Classification | Class B (1947–1957) |
---|---|
Sport | Minor League Baseball |
First season | 1947 |
Ceased | 1957 |
President |
Walter Morris (1947–1950) Howard Green (1951–1955) Hal Sayles (1956–1957) |
No. of teams | 22 |
Country | United States of America |
Most titles | 2 Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956) Texarkana Bears (1947, 1950) Wichita Falls Spudders (1949, 1953) |
Related competitions | Texas League |
The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texarkana Bears (1947, 1950) and Wichita Falls Spudders (1949, 1953) each won two league championships.
It saw much change in its 11-year lifetime, with no team serving as a member in every single season. Waco came the closest, serving from 1947 to 1956. The league was known as an offense-oriented circuit.
The league debuted at the height of the short-lived postwar minor league baseball boom, in 1947, with eight clubs, all unaffiliated with Major League Baseball farm systems. Original teams were the: Austin Pioneers, Gainesville Owls, Greenville Majors, Paris Red Peppers, Sherman–Denison Twins, Texarkana Bears, Waco Dons and Wichita Falls Spudders. [1]
Two clubs, Texarkana and Greenville, won more than 100 games in 1947, and four league members exceeded 100,000 in attendance. But beginning in 1953, the Big State League's teams struggled to reach six figures in that category. Only Corpus Christi drew over the 100,000 mark during the league's final five seasons, doing so on two occasions. The league was further weakened when a traditionally strong member, Austin, moved up to the AA Texas League in 1956.
The league began the 1957 campaign with only six clubs: the Victoria Rosebuds, Corpus Christi Clippers, Beaumont Pirates, Abilene Blue Sox, Port Arthur Redlegs and Wichita Falls Spudders. [1] Its ranks were reduced to four when Wichita Falls disbanded in May, while the Port Arthur team moved to Temple that same month before folding in August. Of the surviving teams, Victoria, a Brooklyn Dodgers farm team, outlasted Corpus Christi, Beaumont and Abilene to win the league's last pennant and playoff championship.
J. Walter Morris served as League President from 1947 through 1950, Howard Green, took over from 1951 through 1955 and Hal Sayles was in charge the final two years, 1956–57. [1]
1947 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texarkana Bears | 101 | 53 | .655 | - | 140,333 | Vern Washington |
Greenville Majors | 100 | 54 | .649 | 1.0 | 154,356 | Harry Davis, Jr. |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 92 | 61 | .601 | 8.0 | 92,553 | Bobby Goff |
Paris Red Peppers | 80 | 74 | .519 | 21.0 | 112,449 | Lloyd Rigby |
Sherman-Denison Twins | 69 | 85 | .448 | 32.0 | 81,550 | Guy Sturdy |
Gainesville Owls | 65 | 87 | .428 | 35.0 | 60,971 | Leroy Gilchrist |
Austin Pioneers | 55 | 99 | .357 | 46.0 | 106,099 | Beau Bell |
Waco Dons | 52 | 101 | .340 | 48.0 | 52,577 | Red Barkley |
Total attendance | 800,888 |
Season highlights
Playoffs:
Texarkana Bears beat the
Paris Red Peppers 4 games to 0.;
Wichita Falls Spudders over the
Greenville Majors 4 games to 2.
Finals:
Texarkana Bears 4 games to 2 over the
Wichita Falls Spudders.
Vern Washington of the
Texarkana Bears led all hitters with a .404 batting average.
Buck Frierson of the
Sherman-Denison Twins led the league in four categories: 188 runs scored, 248 hits, 197 RBI and 58 home runs.
Vallie Eaves,
Texarkana Bears pitched his team to 25 wins and Nathaniel Love of the
Greenville Majors struck out 192 opposing batters.
Jim Walkup of the
Paris Red Peppers led the league with a 3.72 ERA.
