The Texas League is a

Minor League Baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

league which has operated in the

South Central United States The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or Sou ...

since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

; the five North Division teams are located in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Kansas Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, and

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as Double-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022. The Texas League was founded in 1902, although it traces its lineage back to a predecessor founded in 1888.

History

20th century

The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892. It was refounded in 1895 and ran through 1899 (under the name Texas Association in 1895 and Texas-Southern League in 1896). The Texas League was revived as a Class D league in 1902, moved to Class C in 1904 where it played through 1910 (except for 1906 as Class D again), played at Class B until 1920, and finally moved up to Class A in 1921. The Texas League, like many others, shut down during World War II. From 1959 to 1961, the Texas League and the

Mexican League The Mexican Baseball League (, or LMB, ) is a professional baseball league in Mexico. It is the oldest running professional sports league in the country. The league has 20 teams organized in two divisions, North and South. Teams play 114 games ...

formed the Pan American Association. The two leagues played a limited interlocking schedule and post-season championship. By 1971, the Texas League and the Southern League had both decreased to seven teams. They played an interlocking schedule with the Southern League known as the Dixie Association. The two leagues played separate playoffs. The Texas League has operated its own schedule since 1972. The term "Texas Leaguer" to describe a bloop hit, a soft fly ball that falls for a hit beyond the infielders' reach but too short for the outfielders to catch, has been extant since at least 1903 and was common throughout American baseball in the 20th century and to some degree into the 21st. The source of the idiom is not known but among other theories has been attributed to Ollie Pickering's feat in a Texas League game of April 4, 1901, in which he made seven such hits in succession. Talk of this singular feat is supposed to have spread widely, bringing the term with it.

21st century

Around the advent of the 21st century, the Texas League witnessed a great deal of change. Teams once known as the

Jackson Mets The Jackson Mets were a professional baseball team based in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1975 through 1990. As of 2010, they were the longest-tenured club to be based in the Jackson metropolitan area. For their entire sixteen seasons of existence, ...

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, wh ...

, Shreveport Captains, and

Wichita Wranglers The Wichita Wranglers were a minor league baseball team based in Wichita, Kansas. The team, which played in the Texas League, was the Double-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's San Diego Padres from 1987 to 1994 and the Kansas City Royals fro ...

all relocated to new cities and bigger stadiums. In 2019, the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas. The Missions compete in the Texas League as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. The team plays its home games at Nelson W. W ...

relocated to

Amarillo, Texas Amarillo ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for "yellow") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Potter County, Texas, Potter County, though most of the southern half of the city extends into Randall County, Texas, Randall County ...

, becoming the

Amarillo Sod Poodles The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtow ...

. At the same time, the Triple-A

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado R ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL) moved to San Antonio to continue on as the Missions at the Triple-A level. The start of the 2020 season was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

before ultimately being cancelled on June 30. As part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues, the Texas League was temporarily renamed to "Double-A Central" for the 2021 season. Following MLB's acquisition of the rights to the names of the historical minor leagues, the league switched back to its historical name beginning with the 2022 season.

