Baseball in the Lone Star State

Baseball in the Lone Star State PDF

Author: Tom Kayser

Publisher: Trinity University Press

Published: 2005-04-19

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 1595340130

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The Texas League chronicles the nine minor league teams in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma that have brought America's favorite sport to local fans for more than 100 summers. In quick, lively chapters, authors Tom Kayser and David King examine colorful Texas League favorites like the San Antonio Missions and the Midland Rock Hounds, painting an epic picture of down-home America through the lens of semi-pro baseball. The story begins with a look at how the discovery of oil in East Texas provided the funds to secure the league in its core locales. The league is then brought to life with several key profiles, including those of founder John McCloskey, managers Jake Atz and Paul LaGrave, who built the Fort Worth Cats into the league's most dominant team, and players Gene "Half-Pint" Rye, who hit two home runs in an inning for Waco, and Dave Hoskins, who integrated the league five years after Jackie Robinson integrated the majors. Also featured are dozens of archival photos dating back to the league's beginnings and an appendix of statistics.

Seasons in Hell

Seasons in Hell PDF

Author: Mike Shropshire

Publisher: Diversion Books

Published: 2014-03-25

Total Pages: 286

ISBN-13: 1626812616

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“A funny, revealing, Ball Four–like romp through mid-seventies baseball” from the longtime sports columnist and author of The Last Real Season (Booklist). You think your team is bad? In this “disastrously hilarious” work on one of the most tortured franchises in baseball, one reporter discovers that nine innings can feel like an eternity (USA Today). In early 1973, gonzo sportswriter Mike Shropshire agreed to cover the Texas Rangers for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, not realizing that the Rangers were arguably the worst team in baseball history. Seasons in Hell is a riotous, candid, irreverent behind-the-scenes account in the tradition of The Bronx Zoo and Ball Four, following the Texas Rangers from Whitey Herzog’s reign in 1973 through Billy Martin’s tumultuous tenure. Offering wonderful perspectives on dozens of unique (and likely never-to-be-seen-again) baseball personalities, Seasons in Hell recounts some of the most extreme characters ever to play the game and brings to life the no-holds-barred culture of major league baseball in the mid-seventies. “The single funniest sports book I have ever read.”—Don Imus “The locker-room shenanigans of a lousy team of the 1970s.”—Publishers Weekly

Playing in Shadows

Playing in Shadows PDF

Author: Robert Fink

Publisher: Sport in the American West

Published: 2010

Total Pages: 165

ISBN-13: 9780896727014

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"Offers the first book-length history of the Texas Negro Leagues and the impact African American Texans had on baseball during the first half of the twentieth century. Previously untold historical narrative contributes to sport history studies while asserting Texas's role in the formation, growth, and decline of African American baseball"--Provided by publisher.

Texas Baseball

Texas Baseball PDF

Author: Clay Coppedge

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2012-04-24

Total Pages: 294

ISBN-13: 161423406X

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From pioneering superstars like Tris Speaker and Rogers Hornsby and Negro League standouts Smokey Joe Williams and Willie Well to present-day luminaries like Nolan Ryan, Texas has played a crucial role in the evolution of the national pastime. The Lone Star love of baseball stretches back to the Civil War. What began as friendly town games led to the formation of the Texas League in 1888, though it would be almost eight decades before the arrival of the Colt .45s, Texas's first major-league team, and another forty-three years until the Astros played in the World Series. From scrappers on the red dirt diamonds to the big-league stars of the Astros and Rangers, veteran sportswriter Clay Coppedge traces the state's long love affair with the sport in this first-ever comprehensive look at Texas baseball.

Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas

Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas PDF

Author: Richard A. Santillán

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2017-07-03

Total Pages: 128

ISBN-13: 143966112X

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Mexican American Baseball in Houston and Southeast Texas pays tribute to the baseball and softball players and teams from Houston, Sugar Land, Texas City, Richmond, and other surrounding communities in the region. Since the early 1900s, this game has had an important role in the lives of area Mexican Americans. In the Houston barrios, when entrenched discriminatory practices obstructed city unity, the diamond brought people together. In the Sugar Land region, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Anglos worked and played together, blurring racial lines. Baseball and softball built community pride and connected generations of Mexican American families. The wonderful stories and breathtaking images in this book help resurrect the rich and little-known history of Mexican American baseball and softball in this key part of Texas.

