 | |
| Sport | Baseball |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2016 |
| Ceased | 2019 |
| No. of teams | 4 |
| Country | USA |
The Southwest League of Professional Baseball was a planned independent professional baseball league. [1] The first two announced teams were the Waco BlueCats and the Royse City Griffins followed by the Joplin Miners. [2] In July 2018, it was announced that the Southwest League planned to play a 112-game schedule in 2019. [1] However, the 2019 season was canceled.
As late as July 2018 the league continued to say it would begin operations with six teams, but only four teams were ever announced. [3] The Joplin franchise defaulted on their lease with Joplin, Missouri for non-payment in January 2019. [4] The league's contract with Joplin called for a schedule of play and disclosure of the leagues' two other teams by October 15, 2018. The league said in January 2019 that this had been done privately pending final details. [5]
| Team | First Season | City/Area | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joplin Miners | 2019 | Joplin, Missouri | Joe Becker Stadium | 4,200 |
| Royse City Griffins | 2019 | Royse City, Texas | Royse City Ballpark | |
| Waco BlueCats | 2019 | Bellmead, Texas | Bellmead Ballpark | |
| Dallas | 2019 | Dallas, Texas | Reverchon Park |
The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated in the South Central United States since 1902. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its five South Division teams are actually based in the state of Texas; the five North Division teams are located in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma. The league temporarily operated for the 2021 season as Double-A Central before reassuming its original moniker in 2022.
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2022 population of 143,984, making it the 24th-most populous city in the state. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan, Falls and Bosque counties, which had a 2020 population of 295,782. Bosque County was added to the Waco MSA in 2023. The 2022 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 302,582 residents.
Choctaw Stadium, formerly Globe Life Park, is an American multi-purpose stadium in Arlington, Texas, between Dallas and Fort Worth. Originally built as a baseball stadium, it was home to the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball and the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame from 1994 through 2019, when the team vacated the stadium for Globe Life Field. It was constructed as a replacement for nearby Arlington Stadium and opened in April 1994 as The Ballpark in Arlington.
The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 2002 to 2014, the Cats played their home games at LaGrave Field.
"El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 1990 to 2013, the Diablos, in both incarnations, played their home games at Cohen Stadium. The team's name means "devils" in the Spanish language.
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.
LaGrave Field is an abandoned baseball park in Fort Worth, Texas. It was primarily used for baseball and was the home field of the Fort Worth Cats independent minor league baseball team. Its original version was the home of the predecessor Panthers/Cats team of the Texas League from 1926–1958; the American Association in 1959; and then in the Texas League again in 1964. It also served as the part-time home of the Dallas Rangers during 1960–1962. The ballpark was rebuilt during 2001 and opened in 2002 after the club played one season at Lon Goldstein Field.
Bally Sports Southwest is a Texas-based regional sports network owned by Diamond Sports Group, and operates as an affiliate of Bally Sports. The channel broadcasts regional coverage of professional, collegiate and high school sports events throughout the South Central United States. The network is headquartered in the Dallas-Fort Worth suburb of Irving, Texas, with master control hubbed at Bally Sports Networks' operations center in Atlanta, which houses master control operations for its regional networks in the Southeastern United States.
Texas is home of several national sports league franchises among other professional sports, being the second most populated U.S. state. Since the state is located in the South Central United States, most teams are part of the Central / South or West league divisions, with the notable exception of the NFL Dallas Cowboys, which is an NFC East franchise.
Katy Park was a baseball park located in Waco, Texas and was used by many minor league baseball teams as well as the Baylor Bears for a short time.
Joe Becker Stadium is an American baseball ballpark, built in 1913, located in Joplin, Missouri. The stadium has burned down twice, the first time in 1936 and the second time in 1971. The stadium currently has seating capacity of 4,200 as the home of the Joplin Outlaws of the summer collegiate MINK League.
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.
John William "Ziggy" Sears was a professional baseball umpire who worked in the National League from 1934 to 1945. Sears umpired 1,647 major league games in his 12-year career. He umpired in two World Series and two All-Star Games. He also was a minor league baseball outfielder for 15 seasons between 1912 and 1928.
The city of Dallas and the Dallas metropolitan division is home to teams in six major sports: the Dallas Cowboys, Dallas Mavericks, Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, FC Dallas, and Dallas Wings.
Demize NPSL, formerly known as Joplin Demize, is an American amateur soccer club based in Springfield, Missouri, which began play in the fourth-tier National Premier Soccer League (NPSL) in May 2014. The team competes within the Heartland Conference in the NPSL's South Region and plays home games at Lake Country Soccer's Cooper Stadium. It formerly played in the now dissolved South Central Conference.
The Joplin Blasters were an American professional baseball team based in Joplin, Missouri. The Blasters were members of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball. The team's home games were played at a reconstructed Joe Becker Stadium. The team was managed by former Chicago Cubs player and minor league managing veteran Carlos Lezcano. A home game on May 21, 2015, against the Wichita Wingnuts inaugurated the franchise and its 100-game regular season. The Blasters organization failed to pay the stadium lease during its final season. During the 2016 fall league meetings, it was confirmed by league commissioner Miles Wolff that the Blasters would not be returning for 2017.
The Texas Colored League was a minor league Negro baseball league organized in 1919 and lasted until 1926. The league did not play a schedule in 1922.
The New Britain Bees are an American collegiate summer baseball team based in New Britain, Connecticut. They are a member of the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL), a wood-bat league with teams in New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont. Founded in October 2015, the Bees played the 2016 to 2019 seasons as an independent professional baseball team in the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. The Bees have played all their home games at New Britain Stadium, where they succeeded the New Britain Rock Cats, who played in the Eastern League before moving to Hartford, becoming the Hartford Yard Goats.
The 1940 Baylor Bears football team represented Baylor University in the Southwest Conference (SWC) during the 1940 college football season. In their 15th and final season under head coach Morley Jennings, the Bears compiled a 4–6 record, finished in last place in the conference, and were outscored by opponents by a combined total of 114 to 109. Robert C. Nelson and Milton S. Merka were the team captains.
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