The Corpus Christi Seagulls were a minor league baseball team based in

Corpus Christi, Texas Corpus Christi (; Ecclesiastical Latin: "'' Body of Christ"'') is a coastal city in the South Texas region of the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat and largest city of Nueces County, it also extends into Aransas, Kleberg, and San Patrici ...

in 1976 and 1977. The Seagulls played as members of the Class A level

Gulf States League The Gulf States League was a Class A level American minor baseball league that existed for one season — — and was based in the American states of Texas and Louisiana. History Although its teams were not affiliated with any Major League Bas ...

in 1976 and

Lone Star League The Lone Star League was the name of three American minor professional baseball leagues located in the state of Texas during the 20th century. The leagues operated from 1927–1929 (as a Class D circuit), 1947–1948 (Class C) and 1977 (Class A ...

in 1977, winning the league championship in both seasons under player/manager

Leo Mazzone Leo David Mazzone (born October 16, 1948) is a former pitcher in minor league baseball and pitching coach in Major League Baseball. He worked with the Atlanta Braves' organization from to and was the pitching coach for the Baltimore Orioles fr ...

. The Seagulls hosted minor league home games at Cabaniss Field.

History

The first minor league team based in Corpus Christi was the 1910 Corpus Christi Pelicans, who played as charter members of the

Southwest Texas League The Southwest Texas League was a minor league baseball league that played in the 1910 and 1911 seasons. The Southwest Texas League played as a six–team Class D level league and consisted of teams based exclusively in Texas. History The Southwe ...

. The Seagulls were preceded by the 1959 Corpus Christi Giants of the

Texas League 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 ...

. In 1976, local advertising businessman Terry Ferrell led a successful effort to place a minor league team in Corpus Christi. Ferrell gained approval from the Corpus Christi Independent School District school board to obtain a lease of Cabaniss Field. The ballpark required upgrades to meet minor league requirements and the team spent approximately $20,000 on improvements to the ballpark, adding box seats, an eight–foot wooden fence, with upgrades to the press box and concession areas. Seats were painted in the Seagulls' selected team color, bright aqua. In 1976, the Corpus Christi Seagulls began play as charter members of the Class A level

, which formed as a six–team league. The Baton Rouge Cougars, Beeville Bees, Rio Grande Valley White Wings, Seguin Toros and Victoria Cowboys joined the Seagulls in beginning league play on June 1, 1976. On June 3, 1976, the Seagulls hosted their first home game at Cabaniss Field. With 5,000 in attendance, Corpus Christi defeated the Rio Grande Valley White Wings by the score of 12–8. In their first season of play, the Corpus Christi Seagulls won both the Gulf States League pennant and championship. Managed by

, the Seagulls ended the 1976 season with a record of 50–27, placing first in the regular season standings, finishing 2.5 games ahead of the second place Baton Rouge Cougars. In the playoff Finals, Corpus Christi swept the Seguin Toros in three games to win the championship. The Seagulls scored 556 total runs, most in the league. The Gulf Coast League evolved into the

in 1977, with the Corpus Christi Seagulls continuing play at Cabaniss Field, playing again under returning manager Leo Mazzone. Joining Corpus Christi in the new league were the Beeville Blazers, Harlingen Suns, McAllen Dusters,

Texas City Stars Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

and

Victoria Rosebuds , league = Lone Star League (1977) , conference = , division = , past league = {{plainlist, * Gulf States League (1976) *Texas League (1958–1961) *Big State League (1956–1957) *Gulf Coast League (1926) * Southwest Texas League (1910–19 ...

, with play beginning on June 10, 1977. The Corpus Christi Seagulls repeated their championship and won the 1977 Lone Star League championship in their final season of play. The Seagulls again placed first in the final standings, ending the 1977 regular season with 53–27 record. Corpus Christi finished 12.0 games ahead of the second place Harlingen Suns.The Seagulls led the league with 533 runs scored and allowed 402 runs, least in the league. The potential 1977 Lone Star League playoffs were cancelled due to the threat of the approaching

Hurricane Anita Hurricane Anita was a powerful Atlantic hurricane during the otherwise quiet 1977 Atlantic hurricane season, and the latest first named storm on record since tropical cyclones were first named in 1950. The first tropical cyclone of the season, ...

, allowing Corpus Christi to claim the championship. The Seagulls were unable to defend their championships when the Lone Star League permanently folded following the 1977 season. Corpus Christi was without minor league baseball until the 1994 Corpus Christi Barracudas began play as members of the independent

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 ...

The ballpark

In both 1976 and 1977, the Corpus Christi Seagulls hosted minor league games at Cabaniss Field. Today, the ballpark remains home to Corpus Christi Independent School District baseball teams.

Timeline

Year–by–year record

Notable alumni

(1976–1977, MGR)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Corpus Christi - Baseball Reference
br

Defunct minor league baseball teams Corpus Christi, Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams established in 1976 Baseball teams disestablished in 1977 Professional baseball teams in Texas Gulf States League teams 1976 establishments in Texas 1977 disestablishments in Texas