Tex Sanner

Roy Dale Sanner

• Bats Left, Throws Left
• Height 6' 3", Weight 210 lb.

• Born August 22, 1920 in Geuda Springs, KS USA
• Died January 9, 1982 in Houston, TX USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

Tex Sanner spent 17 years in the minor leagues, playing from 1941 to 1957. He was excellent with both the bat and on the mound, hitting over 200 home runs and winning over 130 games. He won one Triple Crown as a hitter and led the league in wins once as a pitcher.

He played for the Cheyenne Indians and Topeka Owls in his rookie season, hitting .274 with no home runs and 29 RBI in 43 games. On the mound, he was 10-6 with a 3.07 ERA in 27 appearances. With Topeka again in 1942, he hit .303 with 60 hits, 17 doubles and a home run in 73 games, but he truly shined as a hurler, going 20-10 in 39 appearances. He led the Western Association in wins, tied Junior Walsh for the lead in appearances, finished behind Robert Playfair in innings pitched (226) and second to Ervin Liberton in walks (112) and tied Clinton Wise for third in hits allowed (199).

With the New Orleans Pelicans in 1943, he was 10-14 with a 4.06 ERA in 30 games (25 starts), hitting .310 with 22 hits in 71 at-bats. He slumped both at the dish and on the mound with the Montreal Royals in 1944, hitting only .154 in 13 at-bats and going 2-3 with a 6.60 ERA in 10 games (five starts). Returning to form with New Orleans in 1945, Sanner was 15-7 with a 4.01 ERA in 29 appearances (28 starts), also contributing a .310 average with 40 hits in 129 at-bats. He played for New Orleans and the Anderson A's in 1946, hitting .353 in 17 at-bats and going 1-3 with a 5.23 ERA in eight pitching appearances.

In 1947, with the Houma Indians, Sanner showed what he could do when given more at-bats - he hit .292 with 21 doubles and 17 home runs in 97 games (384 ABs) and also went 7-2 with a 2.65 ERA in nine games on the mound. He blossomed as a hitter in 1948, hitting .385 with 198 hits, 37 doubles, 34 home runs, 126 RBI and a .660 slugging percentage in 133 games split between Houma (126 games) and the Dallas Eagles (seven games). He led the Evangeline League in home runs, RBI and batting average (to win the Triple Crown), slugging percentage and total bases (329), while finishing second behind Bobby Greene in doubles and third behind Greene and Mel Clark in hits. On the mound, he was 22-3 with a 2.75 ERA in 25 games. He led the Evangeline League in winning percentage, finished one behind Paul Bruno in wins and was second behind James Bradshaw in ERA.

Despite his excellent season at the dish in 1948, Sanner was relegated to limited duty the following year, hitting .333 with 29 hits in 87 at-bats (62 games) for Dallas. On the mound, he was 9-3 with a 5.95 ERA in 26 games (17 starts). He split 1950 between the Gainesville Owls (127 games) and Dallas, hitting a combined .336 with 34 doubles, 11 triples and 17 home runs in 141 games. He finished third in the Big State League in triples. As a twirler, he was 0-3 in nine games. With Gainesville and Dallas again in 1951, Sanner hit .284 with nine home runs in 107 games (299 at-bats) and was 6-4 with a 3.22 ERA in 26 appearances.

He had another big season at the plate in 1952, hitting .368 with 211 hits, 42 doubles, 45 home runs, 388 total bases and a .677 slugging percentage in 141 games for the Texarkana Bears. He led the Big State League in total bases, finished second in hits behind Buck Frierson, was second behind Dean Stafford in home runs, placed second behind Wesley Gibson in slugging percentage and was third behind Frierson and Frank Murray in doubles. Used sparingly as a pitcher that year, he was 0-0 with a 7.88 ERA in three games.

1953 was another solid year for Sanner, who hit .333 with 33 doubles, 20 home runs and a .521 slugging percentage in 130 games for Texarkana. He was 0-1 in a single appearance on the mound. His final great offensive season came in 1954, when he hit .351 with 40 doubles, 37 home runs, 313 total bases and a .677 slugging percentage for the Port Arthur Sea Hawks. He led the Evangeline League in slugging percentage, placed second behind Remy LeBlanc in home runs and was third behind LeBlanc and Bill Dossey in total bases. He was 8-2 with a 2.18 ERA in 13 games (10 starts) as a hurler.

He played in 108 games - including five pitching appearances - for Port Arthur and the Monterrey Sultanes in 1955, hitting .291 for Port Arthur. In 1956, he hit .239 with six home runs in 62 games for Port Arthur and was 14-5 with a 2.55 ERA in 21 games (19 starts) off the bump. He had one last hurrah at the dish and on the hill in 1957, his final season, as he hit .331 in 74 games for the Port Arthur/Temple Redlegs and Victoria Rosebuds. He was 12-4 with a 2.80 ERA in 24 games (14 starts) as a pitcher.

Overall, Sanner played in 1,426 games and finished with at least 1,483 hits, 310 doubles and 211 home runs. Records available indicate that he hit in the .320s and slugged in the .540s. As a pitcher, he made 305 appearances and won at least 137 games. His ERA was in the low 3s and his winning percentage, per the record, in the .650s.