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Upon graduation from Centralia
High School in 1958, Gansauer left with some
lofty baseball stats. They include:
CAREER PITCHING - 11 wins (Spring seasons),
6 shutouts, 1.84 strike outs per innings
pitched, 4 no
hitters
SEASON PITCHING - (all 1958) 103 strike outs
(56 innings), 3 no hitters, 0.64 ERA
SINGLE GAME PITCHING - 18 strike outs in 7
innings. Tom also had a string of 14 consecutive
strike outs over a two game stretch in 1958.
He only suffered one loss each season (1957,
1958). He led the team in batting in
1957 (.429) and 1958 (.381) as the teams
were 9-4 and 12-4 respectively. He had
a career batting average of .397 at CHS.
The four no hitters in a career, 103 strike
outs in a season, 3 no hitters in a season,
and the 18 strike outs in a 7 inning game
(tied with Don Walker), are all still
records at Centralia High School.
Before
high school, he pitched two no hitters in
Centralia Little League ball. During the off
season from high school ball, he set the
Babe Ruth League single game strike out
record of 19, and had three no
hitters.
He also pitched in the local Tri County
League and set the league record of 21
strike outs in a 9 inning game.
Gansauer had signed a letter of intent to
attend the University of Illinois for
baseball, but opted to sign with the major
league Cleveland Indian organization
instead. His signing bonus of $22,250 was
one of the three largest in the state at the
time.
He
reported to the Nebraska State League. While
there, he pitched a no hitter and the next
start a one hitter, with the one hit coming
in the last inning with two out after an
error. He was rated the top pitcher in
the league with a record of 10-1 and an ERA
of 2.03. He was also named CO-MVP.
In 1959, sickness hampered his progress, but
in 1960, he reported to Spring training with
the big league club and pitched three
shutout innings against the Cubs.
Later in 1960, he suffered an arm injury but
finished a total of six years in the minor
leagues.
Tom
followed his father Erwin “Zuke”
Gansauer as an inductee into the Centralia
Sports Hall of Fame.
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