[1]
1948 Season Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct. | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sherman-Denison Twins | 94 | 51 | .648 | - | 117,046 | Jose Rodriquez |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 84 | 62 | .575 | 10.5 | 130,138 | Marcus Carrola |
Waco Pirates | 82 | 64 | .562 | 12.5 | 82,762 | Buster Chatham |
Austin Pioneers | 79 | 67 | .541 | 15.5 | 163,666 | Prince Oana |
Gainesville Owls | 69 | 77 | .473 | 25.5 | 80,479 | Babe Peebles / Jackie Reid |
Paris Panthers | 62 | 85 | .422 | 33.5 | 72,636 | Homer Peel |
Texarkana Bears | 60 | 83 | .420 | 33 | 70,508 | Ed Borom |
Greenville Majors | 52 | 93 | .359 | 42.5 | 67,334 | Buddy Hancken / Nat Love |
Total attendance | 784,569 |
Season highlights
Playoffs:
Sherman-Denison Twins 4 games
Austin Pioneers 1 ;
Wichita Falls Spudders 4 games
Waco Pirates 0
Finals:
Sherman-Denison Twins 4 wins
Wichita Falls Spudders 3 wins.
Vern Washington of the
Texarkana Bears again led the league in hitting, this time with a .384 average. Donald Cena of the
Waco Pirates scored 142 runs to lead that stat. The trio from
Wichita Falls Spudders of Paul Brotherton with 218 hits, Jack Bradsher, with 152 RBI and Albert McCarty with 32 HR, led those departments. Thomas Finger of the
Wichita Falls Spudders had 21 wins to lead all pitchers and Glenn Blackwood who split time with the
Greenville Majors and the
Wichita Falls Spudders led the league with 176 strikeouts. Rafael Rivas of the
Sherman-Denison Twins had a 2.33 ERA.
[1]
1949 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wichita Falls Spudders | 90 | 58 | .608 | - | 128,400 | Jack Bradsher |
Texarkana Bears | 86 | 61 | .585 | 3.5 | 96,522 | George Archie |
Austin Pioneers | 86 | 62 | .562 | 4.0 | 188,193 | Prince Oana |
Waco Pirates | 76 | 72 | .514 | 14.0 | 95,825 | Buddy Hancken |
Sherman-Denison Twins | 70 | 78 | .473 | 20.0 | 77,474 | Lloyd Brown / Pete Appleton |
Greenville Majors | 66 | 82 | .446 | 24.0 | 58,500 | Red Davis |
Gainesville Owls | 59 | 89 | .399 | 31.0 | 66,544 | Ray Taylor / Lon Goldstein |
Temple Eagles | 58 | 89 | .395 | 31.5 | 72,624 | Barney White / Homer Peel |
Total attendance | 784,082 |
Season highlights
Playoffs:
Waco Pirates over the
Wichita Falls Spudders 4 games to 2;
Texarkana Bears over the
Austin Pioneers 4 games to 1.
Finals:
Waco Pirates 4 games to 1 over the
Texarkana Bears.
Frank Saucier of the
Wichita Falls Spudders led the league in hitting with an average of .446 and his teammate Al McCarty scored 132 runs.
Frank Carswell of the
Texarkana Bears had the most hits with 229 and also led in RBI with 145. Conklyn Meriwether of the
Greenville Majors had 27 HR. 3 pitchers had an even 20 wins: Elwood Moore and
George Estock of the
Austin Pioneers and Sidney Peterson of
Wichita Falls Spudders. William Pierro of the
Waco Pirates struck out 275 batters and
John Whitehead of the
Sherman-Denison Twins led with a 2.73 ERA.
[1]
1950 Big State League
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Texarkana Bears | 93 | 51 | .646 | - | 83,604 | George Archie |
Gainesville Owls | 82 | 63 | .566 | 11.5 | 56,890 | James Adair |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 80 | 66 | .548 | 14.0 | 103,439 | Hack Miller |
Temple Eagles | 74 | 70 | .514 | 19.0 | 105,081 | Lou Finney |
Greenville Majors | 75 | 71 | .514 | 19.0 | 50,511 | Bill Gann |
Waco Pirates | 72 | 76 | .486 | 23.0 | 85,173 | Buddy Hancken |
Sherman-Denison Twins | 54 | 91 | .372 | 39.5 | 48,762 | Homer Peel |
Austin Pioneers | 52 | 94 | .356 | 42.0 | 116,941 | Prince Oana / David Sarver |
Total attendance | 650,401 |
Season highlights:
Playoffs:
Texarkana Bears over
Temple Eagles 4 to 2;
Greenville Majors over
Wichita Falls Spudders 4 to 2.
