Temple Boll Weevils

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The Temple Boll Weevils were a minor league baseball team which played their home games at Woodson Field in Temple, Texas as a member of the Texas League from 1905 to 1907. [1] [2] Local newspapers took to calling them the "Cotton Bugs," a nickname coined by the Galveston Daily News . [3]

Temple, Texas City in Texas, United States

Temple is a city in Bell County, Texas, United States. As of 2016, the city has a population of 73,600 according to a US census estimate.

Texas League baseball league operating at Class AA level of Minor League Baseball in Texas, USA

The Texas League is a Minor League Baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified as a Double-A league. Despite the league's name, only its four South Division teams are actually based in Texas; the four North Division teams are located in surrounding states of Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. The league maintains its headquarters in San Antonio.

History

The team finished with a record of 71-59 in its debut season in 1905, behind the Fort Worth Panthers by just a half game for second place in the league. [3] After Temple got off to a slow start in the following season and Temple manager Con Lucid resigned, owner J.E. Edens sold the team to the Temple Baseball Association, a local stock company headed by Temple mayor Fred P. Hamill, who replaced Lucid with manager Fred Moore. [2] [3] [4] With the Texas League struggling financially, it decided in mid-season to drop the Boll Weevils. The Temple Baseball Association, having only recently spent $3,000 to buy the team, filed an unsuccessful lawsuit against the league. [3] In 1907 the Texas League took on several teams from the South Texas League and resurrected another incarnation of the Boll Weevils with players being contributed by the other teams. Due in part to poor performance and lacking fan support, 1907 would be their final season. [2]

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Cornelius Cecil Lucid was a 19th-century Major League Baseball pitcher and coach. He played from 1893 to 1897 in the National League.

The South Texas League was a class C baseball minor league from 1903-1906. Comprising four teams for its first three years, it expanded to six teams in its final season.

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References

  1. ↑ Benoit, Patricia K. (2009). Historic Temple : an illustrated history (1st ed.). San Antonio, Tex.: Historical Pub. Network. p. 40. ISBN   9781893619968 . Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Coppedge, Clay (October 22, 2007). "Boll Weevils: A glance at pro baseball in Temple". Temple Daily Telegram. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Hanzelka, Kris Rutherford ; foreword by Scott (2014). Baseball on the prairie : how seven small-town teams shaped Texas League history. The History Press. pp. 131–32. ISBN   9781609499358 . Retrieved 22 March 2015.
  4. ↑ "1906 Temple Boll Weevils". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 22 March 2015.
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