September 13, 1962: Last Class D minor-league game brings playoff title to Dubuque

Class D. For generations of players and fans, the name signified primitive ballparks, bumpy bus rides, dashed dreams, and other trappings of the very lowest level of the minor leagues. That ended in December 1962, when a reorganization and streamlining of the financially struggling minors eliminated Classes B, C, and D and made Class A ball the lowest rung on pro baseball’s ladder, with many but not all communities at the lower levels moving to Class A.1

Six full-season leagues and one short-season loop operated at Class D in its final season. The Midwest League was the largest, with 10 teams, and was also the league in which playoffs lasted the longest. The Midwest League’s final playoff game, between the Dubuque Packers and Waterloo Hawks on September 13, 1962, was the last game ever played at the Class D level.

Although the demise of Class D was not confirmed at that time, it had been discussed throughout the year, along with other potential steps to aid the struggling minors.2 The prospect of a restructuring didn’t bother some: Midwest League president Clarence “Dutch” Hoffman said during the playoffs that he expected his league to continue at another level in 1963. News stories also suggested that a new Class A label for former Class D teams might win over fans who had been put off by Class D’s historically low status.3

The Hawks, a Boston Red Sox affiliate, had posted the best record for the full season at 73-50, two games ahead of Dubuque. But the Packers, a Cleveland Indians farm club, won the first, third, and fourth games of their best-of-five series to claim the playoff title.4 The clincher was a showcase for 19-year-old left-hander Tom Moser, who pitched a complete-game five-hitter and struck out 12 Hawks in a 6-1 win.5

Two Waterloo players later reached the major leagues, and one – catcher Mike Ryan – appeared in manager Matt Sczesny’s lineup in the final game. The 20-year-old Ryan hit just .215 that season, presaging an 11-season big-league career in which the defense-first backstop hit .193.6

The Hawks’ other future major-leaguer was second baseman Glenn Beckert, who hit .280 in 81 games but missed the playoffs to return to school at Allegheny College in Pennsylvania.7 Waterloo also entered the playoffs without starting pitchers Barry Shollenberger, who’d pulled a shoulder muscle, and Ernie Kumerow, who left for a teaching job in Illinois.8 Kumerow and Shollenberger won 31 games between them during the regular season, and Shollenberger was the league’s rookie of the year.9

Key contributors for the Hawks who stayed on board for the playoffs included infielder Van Rushing, team leader in homers with 16, stolen bases with 41, and bases on balls with 150; outfielder Richie Waite, whose 73 RBIs topped the team; and first baseman Bill Halter, who chipped in 12 homers and 67 RBIs to go with a .272 average.

The start for the final game went to 19-year-old rookie righty Wayne Tatum, who went 7-10 with a 3.50 ERA in 28 games for Waterloo during the regular season.10 Tatum was briefly hospitalized in early September with what was initially feared to be a cracked breastbone, suffered in a home-plate collision. He was severely bruised on the chest but returned for the playoffs.11

The ‘62 Packers also employed two future major-leaguers in pitchers Steve Bailey and Steve Hargan, neither of whom appeared in the playoff clincher.12 Instead, manager Walt Novick gave the start to second-year pro Moser, whose 12 wins ranked him second on the staff behind George Pressley’s 13.13 A native of Massillon, Ohio, Moser had experience in big games. The previous season, he’d pitched the victory that clinched the Alabama-Florida League title for Cleveland’s Class D affiliate in Selma, Alabama.14

Major offensive contributors who started for Dubuque included catcher Mel Bell (.301 in 85 games); third baseman Orlando Centellas, who contributed a team-leading 19 homers and 85 RBIs; and left fielder Jerome Kelly, whose 17 homers and 65 RBIs trailed only Centellas.

On a Thursday night, 1,037 fans came to Dubuque’s Petrakis Park to find out whether the home team could clinch its first league title since 1955.15 Pitching for the first time since his chest injury, Tatum got off to a difficult start. With one out in the first inning, he walked shortstop Bob Santana and first baseman Bob Iglesias.16 One out later, Centellas singled to score Santana and Bell singled to drive in Iglesias, giving the Packers a quick 2-0 lead.17

Packers fans hoping for a cakewalk didn’t get one, though. Tatum ended the inning by striking out center fielder Bill Delvecchio. Then he toughened, retiring the next 12 Dubuque batters in order through the end of the fifth inning.

The Hawks got a run back in the top of the third, when third baseman Jack Sargent hit a 350-foot leadoff homer to cut the deficit to 2-1. Sargent, a 20-year-old rookie, had split his season among      three Class D teams. He’d hit just five regular-season homers in 89 games, including one in 13 games with Waterloo.

After an offensive lull, Sargent had a chance to do more damage in the seventh. Hawks right fielder Larry Wieck and Ryan singled, giving Waterloo the potential tying run at third with two out, but Sargent struck out to strand the runners.

