Fort Worth Cats Pays Tribute to Five from’55
The Fort Worth Cats will pay tribute to the five players from the 1955 team that went on to manage in the majors with limited edition Cats’ baseball cards to be distributed during each Sunday home game this season. The Five in ’55 Card Series Giveaway marks the 50th anniversary of the team that included Dick Williams, Danny Ozark, Maury Wills, Sparky Anderson and Norm Sherry. Baseball cards will be handed out to the first 1,000 fans through the turnstiles at LaGrave Field May 15 (Williams), June 5 (Ozark), June 19 (Wills), July 3 (Anderson) and August 14 (Sherry). Dick Williams was one of the top hitters on the Cats in ’55 batting .317 with 24 home runs and 91 RBI. Williams managed six different teams in the majors leading the Athletics to the World Championship in 1972 and 1973. In 1955, Danny Ozark was the Cats’ first baseman batting .271 with 18 home runs and 79 RBI. Ozark managed the Philadelphia Phillies to three National League East titles from 1976-78. Maury Wills played in 123 games as the Cats’ shortstop in 1955. Wills, the first African-American to play for the Cats, batted .202 and led the team with 12 stolen bases. Maury went on to lead the Dodgers to World Series titles in 1959, 1963 and 1965. Wills managed the Mariners in 1980 and 1981. In 1955, Sparky Anderson batted .266 for the Cats with 50 RBI as the team’s everyday second baseman. Sparky led the Reds to World Series victories in 1975 and 1976 and the Tigers in 1984. Norm Sherry was a catcher for the Cats in 1955 batting .261 with 26 RBI. He managed the Angels in 1976 and 1977.
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