Middle Texas League
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The Middle Texas League was a six–team Class D level minor league baseball league that played in the 1914 and 1915 seasons. The Middle Texas League featured franchises based in Texas. The Middle Texas League permanently folded during the 1915 season. Baseball Hall of Fame member Kid Nichols managed the 1914 Temple Tigers and Hall of Famer Ross Youngs played for the 1915 Bartlett Bearcats.
History
The Middle Texas League began to play in the 1914 season as a new Class D level minor league. The president of the league was W.F. Blum, Jr. The Middle Texas League began play as a six–team league, hosting franchises from Bartlett, Texas (Bartlett Bearcats), Belton, Texas (Belton Braves), Brenham, Texas (Brenham Brewers), Georgetown, Texas (Georgetown Collegians), Lampasas, Texas (Lampasas Resorters) and Temple, Texas (Temple Tigers).
The Middle Texas League began play on May 8, 1914. The league played a spit–season schedule. In 1914, the Temple Tigers won the first–half standings and the Belton Braves won the second–half standings. The final overall standings featured the Bartlett Bearcats (22–59), Belton Braves (37–47), Brenham Brewers (50–34), Georgetown Collegians (50–30), Lampasas Resorters (35–51) and Temple Tigers (54–27). In the Championship playoff, the Belton Braves defeated the Temple Tigers 5 games to 1 to win the championship. Baseball Hall of Fame member Kid Nichols managed the 1914 Temple Tigers.
In its second season, with Hulen P. Robertson becoming the league president, the Middle Texas League began play on April 15, 1915. During the season, the Austin Reps/Representatives (2–5) moved to become the Taylor Producers on May 1, 1915, when floods forced the team to relocate from Austin. Taylor (15–23) then moved to Brenham on June 8, 1915, becoming the second team in Brenham, after the Brenham Brewers folded the day before. Both the Brenham Brewers and Schulenberg Giants disbanded on June 7, 1915. On June 19, 1915, the Middle Texas League permanently folded during the season. The final league standings featured the Austin Representatives/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers (21–36), Bartlett Bearcats (29–26), Belton Braves (40–19), Brenham Brewers (12–31), Schulenburg Giants (23–18) and Temple Governors (32–27). The Belton Braves won both half seasons of the league standings and were league champions.
Baseball Hall of Fame member Ross Youngs played for Bartlett in 1915, hitting .264 in 59 games at age 18.
Middle Texas League teams
| Team name(s) | City represented | Ballpark | Year(s) active |
|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Reps Austin Representatives | Austin, Texas | Riverside Park | 1915 |
| Bartlett Bearcats | Bartlett, Texas | Bartlett Base Ball Park | 1914 to 1915 |
| Belton Braves | Belton, Texas | Belton Base Ball Park | 1914 to 1915 |
| Brenham Brewers (1914-1915) Brenham Kaisers (1915), (2) | Brenham, Texas | Unknown | 1914 to 1915 |
| Georgetown Collegians | Georgetown, Texas | Unknown | 1914 |
| Lampasas Resorters | Lampasas, Texas | Unknown | 1914 |
| Schulenburg Giants | Schulenburg, Texas | Unknown | 1915 |
| Taylor Producers | Taylor, Texas | Robinson Park | 1915 |
| Temple Tigers (1914) Temple Governors (1915) | Temple, Texas | Unknown | 1914 to 1915 |
Standings and statistics
1914 Middle Texas League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Temple Tigers | 54 | 27 | .667 | - | Kid Nichols |
| Georgetown Collegians | 50 | 30 | .625 | 3½ | Jimmy Callahan |
| Brenham Brewers | 50 | 34 | .595 | 5½ | Ike Pendleton |
| Belton Braves | 37 | 47 | .440 | 18½ | Leslie Mitchell / L.B. Hubbard / Bob Hart / Jack Forrester / Cal Calahan |
| Lampasas Resorters | 35 | 51 | .407 | 21½ | Jesse Estill / Luke Roberts |
| Bartlett Bearcats | 22 | 59 | .267 | 32 | Robert Roundtree / Brooks Gordon |
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Wende | Georgetown | BA | .380 | J. Reems | Brenham | W | 14 | |
| Ellis Boggess | Temple | Runs | 58 | Frank Wolfram | Georgetown | Pct | .833; 10-2 | |
| Fred Wende | Georgetown | Hits | 116 | |||||
| Ellis Boggess | Temple | HR | 16 |
1915 Middle Texas League
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Belton Braves | 40 | 19 | .678 | - | Charles Lawson |
| Temple Governors | 32 | 27 | .542 | 8 | Luther Burleson / Frank Rogers |
| Bartlett Bearcats | 29 | 26 | .527 | 9 | Ike Pendleton |
| Austin Reps Taylor Producers / Brenham Kaisers | 21 | 36 | .368 | 18 | Jack Snipes / Billy Disch |
| Schulenburg Giants | 23 | 18 | .561 | - | J.M. Robbins |
| Brenham Brewers | 12 | 21 | .279 | - | Arthur Wicks / John Tuller |
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Russ Breaux | Taylor | BA | .358 | Nemo Gaines | Belton | W | 13 | |
| R. J. Williamson | Belton | Runs | 49 | Ray Francis | Temple | SO | 106 | |
| R. J. Williamson | Belton | Hits | 79 | H. A. Dennis | Belton | Pct | 1.000; 11-0 | |
| Tom Osborne | Temple | HR | 11 |
Baseball Hall of Fame alumni
- Kid Nichols, Temple (1914) Inducted, 1949
- Ross Youngs, Bartlett (1915) Inducted, 1972