Texas Association
The Texas Association was a sports league of minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926.[1]: 113 An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 through 1899.[1]: 108–109, 171 History of the Texas Association during the 1920s follows.
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1923 |
| Ceased | 1926 |
| No. of teams | 6 |
| Country | United States |
| Last champion(s) | Palestine Pals (1926) |
| Most titles |
|
History
The league operated in 1923 with a six-team format. The Austin Rangers, Corsicana Oilers, Marlin Bathers, Mexia Gushers, Sherman Twins,[2] and Waco Indians made up the league that year.[1]: 291 While Mexia had the best win–loss record for the entire season, the league played a split season, with Sherman winning the first half, and Austin winning the second half.[1]: 291 Sherman and Austin played a six-game playoff series, which ended in a tie at three games each.[2][1]: 291
The Sherman squad did not return for 1924 and was replaced by the Temple Surgeons; all other teams returned.[1]: 295 Corsicana finished in first place during both halves of the split season, thus no playoffs were held.[1]: 295
For 1925, the Austin Rangers became the Austin Senators, while the Waco club did not return and was replaced by the Terrell Terrors; all other teams returned.[1]: 298 On May 13, Marlin moved to Palestine to become the Palestine Pals. Corsicana again won both halves of a split season.[1]: 298 Minor league legend Smead Jolley played for Corsicana that year,[3] while 12-year major league veteran Boom-Boom Beck suited up for the Marlin/Palestine club.[4]
1926 was the final year of the Texas Association, with all six teams returning from the previous year.[1]: 303 Austin won the first half of the split season and Palestine won the second half.[1]: 303 These two teams played a postseason series, won by Palestine, three games to none.[1]: 303
No effort was made to bring the league back for 1927.[5] Teams of three cities moved to the newly formed Lone Star League (Palestine, Mexia and Corsicana) while three others ceased operations (Austin, Terrell, and Temple).[1]: 99–100 Teams based in Austin and Temple later played in the Big State League of the late 1940s and early 1950s, while Terrell has yet to field another team.[1]: 99–100
Cities Represented 1923-1926
- Austin, TX: Austin Rangers 1923–1924; Austin Senators 1925–1926
- Corsicana, TX: Corsicana Oilers 1923–1926
- Marlin, TX: Marlin Bathers 1923–1925
- Mexia, TX: Mexia Gushers 1923–1926
- Palestine, TX: Palestine Pals 1925–1926
- Sherman, TX & Denison, TX: Sherman-Denison Twins 1923
- Temple, TX: Temple Surgeons 1924–1926
- Terrell, TX: Terrell Terrors 1925–1926
- Waco, TX: Waco Indians 1923–1924
Teams & Statistics
1923 Texas Association
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mexia Gushers | 80 | 60 | .571 | -- | Hub Northen |
| Austin Rangers | 72 | 66 | .522 | 7.0 | Rankin Johnson |
| Sherman-Denison Twins | 72 | 67 | .518 | 7.5 | A. B. Sands / Otto McIvor |
| Corsicana Oilers | 68 | 70 | .493 | 11.0 | Harvey Grubb |
| Marlin Bathers | 65 | 73 | .471 | 14.0 | Walt Alexander |
| Waco Indians | 59 | 80 | .424 | 20.5 | Ray Falk / H. House / Bill Reynolds / Warwick Comstock |
Playoff: Austin 3 games, Sherman 3. The series was declared a tie when the two clubs could not agree upon a site for the deciding game.
