1956 Fort Worth Cats Roster
Team Record: 84-70
Finished 3rd in the TL
Manager: Clay Bryant (84-70)
Affiliation: Brooklyn Dodgers
Location: Fort Worth, Texas
Ballpark: LaGrave Field
Attendance: 138,905, Avg. 1,804
Playoffs - Dallas Eagles 4 games, Fort Worth Cats 0
The Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League ended the 1956 season with a record of 84 wins and 70 losses, finishing third in the TL.
The Cats led the league with 811 runs, sparked by 157 home runs. Fort Worth allowed 732 runs. Don Demeter walloped 41 home runs for the team, while Frank Marchio, Dick Gray and Jim Gentile each swatted 15 or more, too. Don Demeter drove in 128 runs. Jim Gentile paced all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .296. Rudy Paynich topped the team with 16 wins, and Ralph Mauriello registered a 3.22 earned run average, best among hurlers with significant time on the mound.
Members of the 1956 Fort Worth Cats who played in Major League Baseball during their careers were Ralph Beard, Jim Gentile, Earl Mossor, Stan Williams, Dick Tracewski, Ray Shearer, Dick Gray, Ralph Mauriello, Don Demeter, Bob Milliken, Norm Sherry and Jim Clark.
Clay Bryant served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ralph Beard | R | R | February 11, 1929 | 6'5" | 200 | Cincinnati, OH US |
| C. B. Beringer | R | R | August 14, 1928 | 6'0" | 185 | Bellwood, NE US |
| Donald Catchot | L | L | September 5, 1934 | 5'8" | 160 | |
| Jim Clark | R | R | September 21, 1927 | 5'9" | 150 | Baggaley, PA US |
| Dick Colloton | L | July 8, 1932 | 5'11" | 185 | ||
| Don Demeter | R | R | June 25, 1935 | 6'4" | 190 | Oklahoma City, OK US |
| Martin Devlin | R | R | February 7, 1933 | 5'8" | 165 | |
| Bobby Dolan | R | R | December 8, 1930 | 5'10" | 165 | Evansville, IA US |
| Jim Frey | L | L | May 26, 1931 | 5'9" | 170 | Cleveland, OH US |
| Jim Gentile | L | L | June 3, 1934 | 6'3" | 210 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Bill George | L | L | August 12, 1927 | 6'0" | 180 | Summit, NJ US |
| Dick Gray | R | R | July 11, 1931 | 5'11" | 165 | Jefferson, PA US |
| Dick Hanlon | R | R | February 9, 1933 | 5'10" | 175 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Frank Jeffers | R | 6'1" | 190 | |||
| Jim Koranda | R | R | June 3, 1934 | 6'3" | 205 | Chicago, IL US |
| Joe Kuncl | R | R | June 6, 1927 | 6'1" | 170 | Prague, NE US |
| Frank Marchio | R | R | November 16, 1927 | 5'11" | 180 | |
| Ralph Mauriello | R | R | August 25, 1934 | 6'3" | 195 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Bob Milliken | R | R | August 25, 1926 | 6'0" | 195 | Majorsville, WV US |
| Earl Mossor | L | R | July 21, 1925 | 6'1" | 175 | Forbus, TN US |
| Mike Napoli | R | R | March 6, 1932 | 5'9" | 175 | |
| Bill Nishita | R | R | July 1, 1930 | 6'0" | 175 | |
| Herb Olson | L | R | November 20, 1930 | 6'1" | 190 | Wenatchee, WA US |
| Rudy Paynich | R | R | March 29, 1926 | 6'3" | 200 | Bisbee, AZ US |
| Robert Schassler | R | R | July 7, 1934 | 6'1" | 190 | Suffern, NY US |
| Ray Shearer | R | R | September 19, 1929 | 6'0" | 200 | Jacobus, PA US |
| Norm Sherry | R | R | July 16, 1931 | 5'11" | 180 | New York, NY US |
| Jasper Spears | R | April 12, 1930 | 5'11" | 170 | Cheraw, SC US | |
| Dick Tracewski | R | R | February 3, 1935 | 5'11" | 160 | Eynon, PA US |
| Melvin Waters | R | R | October 7, 1928 | 6'3" | 190 | |
| Robert Wegner | L | L | 6'7" | 230 | ||
| Ron Wells | R | R | August 17, 1934 | 6'2" | 185 | Fort Plain, NY US |
| William Wells | R | R | October 26, 1934 | 6'3" | 200 | Miami, FL US |
| Stan Williams | R | R | September 14, 1936 | 6'5" | 230 | Enfield, NH 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.