Finals:
Texarkana Bears over
Greenville Majors 4 to 2.
Frank Carswell of the
Texarkana Bears was the leading hitter with an even .400 average. His teammate
Lou Fitzgerald scored 138 runs and their teammate Milan Vacelich had 144 RBI. The
Waco Pirates slugger John Powers busted 39 four baggers. Junior Bunch had 19 wins for the
Temple Eagles. The strikeout leader, Jodie Phipps of the
Texarkana Bears struck out 173 batters. Carmen Ferullo of the
Wichita Falls Spudders led the league with a 2.89 ERA.
[1]
1951 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gainesville Owls | 89 | 58 | .605 | - | 50,771 | Hal Van Pelt |
Temple Eagles | 88 | 60 | .595 | 1.5 | 112,022 | Bill Herring / Jack Bradsher |
Sherman-Denison Twins | 79 | 68 | .537 | 10.0 | 60,059 | Bill Capps |
Austin Pioneers | 75 | 72 | .510 | 14.0 | 147,161 | Thomas Jordan |
Waco Pirates | 75 | 73 | .507 | 14.5 | 61,371 | Walt Tauscher |
Texarkana Bears | 71 | 77 | .480 | 18.5 | 57,640 |
Prince Oana / Joe Phipps / Gabby Lusk |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 66 | 82 | .446 | 23.5 | 73,415 | Bruce Ogrodowski / Cecil McClung |
Tyler East Texans | 47 | 100 | .320 | 42.0 | 41,541 |
Hal Epps / Joe Kracher / Gale Pringle |
Total attendance | 604,100 |
Season highlights:
Playoffs:
Gainesville Owls 4 games,
Austin Pioneers 2;
Sherman-Denison Twins 4 games,
Temple Eagles 1.
Finals:
Gainesville Owls 4 games,
Sherman-Denison Twins 1.
Les Goldstein of the
Temple Eagles led all hitters with a .376 average and his teammate Frederick Bell had 216 hits. Bobby Phillips of the
Wichita Falls Spudders scored 128 runs and Dean Stafford of the
Sherman-Denison Twins led the league in both RBI, with 151 and home runs with 32. Lee Roy Jones of the
Austin Pioneers and
George O'Donnell of the
Waco Pirates had 22 wins each and Robert Upton of the
Gainesville Owls led in strikeouts with 209 and also with an ERA of 2.54.
[1]
1952 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Temple Eagles | 85 | 62 | .578 | - | 101,906 | Salty Parker |
Tyler East Texans | 84 | 63 | .571 | 1.0 | 73,337 | Bill Capps |
Texarkana Bears | 82 | 65 | .559 | 3.0 | 79,275 | Tony York |
Austin Pioneers | 81 | 66 | .551 | 4.0 | 149,601 | Thomas Jordan |
Paris Indians | 79 | 68 | .537 | 6.0 | 77,761 | Red Davis |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 77 | 70 | .524 | 8.0 | 95,240 | Frank Mancuso |
Longview Cherokees | 71 | 76 | .483 | 14.0 | 59,913 | Clem Hausmann / Lou Fitzgerald |
Waco Pirates | 29 | 118 | .197 | 56.0 | 32,966 | Tedd Gullic |
Total attendance | 669,999 |
Season highlights:
Playoffs:
Austin Pioneers 4 games,
Temple Eagles 1;
Tyler East Texans 4 games,
Texarkana Bears 2.
Finals:
Tyler East Texans 4 games,
Austin Pioneers 0.
Bob Van Enman of the
Wichita Falls Spudders led in hitting with a .387 average. His teammate
Billy Queen scored 157 runs while
Buck Frierson of the
Paris Indians had 222 base hits. Roy Sanner of the
Texarkana Bears had 165 RBI and Dean Stafford of the
Paris Indians /
Tyler East Texans busted 47 home runs.
John Andre of the
Austin Pioneers led the league with 25 wins and Gale Pringle of the
Tyler East Texans had 164 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA.
