The Lone Star League was the name of three American minor

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Modern professional ...

leagues located in the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

during the 20th century. The leagues operated from 1927–1929 (as a Class D circuit), 1947–1948 (Class C) and 1977 (Class A).

History

Each of the three leagues was the result of a reorganization of a previous circuit. The Lone Star League of the 1920s was created by merging two Class D loops, the

East Texas League The East Texas League was a Texas–based minor league baseball league that existed between 1916 to 1950. The East Texas League played as a Class D level league in 1916 and from 1923 to 1926. The league became a Class C level league from 1936 ...

and the

Texas Association The Texas Association was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926. An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 throu ...

; it disbanded on May 16, 1929. The eight-member postwar Lone Star circuit of 1947–1948 was formed from a foundation of four teams that had played in the Class C East Texas League of 1946. After the demise of the LSL, the East Texas League was revived for the 1949–1950 seasons. The Lone Star League was the successor of the failed Gulf States League of , inheriting Texas-based GSL franchises in Beeville, Corpus Christi, Harlingen and

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. Like the GSL, it was an official Class A minor league, not an " independent league," although its six teams were not affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

farm systems. The 1977 Lone Star League played an 80-game regular season schedule from June 10 to the end of August. The defending Gulf States League champion

Corpus Christi Seagulls The Corpus Christi Seagulls were a minor league baseball team based in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1976 and 1977. The Seagulls played as members of the Class A level Gulf States League in 1976 and Lone Star League in 1977, winning the league champ ...

, managed by future Major League pitching coach

Leo Mazzone Leo David Mazzone (born October 16, 1948) is a former pitcher in minor league baseball and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He worked with the Atlanta Braves' organization from to and was the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles fr ...

, dominated the Lone Star League, winning 53 of its 80 games and the South Division title. No championship playoff was held and the league folded after the 1977 campaign.

Member teams

* Beeville, TX: Beeville Blazers 1977 *

Bryan, TX Bryan is a city and the county seat of Brazos County, Texas, United States. It is located in the heart of the Brazos Valley (East and Central Texas). As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 83,980. Bryan borders the city of College ...

Bryan Bombers The Bryan Bombers were a Class-C minor league baseball team based in Bryan, Texas that played in the Lone Star League (1947–1948) and East Texas League (1949). Major league players Jo-Jo Moore, Stan Goletz, Jesse Landrum and Mel Deutsch played ...

1947–1948 * Corsicana, TX:

Corsicana Oilers The Corsicana Oilers was the primary nickname of the minor league baseball teams based in Corsicana, Texas. In the seasons between 1902 and 1928, Corsicana teams played as members of the Texas League (1902–1905), North Texas League (1907), Centr ...

1927–1928 * Corpus Christi, TX:

1977 * Gladewater, TX:

Gladewater Bears The Gladewater Bears were a minor league baseball team that played in the East Texas League (1936, 1949–1950) and Lone Star League (1948). The team was based in Gladewater, Texas and is the only known professional team to be based in that city. ...

1948 * Harlingen, TX: Harlingen Suns 1977 * Henderson, TX:

Henderson Oilers The Henderson Oilers were a minor league baseball team that played in the East Texas League in 1931, from 1936 to 1940 and in 1946; in the Dixie League in 1933; in the West Dixie League from 1934 to 1935 and from 1949 to 1950; and in the Lone Star ...

1947–1948 * Jacksonville, TX:

Jacksonville Jax The Jacksonville Jax were a minor league baseball team based at Ragsdale Park in Jacksonville, Texas, USA. They played in the West Dixie League from 1934–1935, the East Texas League from 1936–1940, and again in 1946, the Lone Star League in 194 ...

1947 * Kilgore, TX: Kilgore Drillers 1947–1948 * Longview, TX:

Longview Cannibals The Longview Cannibals were a semi-pro and minor league baseball team based in Longview, Texas, USA that existed on-and-off from 1895 to 1939. In 1912, they officially joined the professional South Central League. From 1923 to 1926, in 1931 and fro ...

