| Bob Thorpe | R | R | June 12, 1935 | 6'1" | 170 | San Diego, CA US |
| Tony Washington | L | L | January 9, 1937 | 6'2" | 183 | Chicago, IL US |
| George Watts | L | R | 6'2" | 205 | ||
| Dave Wickersham | R | R | September 27, 1935 | 6'3" | 188 | Erie, PA US |
| Harry Williams | R | R | December 1, 1932 | 6'1" | 180 | Los Angeles, CA 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.
