The Nebraska State League was resurrected in 1956 as a class "D" rookie league. The North Platte Indians were a wholly owned farm club of the Cleveland Indians and the league was owned by Major League Baseball. North Platte was one of the larger towns in the league with a population of about 15,000 in 1956.

With a league full of amateur free agents and other rookies the league scheduled games to start on July first and 63 games were scheduled for each team.

For the initial year of league participation each town was challenged to sell at least 500 season tickets. North Platte responded by selling 673 season tickets and put 28,578 fans in the stands for the season.

Future major league All Star James Perry pitched for North Platte in 1956. Another future major league player, Bob Allen also for the North Platte Indians in 1956. However, their excellent pitching was not matched in the field as they were seventh in hitting and fielding for the year. With a number of batters fighting to stay above the Mendoza line the Indians finished the year in seventh place.

North Platte changed managers as Rudy York replaced Spencer Harris. With a new crop of rookies the Indians had high hopes for the 57 season. The wound up having one of the worst teams in Nebraska State League history as they wound up with a record of 11-45. They still drew over 20,000 fans as the town continued to support the Indians.

North Platte went from worst to first in 1958. With a new crop of rookies and a Mark Wylie as their new manager the Indians were the team to beat in 1958. Larry Bulla led the league in runs scored and Keith Williams led the league in RBI's and home runs. Tom Gansauer led the league in wins and future major league catcher Doc Edwards was behind the plate.

The last year of the league was 1959 and the North Platte Indians went back to last place. While McCook was led by future hall of famer Phil Niekro and future all star Ron Hunt, North Platte did not have the talent to compete in 1959. They wound up 21 games out of first place and only 14,000 fans came to see them.

North Platte had a problem as the season drew near. Their long time baseball stadium burned down in 1955, leaving the town without a field to play on. The town replied to the challenge by putting together a field at Cody park. Fund raising for grand stands exceeded $6,000 and the park became a reality. The infield at Cody Park was sodded in the spring of 1956 leaving only three parks in the league without a grass infield.

The rookies were met by manager Spencer Harris. The manager, who was born in Duluth was in his 50th decade and played in the major leagues for four years during the 20's.

Roger Harms a North Platte school boy was signed by the Indians and assigned to North Platte, making him the first person to play in his own home town in the league.

Opening day for North Platte was against McCook. Rookie Jim Perry was on the mound for North Platte. He put down 21 McCook batters in a row with 16 k's. He finished with a three hit performance in front of 1,216 fans.

The Indians were not competitive during 1956 and fell to seventh place. They finished the season 17 games out of first. Spencer was replaced by Rudy York in 1958.

The Indians were 7th in batting and in fielding.

Roster:
Barry Parse was a 17 year old infielder from Worcester Mass. He played 42 games at first for the Indians. He spent most of the year below the Mendoza line and averaged .212 for the year.

Kenneth Kraynak , a switch hitter, split his time between first base and the outfield. He averaged .296 in 1956.

Another regular in the infield was Dennis Weiss . He alternated between 2nd and third and averaged .271.

Marvin Gallego played 29 games at 2nd and 11 at short stop. He was the only Indian named to the All Star team in 1956. He averaged .292 for the year.

Lawrence Spires , from Jacksonville Florida, played 34 games in the dirt at short stop and managed .199 average.

Catching chores for the year was split between Joseph Alekshun who caught 48 games and averaged .273 and Eugene Gnidovec who caught 18 games and was one of many Indians below the Mendoza line at .115. He was an 18 year old from Joliet Illinois.

Outfield:
Gary Dodd was an 18 year old prospect from Cherleston Heights S. C. He led the regulars in batting with a .317 average while swinging from the port side of the plate.

William Palka was a regular for the Indians. He played 40 games at third and 15 in the outfield. He was second on the team in batting with a .314 average.

Don LeStourgeon played in 30 games in the garden and averaged .226. He was identified in some of the papers as Bert instead of Don. He was 18 years old and played for Medina High School in Lerrville Texas.

Frank Dellosso played in 45 games and averaged .248. John Farrell played in 23 games and averaged .150 and Clem Pfaehler had a .185 average in 12 games.Ken Keene had a .221 average in 17 games.

Roger Jordan from Franklin Mass. played in 14 games and averaged .385 in his 13 at bats. Ken Harper played in 17 games and had a .300 average.

Pitchers:
Bob Allen was signed by Cleveland as an amateur free agent in 1956. He led the Indians with a 7-5 record in 1956. The 18 year old lefty recorded 132k's in his 17 appearances. The Tatum Texas native (some bio's list his home as Henderson Texas) was 12-9 at Fargo in 1957. He played for Reading and Burlington in 1958. He was in Reading and Mobile in 1959. He was 16-11 for Mobile in 1960 and made it to the major league Indians in 1961. He pitched in five different seasons and had an overall 7-12 record.