Waterloo threatened again in the top of the eighth, beginning with a long one-out drive down the left-field line by Tatum that third-base umpire Ken Littleton18 ruled foul. Tatum drew a walk and advanced to second on a wild pitch, but groundouts by top-of-the-order batters Rushing and Waite stranded him there.

In the bottom half of the inning, the game swung firmly in Dubuque’s favor. Santana singled and Iglesias beat out a bunt “despite the fact everybody in the ballpark knew he was going to lay one down,” the Dubuque Telegraph-Herald’s reporter wrote.19

A sacrifice and an intentional walk loaded the bases for catcher Bell, who grounded to Sargent at third. Sargent’s throw pulled Ryan’s foot off the plate – as shown in a photograph published in the next day’s Telegraph-Herald – but plate umpire Joseph Ring called Santana out anyway.20 A heated argument by Novick failed to overturn the call.

After Novick settled down and play resumed, the Packers sealed the win. Delvecchio singled to center field – his eighth hit of the playoffs – to score Iglesias and Centellas. Right fielder Ed Bays followed him with a double into the left-field corner, bringing Bell and Delvecchio home for a 6-1 Packers lead. The last run was enabled by shortstop Rushing’s delay; he took the relay from the outfield but hesitated before throwing home. Reliever Gene King replaced Tatum and got the final out on a grounder by Moser.

The Hawks mustered a final rally in the ninth. Halter walked with one out, and Ryan singled with two out – Waterloo’s fifth and last hit off Moser. But Moser struck out Wieck, left fielder Len Patinsky, and finally Sargent to close out the 6-1 victory in 2 hours and 12 minutes. After a clubhouse celebration, Packers players decamped to a nearby nightclub, while fans enjoyed free beer paid for by team management.21

The Hawks were left to brood that “a couple of timely base hits and a little more help from Lady Luck might have forced the series into a fifth game,” as Waterloo journalist Bob Herdien summarized.22 That said, the Packers could credit more than luck for their victory. They pitched to a 2.31 ERA in the series, batted .307 as a team, and did not commit any errors in the field.23

The Midwest League reclassified as Class A for 1963, one of 11 leagues at that level. Although Waterloo dropped to sixth place and Dubuque all the way to last, the cities retained their teams, so the loss of Class D did not mean the loss of pro baseball – just a new structure for fans to get used to. This placed Dubuque and Waterloo ahead of smaller Class D communities like Dothan, Alabama; Dublin, Georgia; and Conover, North Carolina, which lost affiliated minor-league baseball in the 1962 reorganization and, as of 2026, never had regained it.

Author’s note

The seven leagues operating at Class D in 1962, and the dates on which their seasons ended:

• Western Carolina: August 1924
• Georgia-Florida: August 2425
• Alabama-Florida: August 2926
• New York-Pennsylvania: August 2927
• Florida State: August 3028
• Appalachian: September 329
• Midwest: September 13

This story is part of a three-story package chronicling the last games at the Class B, C, and D levels.

Acknowledgments

This story was fact-checked by Kevin Larkin and copy-edited by Mike Eisenbath. The author thanks Amy Muchmore of the Carnegie-Stout Public Library in Dubuque, Iowa, for research assistance.

Sources and photo credit

In addition to the specific sources cited in the Notes, the author consulted Baseball-Reference.com and Retrosheet.org for general player, team and season data. Neither Baseball-Reference nor Retrosheet offers box scores for minor-league games, but the September 14, 1962, editions of the Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald and the Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier printed box scores.

Image of 1966 Topps card #419 downloaded from the Trading Card Database.

Notes

1 The “Player Development Plan,” proposed in May 1962 and approved at baseball’s winter meetings that December, provided additional major-league funding to stabilize the minors, but reduced the number of minor-league classifications. Although contemporary stories said the revamped minors would be divided into Triple A, Double A, and Class A, two lower levels – short-season Class A and Rookie level – also were      added. United Press International, “Major Leagues Adopt Plan to Aid Foundering Minors,” Allentown (Pennsylvania) Morning Call, May 19, 1962: 12; Clifford Kachline, “Majors Pick Up $10 Million Tab in Minors,” The Sporting News, December 15, 1962: 5. As of November 2025, Baseball-Reference’s incomplete minor-league records included Class B teams as early as the 1890s. The existence of Classes A, B, C, and D was confirmed and cemented in fall 1901 by the creation of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, a central organization for minor-league teams. “Independence of Minor Leagues,” New London (Connecticut) Day, September 14, 1901: 7.

