Lyons Jr. pays visit to Lyons Stadium

George T. Lyons Jr. (left) visits with Nevada Griffons’ president Dan Keller Sunday afternoon in the Lyons Stadium press box, which is named in honor of Lyons’ father, George Sr. In addition to Keller’s visit with Lyons Jr., Griffons’ board members along with others, spent Sunday cleaning the stadium in preparation of the season opener Thursday night.

Photos by Ralph Pokorny/Daily Mail

On Sunday George T. Lyons Jr. visited Lyons Stadium, named in honor of his father, George Sr. George Lyons Sr. made his Major League debut as a 29-year-old rookie in September of 1920 with the St. Louis Cardinals.

An Illinois native, Lyons Sr. pitched in seven games that year with the Cardinals, going 2-1 with an earned run average of 3.91

According to The Baseball Encyclopedia, Lyons Sr. resurfaced four years later in the American League with the St. Louis Browns, appearing in 26 games, 20 of them in relief.

Pookie DeCocq (left) and Diane McDonald rake the aisles between the seats Sunday afternoon at Lyons Stadium.

A right-handed pitcher, Lyons started six games for the Browns in 1924, completing two and compiling a 3-2 record and 5.21 earned run average. For his career Lyons was 5-3, with a 4.72 earned run average and 30 strikeouts in 101 innings of work.

At the plate, Lyons was 1-for-7 in 1920 with the Cardinals, and 5-for-20 in 1924 with the Browns, including one extra base hit, according to www.baseball-almanac.com.

Welcome to the big leagues

Lyons Jr. said that in the first major league game his father pitched in, former New York Yankees manager and baseball Hall of Famer, Casey Stengel, who played for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1920, came to the plate and homered off him.