Current teams

Texas League timeline

DateFormat = yyyy ImageSize = width:1000 height:auto barincrement:20 Period = from:1946 till:2036 TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal PlotArea = right:20 left:0 bottom:50 top:5 #> to display a count on left side of graph, use "left:20" to suppress the count, use "left:20"<# Colors = id:barcolor id:line value:pink id:bg value:white id:Full value:rgb(0.742,0.727,0.852) # Use this color to denote a team that is a current league member id:Past value:rgb(0.4,0.80,0.67) # Use to indicate a stint in the Dixie Association (1971) id:OtherC1 value:rgb(0.996,0.996,0.699) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to another current league id:OtherC2 value:rgb(0.988,0.703,0.383) # Use this color to denote a team that has moved to a now-defunct league PlotData= width:15 textcolor:black shift:(5,-5) anchor:from fontsize:s bar:1 color:Full from:1946 till:1971 text:Beaumont Exporters/Roughnecks; Austin Senators/Braves; Shreveport Braves (1946–1970) bar:2 color:Full from:1946 till:1959 text:Dallas Rebels/Eagles/Rangers (1946–1958) AA bar:2 color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1963 bar:2 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1965 text:PCL bar:3 color:Full from:1946 till:1960 text:Fort Worth Cats (1946–1958; 1964) bar:3 color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1960 text:AA bar:3 color:Full from:1964 till:1965 bar:3 color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs (1965–1971) bar:3 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:4 color:Full from:1946 till:1959 text:Houston Buffaloes (1946–1958) bar:4 color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1962 text:AA bar:5 color:Full from:1946 till:1958 text:Oklahoma City Indians (1946–1957) bar:6 color:Full from:1946 till:1965 text:San Antonio Missions/Bullets (1946–1964) bar:6 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text:San Antonio Missions/Brewers/Dodgers (1968–2018) bar:6 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:6 color:Full from:1972 till:2019 bar:6 color:OtherC1 from:2019 till:2021 text: PCL bar:6 color:Full from:2021 till:2023 text:San Antonio Dodgers (2021–present) bar:7 color:Full from:1946 till:1958 text:Shreveport Sports (1946–1957) bar:7 color:OtherC2 from:1959 till:1962 text:SA bar:8 color:Full from:1946 till:1966 text:Tulsa Oilers (1946–1965) bar:8 color:OtherC1 from:1966 till:1969 text:PCL bar:8 color:OtherC2 from:1969 till:1977 text:AA bar:9 color:Full from:1958 till:1962 text:Corpus Christi/Rio Grande Valley/Victoria Giants (1958–1961) bar:10 color:Full from:1958 till:1962 text:Victoria/Ardmore Rosebuds (1958–1961) bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1953 till:1956 text:WTNM bar:11 color:OtherC2 from:1956 till:1959 text:WL bar:11 color:Full from:1959 till:1964 text:Amarillo Gold Sox (1959–1963; 1976–1982) bar:11 color:Full from:1976 till:1983 bar:11 color:Full from:1983 till:2008 text:Beaumont Golden Gators; Wichita Pilots/Wranglers (1983–2007) bar:11 color:Full from:2008 till:2023 text:NW Arkansas Naturals (2008–present) bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1946 till:1956 text: WTNM bar:12 color:OtherC2 from:1956 till:1962 text: WL bar:12 color:Full from:1962 till:1971 text:Albuquerque Dukes/Dodgers (1962–1971) PCL bar:12 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:12 color:OtherC1 from:1972 till:2001 bar:13 color:OtherC2 from:1961 till:1962 text:Soph El Paso Sun Kings; El Paso Sun Dodgers/Sun Kings/Diablos (1962–1970; 1972–2004) bar:13 color:Full from:1962 till:1971 bar:13 color:Full from:1972 till:2005 bar:13 color:Full from:2005 till:2023 text:Springfield Cardinals (2005–present) bar:14 color:Full from:1965 till:1971 text:Amarillo Sonics/Giants; Lafayette/Tulsa Drillers (1965–present) bar:14 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:14 color:Full from:1972 till:2023 bar:15 color:OtherC1 from:1963 till:1966 text:IL PCL bar:15 color:Full from:1966 till:1971 text:Arkansas Travelers (1966–present) bar:15 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:15 color:Full from:1972 till:2023 bar:16 color:Full from:1968 till:1971 text:Memphis Blues; Victoria Toros; Jackson Mets/Generals (1968–1999) bar:16 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 bar:16 color:Full from:1972 till:2000 bar:16 color:Full from:2000 till:2005 text:Round Rock Express (2000–2004) PCL bar:16 color:OtherC1 from:2005 till:2023 bar:17 color:Past from:1971 till:1972 text:Shreveport Captains/Swamp Dragons (1971–2002) bar:17 color:Full from:1972 till:2003 bar:17 color:Full from:2003 till:2023 text:Frisco RoughRiders (2003–present) bar:18 color:Full from:1972 till:1976 text:Alexandria Aces (1972–1975) bar:19 color:Full from:1972 till:2023 text:Midland Cubs/Angels/RockHounds (1972–present) bar:20 color:Full from:2005 till:2023 text:Corpus Christi Hooks (2005–present) bar:21 color:Full from:2019 till:2023 text:Amarillo Sod Poodles (2019–present) bar:22 color:Full from:2021 till:2023 text:Wichita Wind Surge (2021-present) ScaleMajor = gridcolor:line unit:year increment:4 start:1946 TextData = fontsize:L textcolor:black pos:(0,30) tabs:(400-center) text:^"Texas League Timeline" #> If the chart uses more than one bar color, add a legend by selecting the appropriate fields from the following three options (use only the colors that are used in the graphic.) Leave a blank line after the end of the timeline, then add a line with the selected values from the list, separated by a space. <# * In 1971, the Southern League and Texas League were each down to seven teams, so they formed the Dixie Association for one season. They played interlocking schedules but held their own separate playoffs. * The Wichita Wind Surge were originally slated to begin play in 2020 in the Pacific Coast League as the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. However, the cancellation of the 2020 season and the 2021 realignment of the minor leagues resulted in Wichita dropping to Double-A without playing a Triple-A game.

Complete list of Texas League teams (1902–present)

Note: • An "^" indicates that team's article redirects to an article of an active team in a different league * Albuquerque Dodgers *

Albuquerque Dukes The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. History The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Fran ...

* Alexandria Aces *

Amarillo Giants Amarillo, yellow or golden in Spanish, may refer to: Places * Amarillo, Texas, city in the US * Amarillo, Western Australia, former name for Keralup, Western Australia People * Amarillo Slim (1928–2012), American poker player * Eric Amari ...

* Amarillo Gold Sox * Amarillo Sonics *

* Ardmore Rosebuds * Ardmore Territorians *

Arkansas Travelers The Arkansas Travelers, known informally as The Travs, are a Minor League Baseball team based in North Little Rock, Arkansas. The Travelers are the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners and play in the Texas League. Hi ...