2 For instance, a nationally syndicated wire-service story in February of that year discussed a restructuring, as well as a potential future financial support structure from major-league teams: Jack Hand (Associated Press), “Baseball Must Take Its Own Misgivings,” Jackson (Mississippi) Clarion-Ledger, February 5, 1962: 7. And, as mentioned in the endnote above, the Player Development Plan had been adopted in May of that year.

3 “Hoffman Sure Loop to Run in ’63,” Waterloo (Iowa) Daily Courier, September 11, 1962: 13. It also should      be noted that the Midwest League led all Class D leagues in attendance, which perhaps bolstered Hoffman’s optimism that his league would land on its feet in 1963. “Crowds Up in Midwest,” Waterloo Daily Courier, November 2, 1962: 16.

4 Russ L. Smith, “Packers Capture First, 6-2,” Waterloo Daily Courier, September 10, 1962: 11; Associated Press, “Dubuque Wins Over Waterloo,” Davenport-Bettendorf (Iowa) Daily Times, September 13, 1962: 46; Associated Press, “Dubuque Wins ML Playoff, 3 Games to 1,” Appleton (Wisconsin) Post-Crescent, September 14, 1962: B6.

5 Associated Press, “Dubuque Wins ML Playoff, 3 Games to 1.”

6 Ryan appeared in 636 games with the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Pittsburgh Pirates between 1964 and 1974. He was also the Phillies’ bullpen coach for 16 seasons, including the World Series championship season of 1980.

7 Beckert appeared in 1,320 games with the Chicago Cubs and San Diego Padres between 1965 and 1975. He also appeared in four All-Star Games.

8 Bob Herdien, “Personnel Losses Hurting Chances,” Waterloo Daily Courier, September 3, 1962: 15.

9 “Hawks Start Playoffs at 2:30 Here Today,” Waterloo Sunday Courier, September 9, 1962: 37. Shollenberger won 16 games and Kumerow 15.

10 Tatum also appeared in six games for the Red Sox’ Class B affiliate in Winston-Salem, going 2-1 with a 3.60 ERA. He pitched three professional seasons, topping out at Class A.

11 Bob Herdien, “Injury List Mounts,” Waterloo Daily Courier, September 4, 1962: 11; “Magic Number to 4 for Hawks,” Waterloo Daily Courier, September 5, 1962: 29.

12 Bailey appeared in 34 games with Cleveland in 1967 and 1968, going 2-6. Hargan pitched parts of 12 big-league seasons for four teams, going 87-107.

13 Moser also went 1-2 that season in four games with Class B Burlington.

14 “The Winning Pitcher,” Selma (Alabama) Times-Journal, August 23, 1961: 6.

15 Hal Lagerstrom, “Packers Whip Waterloo 6-1; Win Midwest League Playoffs,” Dubuque (Iowa) Telegraph-Herald, September 14, 1962: 13.

16 As of November 2025, Baseball-Reference listed the players’ names as Roberto Santana and Robert Iglesias; in game coverage, they were both called Bob.

17 All game action in this story is based on Lagerstrom, “Packers Whip Waterloo 6-1; Win Midwest League Playoffs,” and Bob Herdien, “Waterloo 2nd Again 6-1,” Waterloo Daily Courier, September 14, 1962: 13.

18 None of the four umpires who worked the game – Joseph Ring, Littleton, Bill Coale, and Richard Williams – reached the major leagues, according to their Sporting News umpire cards (accessed via Retrosheet in November 2025).

19 Lagerstrom, “Packers Whip Waterloo 6-1; Win Midwest League Playoffs.”

20 The photo appeared on page 13 of the September 13, 1962, Telegraph-Herald, adjacent to the game story.

21 The clubhouse celebration is shown in a photograph in the September 14, 1962, Dubuque Telegraph-Herald: 13. Information on the nightclub celebration and the free beer from Herdien, “Waterloo 2nd Again 6-1.”

22 Herdien, “Waterloo 2nd Again 6-1.”

23 “Playoff Notes,” Dubuque Telegraph-Herald, September 14, 1962: 13.

24 Jerry Josey, “Owls Blank Twins in Finale,” Statesville (North Carolina) Record & Landmark, August 20, 1962: 8. The Western Carolina League did not hold playoffs because the same team, Statesville, won the first- and second-half titles.

25 Associated Press, “Tigers Romp in G-F Finale,” Valdosta (Georgia) Times, August 25, 1962: 2.

26 “Selma Captures Ala-Fla Playoffs Over Pensacola,” Selma Times-Journal, August 30, 1962: 6.

27 Associated Press, “Auburn Player who Hitchhiked to Camp Is Hero,” Buffalo Evening News, August 30, 1962: 59.

28 Dick Meyer, “Pitching Paralyzes Sun Sox in Series,” Miami Herald, September 1, 1962: 5D.

29 “Salem Is Fourth in Appy Finish,” Roanoke (Virginia) World-News, September 4, 1962: 14.