Jump to content

Middle Texas League

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Middle Texas League
ClassificationClass D (1914–1915)
SportMinor League Baseball
First season1914
CeasedJune 19, 1915
PresidentW.F. Blum, Jr. (1914)
Hulen P. Robertson (1915)
No. of teams8
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles2
Belton Braves

The Middle Texas League was a six–team Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1914 and 1915 seasons. The Middle Texas League featured franchises based in Texas. The Middle Texas League permanently folded during the 1915 season. Baseball Hall of Fame member Kid Nichols managed the 1914 Temple Tigers and Hall of Famer Ross Youngs played for the 1915 Bartlett Bearcats.

History

[edit]

The Middle Texas League began to play in the 1914 season as a new Class D level minor league. The president of the league was W.F. Blum, Jr. The Middle Texas League began play as a six–team league, hosting franchises from Bartlett, Texas (Bartlett Bearcats),[1] Belton, Texas (Belton Braves),[2] Brenham, Texas (Brenham Brewers),[3] Georgetown, Texas (Georgetown Collegians),[4] Lampasas, Texas (Lampasas Resorters)[5] and Temple, Texas (Temple Tigers).[6][7][8][9]

The Middle Texas League began play on May 8, 1914. The league played a spit–season schedule. In 1914, the Temple Tigers won the first–half standings and the Belton Braves won the second–half standings. The final overall standings featured the Bartlett Bearcats (22–59), Belton Braves (37–47), Brenham Brewers (50–34), Georgetown Collegians (50–30), Lampasas Resorters (35–51) and Temple Tigers (54–27). In the Championship playoff, the Belton Braves defeated the Temple Tigers 5 games to 1 to win the championship.[10][11][12][13] Baseball Hall of Fame member Kid Nichols managed the 1914 Temple Tigers.[13][6]

In its second season, with Hulen P. Robertson becoming the league president, the Middle Texas League began play on April 15, 1915.[14] During the season, the Austin Reps/Representatives (2–5) moved to become the Taylor Producers on May 1, 1915, when floods forced the team to relocate from Austin. Taylor (15–23) then moved to Brenham on June 8, 1915, becoming the second team in Brenham, after the Brenham Brewers folded the day before. Both the Brenham Brewers and Schulenberg Giants disbanded on June 7, 1915. On June 19, 1915, the Middle Texas League permanently folded during the season. The final league standings featured the Austin Representatives/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers (21–36), Bartlett Bearcats (29–26), Belton Braves (40–19), Brenham Brewers (12–31), Schulenburg Giants (23–18) and Temple Governors (32–27). The Belton Braves won both half seasons of the league standings and were league champions.[15][16][13][17]

Baseball Hall of Fame member Ross Youngs played for Bartlett in 1915, hitting .264 in 59 games at age 18.[18][19]

Middle Texas League teams

[edit]
Team name(s) City represented Ballpark Year(s) active
Austin Reps
Austin Representatives
Austin, Texas Riverside Park[15] 1915
Bartlett Bearcats Bartlett, Texas Bartlett Base Ball Park[20] 1914 to 1915
Belton Braves Belton, Texas Belton Base Ball Park[21] 1914 to 1915
Brenham Brewers (1914-1915)
Brenham Kaisers (1915), (2)
Brenham, Texas Unknown 1914 to 1915
Georgetown Collegians Georgetown, Texas Unknown 1914
Lampasas Resorters Lampasas, Texas Unknown 1914
Schulenburg Giants Schulenburg, Texas Unknown 1915
Taylor Producers Taylor, Texas Robinson Park[22] 1915
Temple Tigers (1914)
Temple Governors (1915)
Temple, Texas Unknown 1914 to 1915

Standings and statistics

[edit]

1914 Middle Texas League

[edit]
Team standings W L PCT GB Managers
Temple Tigers 54 27 .667 - Kid Nichols
Georgetown Collegians 50 30 .625 3.5 Jimmy Callahan
Brenham Brewers 50 34 .595 5.5 Ike Pendleton
Belton Braves 37 47 .440 18.5 Leslie Mitchell / L.B. Hubbard /
Bob Hart / Jack Forrester / Cal Calahan
Lampasas Resorters 35 51 .407 21.5 Jesse Estill / Luke Roberts
Bartlett Bearcats 22 59 .267 32.0 Robert Roundtree / Brooks Gordon
Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Fred Wende Georgetown BA .380 J. Reems Brenham W 14
Ellis Boggess Temple Runs 58 Frank Wolfram Georgetown Pct .833; 10-2
Fred Wende Georgetown Hits 116
Ellis Boggess Temple HR 16

[11][13]

1915 Middle Texas League

[edit]
Team Standings W L PCT GB Managers
Belton Braves 40 19 .678 - Charles Lawson[23]
Temple Governors 32 27 .542 8.0 Luther Burleson / Frank Rogers[24]
Bartlett Bearcats 29 26 .527 9.0 Ike Pendleton[25]
Austin Reps
Taylor Producers / Brenham Kaisers
21 36 .368 18.0 Jack Snipes / Billy Disch[26]
Schulenburg Giants 23 18 .561 - J.M. Robbins[27]
Brenham Brewers 12 21 .279 - Arthur Wicks / John Tuller[28]

[29][13]

Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Russ Breaux Taylor BA .358 Nemo Gaines Belton W 13
R. J. Williamson Belton Runs 49 Ray Francis Temple SO 106
R. J. Williamson Belton Hits 79 H. A. Dennis Belton Pct 1.000; 11-0
Tom Osborne Temple HR 11

[13]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1914 Bartlett Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ "1914 Belton Braves Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. ^ "1914 Brenham Brewers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "1914 Georgetown Collegians Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ^ "1914 Lampasas Resorters Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  6. ^ a b "1914 Temple Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "Middle Texas League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. ^ "TSHA | Texas League". www.tshaonline.org.
  9. ^ Reichard, Kevin (November 5, 2008). "Middle Texas League".
  10. ^ "1914 Middle Texas League (MTL) on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  11. ^ a b "1914 Middle Texas League (MTL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  12. ^ "Kid Nichols Coaching Records on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  13. ^ a b c d e f Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.
  14. ^ "1915 Austin Reps/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  15. ^ a b "Riverside Park in Austin, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  16. ^ "1915 Austin Reps/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  17. ^ "From Unknowns to Senators: A Central-Texas baseball timeline". MiLB.com.
  18. ^ a b "Ross Youngs Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  19. ^ "Ross Youngs – Society for American Baseball Research".
  20. ^ "Bartlett Base Ball Park in Bartlett, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  21. ^ "Belton Base Ball Park in Belton, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  22. ^ "Robinson Park in Taylor, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  23. ^ "1915 Belton Braves Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  24. ^ "1915 Temple Governors Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  25. ^ "1915 Bartlett Bearcats Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  26. ^ "1915 Austin Reps/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  27. ^ "1915 Schulenburg Giants Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  28. ^ "1915 Brenham Brewers Statistics on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  29. ^ "1915 Middle Texas League (MTL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  30. ^ "1914 Temple Tigers Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.