Don McShane
From BR Bullpen
Don McShane
- Bats Right, Throws Right
A minor league position player, Don McShane played for the Corsicana Oilers in 1926, hitting just .178. After a year off, he played with the Ogden Gunners in the Utah-Idaho League (.278/~.364/.364 as the primary 2B on the team) and the Oakland Oaks in the Pacific Coast League in 1928 (.118 in limited action).
McShane was with the 1929 Globe Bears in the Arizona State League (.288/~.376/.306 - never a slugger, he only homered once in his entire career). In 1930, he moved to the Jacksonville Tars in the Southeastern League and hit .240, then spent the following season with the Vicksburg Hill Billies in the Cotton States League, batting .252.
He split the 1932 season between two Cotton States League teams - the Jackson Mississippians and the Monroe Drillers, batting .262 overall. He continued his tour of weak southern leagues with the 1933 Dixie League and hit .261/~.337/.321 as the starting second bagger. From there, McShane moved to the Evangeline League, playing for the Rayne Red Sox and Jeanerette Blues and batting .242, with his only career circuit clout.
In 1935, he was with the Rayne Rice Birds and Opelousas Indians in the Evangeline and Don had just a .191 average. He finished his playing career by hitting with the Gainesville G-Men in the 1936 Florida State League. McShane also managed Gainesville from 1936 to mid-1939, leading the team to 3 playoff appearances and two league titles.
Total compilation of managerial career: 1932 Cotton State Vicksburg; 1934 Evangeline Lake Charles/Jeanerette; 1935 Evangeline Rayne; 1936-38 Florida State Gainesville; 1939 Florida State Gainesville, DeLand.
Later, as a scout for the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles, he discovered and/or signed players such as Bob Bowman, Bob Greenwood, Ron Hansen, Niles Jordan, Dick Young, Don Landrum, Wes Stock, Frank Zupo, Pete Ward, Frank Bertaina and Wally Bunker.