* Austin Braves *

Austin Senators The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888–1890, 1905, ...

Beaumont Exporters The Beaumont Exporters was the predominant name of a minor league baseball team located in Beaumont, Texas that played between 1920 and 1957 in the Texas League and the Big State League. Beaumont rejoined the Class AA Texas League (1983-1986) and ...

Beaumont Golden Gators The Beaumont Golden Gators were a minor league baseball team in the double A Texas League from 1983 to 1986. Owned by insurance man Ted Moor, the team was an affiliate of the San Diego Padres for their entire tenure. Future Major League Baseball ...

* Beaumont Oilers * Beaumont Roughnecks *

Cleburne Railroaders The Cleburne Railroaders are a professional baseball team based in Cleburne, Texas, that plays in the American Association of Professional Baseball, an official Partner League of Major League Baseball. The team, which began play in 2017, plays i ...

* Corpus Christi Giants *

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned b ...

* Corsicana Oil Citys * Corsicana Oilers * Dallas Eagles * Dallas Giants * Dallas Griffins * Dallas Marines * Dallas Rangers * Dallas Rebels * Dallas Steers * Dallas Submarines * Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs *

* El Paso Sun Dodgers * El Paso Sun Kings *

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

* Fort Worth Panthers *

Frisco RoughRiders The Frisco RoughRiders (often shortened to 'Riders) are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. Based in Frisco, Texas, the team is named aft ...

* Galveston Buccaneers * Galveston Pirates * Galveston Sand Crabs * Greenville Hunters * Houston Buffaloes * Houston Mud Cats *

Jackson Generals The Jackson Generals were a professional baseball team located in Jackson, Tennessee. From 1998 to 2020, they were a part of Minor League Baseball's Southern League (SL) as the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs (1998–2006), Seattle Mari ...

* Lafayette Drillers * Longview Cannibals *

Memphis Blues The Memphis blues is a style of blues music created from the 1910s to the 1930s by musicians in the Memphis area, such as Frank Stokes, Sleepy John Estes, Furry Lewis and Memphis Minnie. The style was popular in vaudeville and medicine sho ...

* Midland Angels * Midland Cubs * Midland RockHounds *

Northwest Arkansas Naturals The Northwest Arkansas Naturals are a Minor League Baseball team based in Springdale, Arkansas, Springdale, Arkansas. The team is a member of the Texas League, and serves as the Double-A (baseball), Double-A affiliate of the Kansas City Royals. T ...

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

* Oklahoma City Mets * Paris Eisenfelder's Homeseekers * Paris Parisites * Paris Red Ravens * Paris Steers * Rio Grande Valley Giants *

Round Rock Express The Round Rock Express are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A affiliate of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers. They are located in Round Rock, Texas, and play their home ...

^ * San Antonio Aces *

San Antonio Bears The San Antonio Bears were a minor league baseball team located in San Antonio, Texas. The Bears played in the Texas League from 1920 through 1928. Their home stadium was League Park. Season records Source: League leaders * 1920: Ed Brown – ...

* San Antonio Brewers *

San Antonio Bronchos The San Antonio Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas, that played in the South Texas League (1903–1906) and Texas League (1907–1919). The team was also known as the Mustangs (1903–04), Warriors (1905), and A ...

* San Antonio Bullets * San Antonio Dodgers * San Antonio Indians *

* Sherman-Denison Students * Shreveport Braves * Shreveport Captains * Shreveport Gassers * Shreveport Pirates *

Shreveport Sports The Shreveport Sports were a professional Minor League Baseball team based in Shreveport, Louisiana, in the United States. The Sports fielded a team from 1925 to 1935, 1938 to 1942, 1946 to 1957, and 1959 to 1961. They were affiliated with the C ...

* Shreveport Swamp Dragons * Springfield Cardinals * Temple Boll Weevils * Texarkana Casket Makers *

Tulsa Drillers The Tulsa Drillers are a minor league baseball team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team, which plays in the Texas League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Dodgers major-league club. Stadium The Drillers play at ONEOK Field (pronounc ...

Tulsa Oilers The Tulsa Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and play in the ECHL. The Oilers played their home games at the Tulsa Convention Center until 2008 when they moved into the new BOK Center. For many years, the Tulsa ...

* Tyler Sports * Victoria Giants * Victoria Rosebuds * Victoria Toros * Waco Cubs * Waco Navigators * Waco Steers * Waco Tigers * Wichita Falls Spudders * Wichita Pilots *

Wichita Wind Surge The Wichita Wind Surge are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Wichita, Kansas, and began play in 2021 at Equity Bank Park. The Wind Surge were supposed to be ...

League champions and award winners

Hall of fame

References

Sources

*''Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits'', Tom Kayser and David King, Trinity University Press 2005

Notes

External links

* {{Authority control Sports leagues established in 1888 1888 establishments in Texas Organizations based in Fort Worth, Texas Minor baseball leagues in the United States