[1]
1953 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wichita Falls Spudders | 85 | 58 | .594 | - | 71,247 | Whitey Wietelmann |
Tyler East Texans | 81 | 63 | .563 | 4.5 | 50,273 | Bill Capps |
Texarkana Bears | 78 | 68 | .534 | 8.5 | 89,604 | Chuck Hawley |
Waco Pirates / Longview Cherokees |
77 | 68 | .531 | 9.0 | 32,646 | Buster Chatham |
Temple Eagles | 72 | 73 | .497 | 14.0 | 66,341 | Salty Parker / Len Goldstein |
Greenville Majors/ Bryan Majors | 70 | 77 | .476 | 17.0 | 30,051 | Jim Adair / Clyde McDowell |
Austin Pioneers | 69 | 77 | .473 | 17.5 | 73,229 | Al Unser |
Paris Indians | 48 | 96 | .333 | 47.5 | 40,658 | Red Davis |
Total attendance | 454,049 |
Season highlights:
Waco moved to Longview, May 22; Greenville moved to Bryan, June 25.
Playoffs:
Wichita Falls Spudders 4 games,
Longview Cherokees 0;
Tyler East Texans 4 games,
Texarkana Bears 1.
Finals:
Wichita Falls Spudders 4 games,
Tyler East Texans 3.
Albert Neil of the
Wichita Falls Spudders led five different offensive categories: .356 BA, 185 hits, 126 runs, 137 RBI and 39 home runs.
Pat Scantlebury of the
Texarkana Bears won 24 games and struck out 177. Jodie Phipps of the
Bryan Majors had a 2.19 ERA.
[1]
1954 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waco Pirates | 105 | 42 | .714 | - | 79,201 | Jack Paepke |
Tyler Tigers | 92 | 55 | .626 | 13.0 | 56,361 | Salty Parker |
Corpus Christi Clippers | 87 | 60 | .592 | 18.0 | 97,255 | Bill Capps |
Austin Pioneers | 79 | 67 | .541 | 25.5 | 85,119 | George Hausmann |
Galveston White Caps | 73 | 73 | .500 | 31.5 | 34,205 | Chase Riddle / Henry Robinson |
Bryan Indians / Del Rio Indians |
53 | 93 | .363 | 51.5 | 34,217 | Ray Taylor / Al LaMacchia / Chuck Hawley |
Harlingen Capitals | 53 | 94 | .361 | 52.0 | 47,825 | Earl Caldwell / Sam Harshaney |
Temple Eagles | 44 | 102 | .301 | 60.5 | 31,673 | Fred Martin / Fred Campbell / Robert Moyer |
Total attendance | 465,856 |
Season highlights:
Bryan moved to Del Rio, July 28.
Playoffs:
Waco Pirates 4 games,
Austin Pioneers 2;
Corpus Christi Clippers 4 games,
Tyler Tigers 1.
Finals:
Waco Pirates 4 games,
Corpus Christi Clippers 3.
Dean Stafford of the
Galveston White Caps and the
Corpus Christi Clippers led the league in hitting with a .362 average, hits with 212, had 171 RBI to go with 38 home runs. John Wilkinson of the
Temple Eagles and
Corpus Christi Clippers scored 151 runs. James Vitter of the
Corpus Christi Clippers had 23 wins, while Gayle Pringle of the
Tyler Tigers struck out 212 with a 2.58 ERA.
[1]
1955 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corpus Christi Clippers | 93 | 48 | .660 | - | 102,788 | Connie Ryan |
Waco Pirates | 74 | 69 | .517 | 20.0 | 53,961 | Stan Wentzel |
Texas City Texans | 71 | 67 | .514 | 20.5 | 35,402 | Bones Sanders |
Port Arthur Sea Hawks | 64 | 74 | .464 | 27.5 | 71,063 |
Lou Fitzgerald / Earl Perry / Jack Bumgarner |
Harlingen Capitals | 65 | 79 | .451 | 29.5 | 55,418 | Ford Garrison |
Austin Pioneers | 58 | 85 | .406 | 36.0 | 50,536 | George Hausmann |
Tyler Tigers | 36 | 37 | .493 | NA | 26,443 | Jodie Phipps |
Galveston White Caps | 28 | 30 | .483 | NA | 19,600 | Jodie Beeler |
Total attendance | 415,211 |
Season highlights:
Galveston withdrew June 12; Tyler withdrew July 1.
Playoffs:
Corpus Christi Clippers 4 games,
Harlingen Capitals 1;
Waco Pirates 4 games,
Texas City Texans 3.
