The Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs were an American minor league baseball team in the Texas League from 1965–1971. ^[1] The team played in Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, Texas. ^[2]

The Spurs were created when the Triple-A Dallas Rangers moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1965. ^[3] With the opening of Turnpike Stadium, the Double-A Texas League's Fort Worth Cats, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, moved into the new venue and adopted the regional Dallas-Fort Worth designation and the Spurs nickname. ^[2]

The Spurs were affiliated with the Cubs (1965–1967), ^[4] Houston Astros (1968) ^[5] and Baltimore Orioles (1969–1971). ^{[6] [7]}

As a Cubs' affiliate, the Spurs groomed future Major League players Don Kessinger, ^[4] Chuck Hartenstein, ^[4] Joe Niekro, ^[8] Fred Norman ^[8] and Bill Stoneman. ^[9] The club's one season in the Houston organization was lean in terms of prospects, with Fred Stanley and Danny Walton enjoying the longest big-league careers. ^[5] During their affiliation with Baltimore, the Spurs featured Don Baylor, ^[6] Bobby Grich, ^[6] Enos Cabell ^[7] and Wayne Garland, ^[7] along with managers Cal Ripken Sr. ^[7] and Joe Altobelli ^[6] and batboy Cal Ripken Jr.

The Spurs set many Texas League attendance records, especially after Turnpike Stadium expanded to a capacity of 20,500 in 1970. ^[10] The Dallas-Fort Worth area was considered a prime location for an expansion team or a re-located franchise. Indeed, Turnpike Stadium had been built specifically to attract a major-league team to the Metroplex. That dream nearly came to fruition when the National League expanded in 1969. But the league instead expanded to Montreal, with the Expos. ^[11]

Two years later, the struggling Washington Senators received American League permission to transfer to the area in 1972 as the Texas Rangers, ^[12] who moved into Turnpike Stadium (expanded and renamed Arlington Stadium). ^[13]

Yearly record

References