Amarillo Thunderheads

Last updated
Amarillo Thunderheads
AmarilloThunderheads.png AmarilloThunderheadsCap.svg
Team logoCap insignia
Information
League American Association (2011–2015) (South Division)
Location Amarillo, Texas
Ballpark Potter County Memorial Stadium
Founded2010
Folded2015
League championships0
Division championships0
Former name(s)Amarillo Sox (2011–2014)
Former league(s)Central Baseball League
ColorsNavy, red, white, gold
    
OwnershipSouthern Independent Baseball
ManagerBobby Brown
General ManagerStephanie Tucker
Website www.amarillosox.com
Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium Amarillo Sox Stadium.JPG
Amarillo National Bank Sox Stadium

The Amarillo Thunderheads, formerly known as the Amarillo Sox, were a professional minor league baseball team based in Amarillo, Texas. They were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, an independent baseball league unaffiliated with Major League Baseball, and played their home games at Potter County Memorial Stadium.

Contents

The team relocated to Amarillo in 2011. They were previously known as the Pensacola Pelicans, based in Pensacola, Florida. On December 2, 2014, they changed their name to the Amarillo Thunderheads. [1] Following the 2015 season, the team was merged into the Texas AirHogs.

History

In 2010, businessman Quint Studer sold his American Association franchise, the Pensacola Pelicans, to the Amarillo group as part of a series of purchases aimed at bringing an affiliated Double-A team to Pensacola. [2]

The franchise secured a lease to Amarillo National Bank Stadium, replacing the Amarillo Dillas of United League Baseball, who were evicted after missing payments on their lease.

Former Amarillo Gold Sox and San Diego Padres pitcher Mark Lee was General Manager from 2006 to 2014. [3] Stephanie Tucker, co-owner and General Manager of the Amarillo Venom, was named Executive Vice President/General Manager of the Sox following Lee's departure. [4]

The franchise was originally going to be named the Amarillo Gold Sox after the longtime minor league team from the later 1930s through 1982. [5] [6] However, a trademark issue with the collegiate woodbat team the Marysville Gold Sox in California has forced the team to back away from using the name. [7] Lee thus opted to name the team simply the Amarillo Sox, and revealed the team's name and logo at a January 5, 2011 press conference. Additionally, Lee named former California Angels player John Harris field manager.

After the 2014 season, the Sox were renamed the Amarillo Thunderheads.

On November 19, 2015, American Association commissioner Miles Wolff announced that there would no longer be interleague play between the AA and the Can-Am League (for which he is also commissioner) and that for the 2016 season the Thunderheads and the Grand Prairie AirHogs would operate as a joint team with 25 games in Amarillo and 25 games in Grand Prairie to make a 12 team league. [8] Following the season the team announced that they would not be returning to Amarillo, and would play all games in Grand Prairie for 2017. [9]

Season-by-season record

SeasonW - L RecordWinning PercentageFinishPlayoffs
201144-56.4404th in South DivisionDid not qualify for playoffs
201246-54.4604th in South DivisionDid not qualify for playoffs
201352-48.5203rd in South DivisionDid not qualify for playoffs
201437-62.3744th in South DivisionDid not qualify for playoffs
201545-55.4504th in South DivisionDid not qualify for playoffs

See also

Related Research Articles

The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was an independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Dillas</span> Baseball team in Amarillo, Texas

The Amarillo Dillas were a professional baseball team based in Amarillo, Texas, in the United States. The Dillas were a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. From 1994 to 2010, the Dillas played their home games at historic Potter County Memorial Stadium, nicknamed the "Dilla Villa."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks</span> Baseball team in Ozark, Missouri

The Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks was an unaffiliated minor league team that previously played in Ozark, Missouri, a suburb of Springfield. The team was a member of the Texas-Louisiana League, later named the Central Baseball League from 1999 to 2003. The team played in Price Cutter Park, now known as Ozark Mountain Sports Complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pensacola Pelicans</span> Baseball team in Pensacola, Florida

The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues from 2002 to 2010. They played their games at Pelican Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Myrtle Beach Pelicans</span> Minor League Baseball team in South Carolina

The Myrtle Beach Pelicans are a Minor League Baseball team in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and the Single-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs of the National League in Major League Baseball. The Pelicans compete in the Carolina League. Home games are played at Pelicans Ballpark, which opened in 1999 and seats up to 6,599 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Dusters</span> American indoor football team

The Amarillo Dusters are a professional indoor football team based in Amarillo, Texas, currently a member of the National Arena League. They play their home games at the Amarillo Civic Center. The Venom began play in 2004 as a charter member of the Intense Football League, a small indoor football league based in Texas. They won the championship in their first and only season with the Intense Football League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeff Russell</span> American baseball player (born 1961)

Jeffrey Lee Russell is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played 14 years from 1983 to 1996. Russell played for the Cincinnati Reds of the National League and the Texas Rangers, Oakland A's, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians, all of the American League. He began his career as a starting pitcher with the Reds and Rangers, but was later converted into a closer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American Association of Professional Baseball</span> Baseball league