Baseball in the Lone Star State

Baseball in the Lone Star State PDF

Author: Tom Kayser

Publisher: Trinity University Press

Published: 2012-08-31

Total Pages: 285

ISBN-13: 1595341196

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In short episodic chapters, Kayser and King create a history of this storied minor league, providing a broad picture of the shifting character of baseball operations over the past century or so. Portrayed are the many and varied and often colorful owners, managers, and players who did so much to give this league a powerful place in Texas culture. Accompanying the text are dozens of B&W photos, dating to the founding of the league, and an appendix of baseball statistics, essential information for the true aficionado. With nine teams in states from Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma, the Texas League has brought America's favorite sport to local fans for more than 100 summers. This book chronicles those games, their players, and will delight the legions of diehard fans of teams like the San Antonio Missions or El Paso Diablos or the Midland Rock Hounds who devotedly cheer loudly and boo lustily.

Winning the Big One

Winning the Big One PDF

Author: Skip Bertman

Publisher: CreateSpace

Published: 2014-10-05

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 9781502726544

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Skip Bertman is widely respected as one of the premier coaches in all of collegiate athletics. Bertman began coaching at LSU in 1984 and transformed the Tigers into a baseball powerhouse. He guided the Tigers to 16 NCAA Tournament appearances, 11 College World Series appearances, 7 SEC Championships and 5 NCAA Baseball National Championships in his 18 seasons as Head Coach. His teams also drew record-setting crowds to LSU's Alex Box Stadium.In this 600 page massive collection of Bertman's best, you gain access to some of the greatest motivational and team building strategies used by the Hall of Fame coach on a consistent basis.SKIP BERTMAN: WINNING THE BIG ONE will give you insight into:* Striving for excellence and being at your very best* How to overcome failure and see failure as a necessary part of success* Acknowledging and addressing the fear factor all athletes face* Motivating your team to play with confidence and belief* Team building strategies that enhance your program chemistry* Motivational stories and sheets you can use to motivate your team

The Texas League Baseball Almanac

The Texas League Baseball Almanac PDF

Author: David King

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2014-02-04

Total Pages: 263

ISBN-13: 1625845219

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Since forming in 1888, the Texas League has produced some of the most beloved American baseball players and seen more than its fair share of colorful events. In 1931, Houston pitcher Dizzy Dean pitched and won both ends of a double-header in Fort Worth, throwing a three-hit shutout in the second game. In 1906, center fielder Tris Speaker pitched for Cleburne to beat Temple 10-3. In 1998, Arkansas' Tyrone Horne hit for the "homer cycle" in San Antonio, finishing to a standing ovation. "The Texas League Baseball Almanac" delivers day by day the record-breaking events, personal triumphs and memorable games that helped to shape baseball in the region. Join authors David King and Tom Kayser on a nine-inning trip down one of minor-league baseball's most historic institutions, both in season and off. .

Baseball on the Prairie

Baseball on the Prairie PDF

Author: Kris Rutherford

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2021-05-03

Total Pages: 214

ISBN-13: 1625847394

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At the close of the nineteenth century, railroad expansion in Texas at once shrank the state and expanded opportunities, including that of Texas League Baseball. Previously, the major cities monopolized Texas minor-league ball, but with the rails came small-town teams without which the league may have floundered. Sherman, Denison, Paris, Corsicana, Cleburne, Greenville and Temple teams produced some of the Texas League's greatest players and provided unprecedented statewide interest. The 1902 Corsicana Oil Citys was one of the most successful teams of the time, claiming the second-best winning percentage and baseball's most lopsided victory, 51-3 over Texarkana's Casketmakers. In its only year in the league, Cleburne won the league championship and team owner Doak Roberts discovered the great Tris Speaker. Kris Rutherford pieces together the Texas League's early days and the people and towns that made this centuries-old institution possible.

Baseball in Fort Worth

Baseball in Fort Worth PDF

Author: Mark Presswood

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2004

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738532417

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In 2003, over 160,000 fans watched professional baseball in downtown Fort Worth's near north side. Baseball, which had been played in this north side area since 1911, had returned after a near 40-year absence. Fort Worth's rich tradition of professional baseball dates back to the start of the Texas League of Professional Baseball Clubs in 1888 and includes many players who continued to impact our national pastime at the major league level. Presenting over 170 photographs, programs, and maps this volume documents not only the play on the field, but the fun and excitement off the field as well. The book contains a chapter on Fort Worth's black baseball history, which dates back to the turn of the 20th century, and includes the new discovery of a forgotten ballpark dedicated to the black players and leagues of the early 1900s. Though the details are difficult to trace, this chapter showcases the pride the players demonstrated at the local level and the force they became in the national Negro leagues.