Player statistics
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Pyle | Sherman | BA | .359 | Clarence Tiner | Mexia | W | 23 | |
| Tom Pyle | Sherman | Runs | 94 | Murray Richburg | Sherman | SO | 197 | |
| Tom Pyle | Sherman | Hits | 199 | Harvey Muns | Sherman | PCT | .690; 20–9 | |
| Don Flynn | Waco/Austin | HR | 22 |
1924 Texas Association
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corsicana Oilers | 83 | 42 | .664 | -- | John Vann |
| Marlin Bathers | 73 | 55 | .570 | 11.5 | Walt Alexander |
| Waco Indians | 65 | 64 | .504 | 20.0 | Otto McIvor / Tom Carson |
| Mexia Gushers | 60 | 68 | .469 | 24.5 | Tuffy Fowlkes |
| Austin Rangers | 54 | 72 | .429 | 29.5 | Cecil Griggs / Fats Fleharty / Otto McIvor |
| Temple Surgeons | 48 | 82 | .369 | 37.5 | Rankin Johnson |
Playoff: None
Player statistics
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joe Munson | Carlson | BA | .346 | Charles Gressett | Marlin | W | 22 | |
| Bill Etheredge | Corsicana | Runs | 106 | Tex Nugent | Temple | SO | 176 | |
| Bill Etheredge | Corsicana | Hits | 159 | William Hollis | Corsicana | PCT | .789; 15–4 | |
| Stephen Barrett | Corsicana | HR | 27 |
1925 Texas Association
schedule 1st half
schedule 2nd half
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corsicana Oilers | 85 | 48 | .639 | -- | John Vann |
| Mexia Gushers | 76 | 57 | .571 | 9.0 | Frank Matthews |
| Temple Surgeons | 74 | 59 | .556 | 11.0 | Roy Mitchell |
| Austin Senators | 63 | 70 | .474 | 22.0 | Bennie Brownlow |
| Marlin Bathers / Palestine Pals | 58 | 75 | .436 | 27.0 | Fred Pipkin / Tommy McMillan |
| Terrell Terrors | 43 | 90 | .323 | 42.0 | Otto McIvor / Ed Fulton / Pete Adams |
Marlin moved to Palestine May 13.
Player statistics
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Glass]] | Mexia | BA | .367 | Joe Cantrell | Corsicana | W | 22 | |
| Cotton Tucker | Temple | Runs | 129 | Dick Whitworth | Austin | SO | 152 | |
| Smead Jolley | Corsicana | Hits | 180 | Bob Arnold | Mexia | PCT | .706; 12–5 | |
| Clyde Glass | Mexia | Hits | 180 | |||||
| Stan Keyes | Terrell | HR | 28 |
1926 Texas Association
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Senators | 73 | 49 | .598 | -- | Charles Miller |
| Palestine Pals | 72 | 53 | .576 | 2.5 | Jack Stansbury / Bob Countryman |
| Mexia Gushers | 63 | 62 | .504 | 11.5 | Frank Matthews |
| Terrell Terrors | 56 | 68 | .452 | 18.0 | Jimmy Maloney |
| Temple Surgeons | 56 | 69 | .448 | 18.5 | Roy Mitchell |
| Corsicana Oilers | 53 | 72 | .424 | 21.5 | John Vann |
Playoff: Palestine 3 games, Austin 0.
Player statistics
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clyde Glass | Mexia | BA | .361 | Dick Whitworth | Austin | W | 24 | |
| Jimmie Long | Mexia | Runs | 99 | Dick Whitworth | Austin | SO | 176 | |
| Jimmie Long | Mexia | Hits | 164 | Les Cox | Palestine | SO | 176 | |
| Norman Peterson | Austin | HR | 29 | Carl Littlejohn | Austin | PCT | .824; 14–3 |
References
- Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles (2007). Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 9781932391176.
- "No Pennant to be Awarded in the Texas Association; Sherman Plans to Appeal". Austin American-Statesman. September 24, 1923. p. 6. Retrieved August 25, 2020 – via newspapers.com.
- "Smead Jolley Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- "Boom-Boom Beck Minor League Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved August 26, 2020.
- "New Baseball League Formed". Austin American-Statesman. AP. January 31, 1927. p. 5. Retrieved August 26, 2020 – via newspapers.com.