The Abilene Prairie Dogs were an independent

professional baseball Professional baseball is organized baseball in which players are selected for their talents and are paid to play for a specific team or club system. It is played in baseball league, leagues and associated farm teams throughout the world. Mod ...

team based in

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

. They were members of the

Texas–Louisiana League The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a independent baseball league whose member teams were not affiliated with any Major League Baseball (MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron P ...

from 1995 to 1999, and returned in the North American League in 2012.

Team history

Texas–Louisiana League (1995–1999)

In 1995, the Prairie Dogs, or Dogs as the fans commonly called them, began play at

Abilene Christian University Abilene Christian University (ACU) is a Private university, private Churches of Christ, Christian university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1906 as ''Childers Classical Institute''. ACU is one of the largest private universities in the Sout ...

Crutcher Scott Field The Abilene Christian Wildcats baseball team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas, United States. The team is a member of the Western Athletic Conference, which is part of the National Coll ...

. Under the management of Charlie Kerfeld, the Prairie Dogs accumulated a dismal 40-60 record, earning them the last place in their League. 1996 brought a new manager,

Phil Stephenson Phillip Raymond Stephenson (born September 19, 1960) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played all or parts of four seasons in the majors, from until . Amateur career While playing for the Shockers of Wichita State Universit ...

, who led the Dogs to a League Championship with a 67-31 record. In 1997, the Dogs returned to last place standing (36-52) under the management of Barry Jones. Jones rallied the Dogs in 1998, to take a fourth-place position with a 39-45 record for the year. In 1999, Jones moved on to the

Ozark Mountain Ducks The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant porti ...

, and was replaced by

Dan Madsen Dan or DAN may refer to: People * Dan (name), including a list of people with the name ** Dan (king), several kings of Denmark * Dan people, an ethnic group located in West Africa **Dan language, a Mande language spoken primarily in Côte d'Ivoi ...

, who took the Dogs to a 46-38 third place League standing in their final year of play.

North American League (2012)

It was announced on January 31, 2012 that the Abilene Prairie Dogs would return to play in June 2012 as a part of the southern division of the North American Baseball League. Their home field would be Walt Driggers Field, on the campus of

McMurry University McMurry University is a private Methodist university in Abilene, Texas. It was founded in 1923 and named after William Fletcher McMurry. The university offers forty-five majors in the fields of fine arts, humanities, social and natural scien ...

, in Abilene. The Prairie Dogs went 34-53 and did not play their last eight games (all on the road) as they struggled with financial and attendance issues. The club announced in early 2013 that they would not return but hoped to play in 2014.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Texas–Louisiana League Standings, 1995–2000
Defunct minor league baseball teams Baseball teams in Abilene, Texas Baseball teams established in 1995 Sports clubs disestablished in 1999 Defunct baseball teams in Texas 1995 establishments in Texas 1999 disestablishments in Texas Baseball teams established in 2012 Professional baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams disestablished in 2013 2012 establishments in Texas Defunct independent baseball league teams 2013 disestablishments in Texas