Major League All Star James Perry was another free agent signing in 1956. The 6'4" 20 year old from North Carolina made 16 appearances on the mound and had a 7-8 record. He made it to the show in 1959 with the Cleveland Indians. He played for 17 years with four teams. He was an All Star in 1961, 1970 and 1971. He had a lifetime 215-174 record. Gerald Lis , a 17 year old pitcher from Detroit, was 3-6 in 15 appearances. He also helped himself at the plate with a .296 batting average. Julius Grant pitched in 17 games and had 2-7 record as a left handed pitcher. He played in a total of 28 games and had a .286 average.

The team drew over 20,000 fans for the season.

Roster:
First base for North Platte in 1957 was split between Dennis Cormack and Ed Rickerson .284. Dennis led the team in hitting and averaged .323 in 28 games. Both of them were lefties and Ed averaged .284.

William Caldwell held down the second base position in 1957 and averaged .215.

John Whited played 29 games at third and averaged .264. Robert Moore played in 20 games and averaged .163.

Short stop for 1957 was held down by James Card . He played 35 games at short and 21 at third. He averaged .216. James Wyatt played in 23 games and averaged .085.

Catcher for the Indians in 1957 was James McFarland . The port side swinger averaged .239.

Outfield:
The light hitting continued in the outfield for the Indians. John Swogger was a regular in the garden and averaged .247.

Dan Vlahovic played in 52 games and averaged .211.

Jay Perry averaged .222 swinging from the left side.

Richard Williams averaged .218 in 33 games.

Robert Lehner did not make it to the Mendoza line. He played in 32 games and averaged .183.

Pitchers:
Sebastian Aparo was 2-4 in 9 appearances.

Robert Botto appeared in 22 games and had a 0-10 record.

Wilton Davis was 0-2 in 18 games.

Russell Fischer was 3-6 in 22 appearances.

Richard Hatchell also appeared in 22 games. He was the only regular with a winning record as he was 3-2 in 1957.

James McCoy was 0-6 in 13 times on the mound.

Gary Newman was 2-4 in 21 appearances.

J. Ronald Osborne did not win a game in his 18 appearances. He was 0-6 for the season.

Manager Mark Wylie had a good group of rookies for the 1958 season. He had 10 pitchers play during the 63 game season and the team won the league by one game over Bill Steinecke's McCook congregation. McCook won the league the next year.

The Indians had a fairly comfortable lead in the league as August began. McCook went on a tear, winning 18 games in a row to start off the month. This leveled the league and North Platte and McCook fought to the end of the season.

Roster:
First base for the Indians in 1958 saw J. K. Williams holding the position. He averaged .295 for the year with 72 RBI's in 63 games.

Joe Teague had a .256 average at second base and Vernon Benner split time at second and third. He played in 46 games and had a .276 average. Others at third base were Richard Jackson who averaged .107 and John Myers who had a .277 average in 23 games.

Short stop was a strong point for North Platte in 1958. Larry Bulla averaged .322.

Future major league catcher Howard "Doc" Edwards put on the mask for 42 game for North Platte. The 21 year old from Red Jacket West Virginia averaged .359 for the year. He moved to Selma for the 1959 season and spent 1960 in Burlington. He was promoted to Salt Lake City in the Pacific Coast League for the 1961 season. He made it to the parent Indians in 1962. He played from 1962-65 and in 1970 in the major leagues. Larry Milledge alternated with Doc as catcher for the Indians. He played in 28 games and averaged .318.

Outfield:
Five players roamed the garden for North Platte in 1958. Kent Hathaway was a regular in the garden for the Indians. He played in 63 games and led the team with a .372 average. Fred Krase was another regular. He played in 53 games and average .262. Robert Butts played in 30 games and averaged .239. Edgar Spangler averaged .231 in 26 games and southpaw James Troy averaged .297 in 34 games.

Pitchers:
The Indians had a gaggle of pitchers in 1958. They had 10 different players in the box during the season. Their leading pitcher was Tom Gansauer. He played in 14 games, had a leage leading 10-1 record and 118 strike outs.

Jose Ramon Lopez was an amateur free agent from Cuba. He played in 14 games and had a 4-3 record. He played in the majors in 1966 with the California Angels.

Frank Slusser was 8-5 in 17 appearances. Southpaw Isaaac Simmons was 4-3 in 11 games and Carl Morrow appeared in 13 games and had a 5-3 record.
Southpaw Garry Holmes was 3-1 in 11 appearances. Robert Edward Gordon appeared in 6 games and was 1-0. R. W. Earls was 2-3 in 8 games. Lefty Curtis White managed a 4-3 record in 8 games and Richard Wagner appeared in 10 games with no decisions to his credit.

Roster:

Duke Sims put on the mask for the Indians in 1959. The 18 year old from Pocatello Idaho averaged .279 for the season. He spent the 1960 season in Selma and hit .304 for Burlington in 1961. He hit .321 for Charleston in 1962 and played in both Nashville and Charleston in 1963. He played in Portland for most of 1964 and made his major league debut with Cleveland late in that season.