Finals:
Corpus Christi Clippers 4 games,
Waco Pirates 0.
Lynn Vandehey of the
Texas City Texans led the league with a batting average of .377 and also led in total hits with 195. The
Corpus Christi Clippers trio of
Ed Charles with 135 runs scored, Dean Stafford with 159 RBI and Keith Little hit 47 home runs to lead those categories. Rene Vega of the
Corpus Christi Clippers had 28 wins and a 2.69 ERA.
Don Rowe of the
Waco Pirates had 226 strikeouts.
[1]
1956 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Corpus Christi Clippers | 83 | 57 | .593 | - | 112,625 | Sibby Sisti |
Port Arthur Sea Hawks | 78 | 62 | .557 | 5.0 | 57,117 | Lloyd Gearhart / Al Barillari |
Waco Pirates | 78 | 62 | .557 | 5.0 | 39,096 | Monty Basgall |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 76 | 64 | .543 | 7.0 | 60,891 | Danny Ozark |
Abilene Blue Sox | 73 | 67 | .521 | 10.0 | 83,700 | Alfred Evans |
Lubbock Hubbers/ Texas City Texans | 59 | 81 | .421 | 24.0 | 53,900 | Bill Krueger / Jay Haney |
Beaumont Exporters | 57 | 83 | .407 | 26.0 | 35,000 | Ford Garrison |
Victoria Eagles | 56 | 84 | .400 | 27.0 | 35,639 | James Basso / Lou Fitzgerald / Stubby Greer |
Total attendance | 477,968 |
Season Highlights:
Lubbock transferred to Texas City July 8; Beaumont moved to Texas City July 2, and returned, July 8.
Playoffs:
Corpus Christi Clippers 4 games,
Wichita Falls Spudders 1.;
Port Arthur Sea Hawks 4 games,
Waco Pirates 3.
Finals:
Port Arthur Sea Hawks 4 games,
Corpus Christi Clippers 3.
James Kirby of the
Port Arthur Sea Hawks was the league's leading hitter with a .358 average and 190 hits. Joe Christian of the
Corpus Christi Clippers scored 119 runs with 142 RBI.
Danny Ozark of the
Wichita Falls Spudders homered 32 times and tied with Rudolph Mayling of the
Abilene Blue Sox in the home run category. Leverette Spencer of the
Port Arthur Sea Hawks had 21 pitching victories and a league best 2.37 ERA. Ramon Salgado with the
Waco Pirates and Herman Greene of the
Corpus Christi Clippers also had 21 pitching wins.
Evans Killeen of the
Abilene Blue Sox had 236 Strikeouts to lead the league.
[1]
1957 Big State League
schedule
Team standings | Won | Lost | Pct | GB | Attend | Managers |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victoria Rosebuds | 75 | 49 | .605 | - | 42,378 | Lou Rochelli |
Corpus Christi Clippers | 69 | 58 | .543 | 7.5 | 56,871 | Joe Just / Jack Wilkinson |
Beaumont Pirates | 61 | 63 | .492 | 14.0 | 56,342 | Monty Basgall |
Abilene Blue Sox | 61 | 66 | .480 | 15.5 | 29,995 | Burl Storie |
Port Arthur Redlegs / Temple Redlegs |
48 | 56 | .461 | NA | 25,484 | Al Barillari |
Wichita Falls Spudders | 4 | 26 | .013 | NA | 2,558 | Jack Wilkinson / Jodie Beeler |
Total attendance | 214,628 |
Season Highlights:
Playoffs: In a shortened format, the
Victoria Rosebuds beat the
Corpus Christi Clippers 4 games to 1.
Wichita Falls withdrew May 23.
Port Arthur (20-15) moved to Temple May 30. Temple withdrew August 20.
Tony Washington of the
Beaumont Pirates led the last year of the league in hitting with a .356 average. He also led with 179 hits.
Nate Peeples of the
Corpus Christi Clippers scored 116 runs and had 99 RBI to lead those categories.
Don Miles of the
Victoria Rosebuds hit 28 home runs. In the pitching finalie, Chris Niclosi of the
Victoria Rosebuds had 21 wins and 208 strikeouts and
Dave Wickersham of the
Beaumont Pirates had a 1.95 ERA to lead the league.
[1]