The American Association of Professional Baseball is an independent professional baseball league founded in 2005. It operates in the central United States and Canada, mostly in cities not served by Major League Baseball teams or their minor league affiliates. Joshua Schaub is the league commissioner. League offices are located in Moorhead, Minnesota. Though a separate entity, the league shared a commissioner and director of umpires with the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball during that league's existence. The American Association of Professional Baseball has 501(c)(6) tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service. In 2020, as part of MLB's reorganization of the minor leagues, the American Association, together with the Atlantic League and the Frontier League, became an official MLB Partner League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potter County Memorial Stadium</span> Baseball stadium in Amarillo, Texas, US

Potter County Memorial Stadium was a baseball-only stadium in Amarillo, Texas. It was most recently home to the Texas AirHogs, a professional baseball team and member of the American Association, and the West Texas A&M Buffaloes baseball team, which is a member of the Division II Lone Star Conference. It was home to the Amarillo Dillas of United League Baseball until 2010. It broke ground in 1948, and opened in 1949. It is nicknamed Dilla Villa, dating back prior to Amarillo National Bank's purchase of naming rights when the Dillas made their first appearance in Amarillo in 1994.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edinburg Roadrunners</span> Baseball team in Edinburg, Texas

The Edinburg Roadrunners were a professional baseball team based in Edinburg, Texas, in the United States. The Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Minor League Baseball. They played in United League Baseball from 2006 to 2010 and the North American League from 2011 to 2012. They played their home games at Edinburg Stadium. The city refused to extend a lease for the 2014 season and with nowhere to play the team shut down.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Prairie Stadium</span> Sports stadium in Grand Prairie, Texas, US

Grand Prairie Stadium is a cricket ground and former ballpark in Grand Prairie, Texas. Opened in May 2008, it served as the home stadium of the Texas AirHogs of the American Association of Professional Baseball from 2008 through 2019, and of the USL League Two soccer team Texas United from 2017 to 2019.

The Amarillo Gold Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise that represented the city of Amarillo, Texas, in the Class D West Texas–New Mexico League, the Class A Western League and the Double-A Texas League at various times between 1939 and 1982.

Hernando Petrocelli "Pep" Harris is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played for the California/Anaheim Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1996 to 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Lee (right-handed pitcher)</span> American baseball player (born 1953)

Mark Linden Lee is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Lee pitched in all or part of four seasons from 1978 until 1981, the first two for the San Diego Padres and the last two for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Lonnie Lee Maclin is an American former Major League Baseball left fielder. Maclin played for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1993 season. In 12 career games, Maclin had one hit in 13 at-bats. He batted and threw left-handed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daren Brown</span> American professional baseball manager

Daren Dwayne Brown is an American professional baseball manager, who spent much of the 2013 season as the third base coach of the Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball (MLB).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pensacola Blue Wahoos</span> Minor league baseball team

The Pensacola Blue Wahoos are a Minor League Baseball team of the Southern League and the Double-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. They are based in Pensacola, Florida, and play their home games at Admiral Fetterman Field. In 2012, the team relocated to Pensacola from Zebulon, North Carolina, where they were known as the Carolina Mudcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lone Star Football League</span> American indoor football league

The Lone Star Football League (LSFL) was a regional professional indoor football minor league that played three seasons from 2012 to 2014. All of the LSFL's charter teams were based in the state of Texas, with five teams coming from the Southern Indoor Football League, three from the Indoor Football League, plus one expansion team. The LSFL played three seasons to completion before merging with the Champions Professional Indoor Football League in August 2014 to form Champions Indoor Football.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas AirHogs</span> Independent professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas

The Texas AirHogs were a professional baseball team based in Grand Prairie, Texas from 2008 to 2020. The AirHogs were members of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Beginning in the 2008 season as the Grand Prairie AirHogs, the team played their home games at AirHogs Stadium. The team folded after the 2020 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amarillo Sod Poodles</span> Minor league baseball team

The Amarillo Sod Poodles, nicknamed the Soddies, are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Arizona Diamondbacks. They are located in Amarillo, Texas, and play their home games at Hodgetown in downtown Amarillo.

References

  1. ↑ Vasquez, Crystal (December 2, 2014). "The Thunderheads roll into Amarillo". KVII-TV .
  2. ↑ "Top 10 Sports Stories of 2010". Pensacola News Journal . January 2, 2011. Retrieved February 21, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Amarillo Sox fire GM Lee". Amarillo Globe-News. 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
  4. ↑ "Sox name owner of Venom as new EVP/GM of Sox". 2014-10-16. Retrieved 2014-10-17.
  5. ↑ Gold Sox to bat in city again, Amarillo Globe-News @ Amarillo.com, December 3, 2010
  6. ↑ A blast from the past, Amarillo Gold Sox return, KVII-TV website ConnectAmarillo.com, December 3, 2010
  7. ↑ Gold Sox name out for team, Amarillo Globe-News @ Amarillo.com, December 8, 2010
  8. ↑ "American Association of Professional Baseball - AMERICAN ASSOCIATION RELEASES 2016 SCHEDULE". 19 November 2015. Archived from the original on November 20, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  9. ↑ Lahnert, Lance; Winslow, Donald R. (October 13, 2016). "Going, going, gone: Amarillo loses its minor league team". Amarillo Globe-News. Archived from the original on October 18, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.