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→1949 Season
The Fliers posted an easy win in the Southeastern League, finishing 98-42, with a .700 win percentage, 16 games ahead of Meridian. In the playoffs, Pensacola whitewashed Jackson, four games to none, before besting Vicksburg, four games to one to win the championship. Later, in a matchup of Class B leagues called the Little Dixie Series, the Fliers defeated the Florida International’s Tampa franchise, four games to two.
The ’49 Fliers were managed by 36-year-old '''Bill HerringHerr'''ing. A long-time minor leaguer, Herring spent much of his career in the Coastal Plain League, both as a pitcher and manager. In 1941, he managed the Wilson Tobs to a place on the top 100 list. After stops in Portland (PCL) and Goldsboro (Coastal Plain), '''Herring ''' signed on to manage Pensacola in 1949. In addition to piloting the club, '''Herring ''' contributed from the mound, winning 10-of-13 decisions. After the season, he returned to familiar stomping grounds in the Coastal Plain, managing Wilson in 1950.
Pensacola featured two players who were legends in minor league baseball in the Southeastern United States, 43-year-old first baseman '''Bill McGhee ''' and outfielder '''Nesbit (Neb) Wilson'''. '''McGhee ''' was in his 21st year in pro ball and had been a wartime player with the [[Wikipedia:Philadelphia Athletics|Philadelphia Athletics]], batting .272 in 170 games in 1944-45. He played all but 79 of his 2,292 minor league games below the Mason-Dixon Line. He had a .321 career average with 2,791 hits, but was not a power hitter, recording just 45 home runs. As playing manager at Gadsen in 1947, he had led the Southeastern League in batting (.349).
'''Wilson''', then 26, had a career which also spanned 21 years (1940-60), all but parts of two seasons in the South. He had a .326 career average with 2,369 hits including 329 homers. Wilson played four years with Pensacola (1947-50), leading the Southeastern League in RBI (129) in 1947 and hits (165) and total bases (254) in 1949, then winning the triple crown in 1950 (.355-35-163). He won three more batting titles, with a high mark of .403 as player-manager of Crestview in the [[Wikipedia:Alabama-Florida League|Alabama-Florida League]] in 1955. He led his league in RBI five times and in homers and doubles four times each.
Aside from '''McGhee''', the only other Flier who reached the majors was outfielder Benjamin ('''Bob) Thorpe ''' (.275-15-96), who hit .251 in 110 games for the Boston/Milwaukee Braves in 1951-53. Second baseman '''Jack Hollis ''' (.315) played three seasons for the Los Angeles Angels in the Pacific Coast League.
The fact that so few Pensacola players made the big leagues was not unique for the era. In 1949, minor league baseball was at its height with 59 leagues operating--close to 10,000 minor league players competing for a spot on one of 16 major league teams. In addition, the Fliers were an independent outfit, not affiliated with any big league team that could conceivably pull its players up the ladder.
The Fliers’ pitching staff was anchored by a pair of 20-game winners - right-handers '''Alvin Henencheck ''' (22-6) and '''Ken Deal ''' (21-5). Left-hander '''Joe Kirkland ''' (13-3) also chipped in, earning the ERA crown (1.62) while twirling six shutouts in only 18 starts.'''Hollis ''' and '''Kirkland ''' made the Southeastern League All-Star first team. '''Wilson''', '''Thorpe''', 3B '''Minor Scott ''' and '''Henencheck ''' were named to the All-Star second team.
=='''1949 Roster'''==