The McAllen Packers were 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 ...

franchise based in

McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexican border. The city limits extend south to the Rio Grande, acros ...

. In 1938, the Packers played as members of the Class D level Texas Valley League, hosting home games at Legion Park.

History

The Packers were preceded by the 1931

McAllen Palms The McAllen Palms were a minor league baseball team based in McAllen, Texas McAllen is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Hidalgo County. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, ...

, who played one season as members of the Class D level Rio Grande Valley League, winning the league championship in a shortened season, as the league folded following the season. The McAllen "Packers" began minor league play as members of the 1938 Texas Valley League. After a nine–season hiatus, the Texas Valley League reformed as a six–team Class D level league, with the Brownsville Charros, Corpus Christi Spudders, Harlingen Hubs, Refugio Oilers and

Taft Cardinals The Taft Cardinals were a minor league baseball franchise based in Taft, Texas. In 1938, the Cardinals played as members of the Class D (baseball), Class D level Texas Valley League in their only season of minor league play, qualifying for the play ...

joining McAllen as league members, beginning play on April 14, 1938. The "Packers" nickname ties to the local agriculture industry in McAllen and the surrounding region. In the era, numerous packing facilities were in operation to pack produce for distribution to other regions. The Packers finished the regular season in fifth place in the overall final standings. During the season, the Texas Valley League adopted a split–season schedule. McAllen was in fifth place with a 28–40 record on June 24, 1938, in the final first–half standings, following first place Corpus Christi, second place Harlingen, third place Taft and fourth place Refugio. McAllen placed fifth and ended the 1938 regular season with an overall record of 65–72, playing the season under managers Ray Friday and Wally Kopp. The Packers finished 27.5 games behind the first place Corpus Christi Spudders in the final regular season standings. McAllen did not qualify 1938 four–team Texas Valley League playoffs. The final Texas Valley League regular season standings were led by the Corpus Christi Spudders (92–44), who finished 8.5 games ahead of the second place Harlingen Hubs (84–53), with Taft (68–67) and Refugio (67–67) finishing in third place and fourth place to qualify for the four–team playoffs. Corpus Christi had won the first-half of the split–season schedule and tied with Harlingen for the second–half championship. The McAllen Packers (65–72) and Brownsville Charros (30–103) finished in fifth and sixth place, missing the playoffs. In the league finals, Harlingen defeated Corpus Christi to win the title. Both Harlingen (

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. One of the AL's eight chart ...

) and Corpus Christi (

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

) were major league affiliate teams, the only two affiliated teams in the league. Following the 1938 season, the Texas Valley League permanently folded. McAllen next hosted minor league baseball, with the 1949 McAllen Giants, who resumed play in the Class D level Rio Grande Valley League.

The ballpark

The McAllen Packers hosted minor league home games at Legion Park.

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

* Leonardo Alanís (1938)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links