1927;

Longview Texans The Longview Texans minor league baseball team played in the East Texas League (1940, 1949–1950) and the Lone Star League (1947–1948). The team, which was based in the American city of Longview, Texas, was affiliated with the Chicago White Sox ...

1947–1948 * Lufkin, TX: Lufkin Foresters 1947–1948 *

McAllen, TX McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

: McAllen Dusters 1977 *

Marshall, TX Marshall is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Harrison County and a cultural and educational center of the Ark-La-Tex region. At the 2020 U.S. census, the population of Marshall was 23,392; The population of the Greater ...

Marshall Indians The Marshall Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Marshall, Texas, United States that played from 1923 to 1927 in the East Texas League (1923–1926) and Lone Star League (1927). Notable players include Homer Peel, George Watkins and ...

1927; Marshall Comets 1947; Marshall Tigers 1948 * Mexia, TX: Mexia Gushers 1927–1928 *

Palestine, TX Palestine ( ) is a city in and the seat of Anderson County in the U.S. state of Texas. It was named for Palestine, Illinois, by preacher Daniel Parker, who had migrated from that town. The city had a 2020 U.S. census population of 18,544, m ...

Palestine Pals The Palestine Pals were a minor league baseball team that played on-and-off from 1925 to 1940. The team played in the Texas Association (1925–1926), Lone Star League (1927–1929), West Dixie League (1934–1935) and East Texas League (1936–19 ...

1927–1929 *

Paris, TX Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River C ...

: Paris Snappers 1927; Paris Colts/Rustlers 1928 *

Sherman, TX Sherman is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region ...

: Sherman Snappers 1929 * Texas City, TX:

Texas City Stars Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

1977 * Texarkana, TX:

Texarkana Twins The Texarkana Twins were a South Central League (1912), East Texas League (1924-1926), Lone Star League (1927-1929) and Cotton States League (1941) baseball team based in Texarkana, Texas Texarkana is a city in Bowie County, Texas, United Stat ...

1927–1929 *

Tyler, TX Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the 33rd most populous city in Texas and 299 ...

: Tyler Trojans 1927–1929, 1947–1948 *

Victoria, TX Victoria is a small city in South Texas and county seat of Victoria County, Texas. The population was 65,534 as of the 2020 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 as of the 2000 censu ...

Victoria Rosebuds , league = Lone Star League (1977) , conference = , division = , past league = {{plainlist, * Gulf States League (1976) *Texas League (1958–1961) *Big State League (1956–1957) *Gulf Coast League (1926) * Southwest Texas League (1910–19 ...

1977

Standings & statistics

1927 to 1929

1927 Lone Star League''
schedule
Longview withdrew May 21. Marshall folded to even the number of teams. Both teams were disbanded May 22.
Finals: Tyler 4 games, Mexia 2. 1928 Lone Star League''
schedule
Finals: Palestine 4 games, Texarkana 1. 1927 Lone Star League''
schedule
Texarkana disbanded May 16. The league disbanded on the same date.

1947 to 1948, 1977

1947 Lone Star League''
schedule
Playoffs: Kilgore 4 games, Tyler 0;Marshall 4 games, Longview 1.
Finals: Kilgore 4 games, Marshall 2. 1948 Lone Star League''
schedule
Playoffs: Kilgore 4 games, Henderson 3; Longview 4 games, Tyler 3.
Finals: Kilgore 4 games, Longview 0. 1977 Lone Star League Playoffs: None. Corpus Christi refused to play. Victoria and Texas City cancelled their series for a North Division championship.

References

*{{Cite book, editor1-last=Johnson, editor1-first=Lloyd, editor2-last=Wolff, editor2-first=Miles, title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, edition=2nd, location=Durham, N.C., publisher=Baseball America, year=1997, isbn=978-0-9637189-8-3

External links

1927–1929 Lone Star League page
at

Baseball Reference Baseball-Reference is a website providing baseball statistics for every player in Major League Baseball history. The site is often used by major media organizations and baseball broadcasters as a source for statistics. It offers a variety of advan ...

1947–1948 Lone Star League page
at

1977 Lone Star League page
at

Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Texas Sports leagues established in 1927 Sports leagues disestablished in 1977