The Ballinger Cats were a

Longhorn League The Longhorn League was the name of a Minor league baseball circuit that operated from through in the Southwestern United States. In , it was renamed the Southwestern League and operated through before changing its name to the Sophomore Leag ...

baseball team based in

Ballinger, Texas Ballinger ( ) is a city in Runnels County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,767 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Runnels County. Downtown Ballinger features historic 1800s buildings with shops and restaurants. Geography Ba ...

, United States that played from 1947 to 1950. They were affiliated with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in 1948. As well, they played their home games at Ballinger Rec. Park that season. In their first year of existence, 1947, they won the league championship under manager Stuart Williams. Multiple major league players spent time either playing and/or managing for the team, including

Bill Atwood William Franklin Atwood (September 25, 1911 - September 14, 1993) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher for the Philadelphia Phillies from 1936 to 1940. Atwood was born in Rome, Georg ...

, Lindsay Brown,

Charlie English Charles Dewie English (April 8, 1910 – June 25, 1999) was a third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compe ...

Buddy Hancken Morris Medlock "Buddy" Hancken (August 30, 1914 – February 15, 2007) was an American catcher in Major League Baseball who played during the 1940 season. Hancken batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Birmingham, Alabama. Hancken spent sev ...

Roy McMillan Roy is a masculine given name and a family surname with varied origin. In Anglo-Norman England, the name derived from the Norman ''roy'', meaning "king", while its Old French cognate, ''rey'' or ''roy'' (modern ''roi''), likewise gave rise t ...

and 46-year-old

George Milstead George Earl Milstead (June 26, 1903 – August 9, 1977) was a professional baseball pitcher. A left-hander, he played three seasons in Major League Baseball from 1924 to 1926 with the Chicago Cubs of the National League. He pitched in 36 games du ...

.George Milstead minor league statistics
/ref> Ballinger was home of minor league baseball teams from the 1920s to its disbandment in the late 1950s. The Ballinger Browns were affiliated with the bygone

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they ...

in the 1930s and early 1940s. Today, the Ballinger Cats name is back but they are members of the

Central Texas Collegiate League Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known a ...

, a woodbat summer league of collegiate level players.

References

Baseball teams established in 1947 Baseball teams disestablished in 1950 Defunct minor league baseball teams 1947 establishments in Texas 1950 disestablishments in Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas Longhorn League teams {{Texas-baseball-team-stub