The Corpus Christi Clippers was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Corpus Christi, Texas between 1910 and 1959. Corpus Christi teams played as members of the Southwest Texas League (1910–1911),

Gulf Coast League The Florida Complex League (FCL) is a rookie-level Minor League Baseball league that operates in Florida, United States. Before 2021, it was known as the Gulf Coast League (GCL). Together with the Arizona Complex League (ACL), it forms the l ...

(1926), Texas Valley League (1927–1928),

Rio Grande Valley League The Rio Grande Valley League was a minor league baseball league, with franchises based exclusively in Texas. The Rio Grande Valley League had two incarnations, playing in 1931 and 1949 to 1950. History In 1931, the league initially featured th ...

(1931), Texas Valley League (1938),

(1949–1950),

(1951–1953),

Big State League The Big State League was a mid-level, Class B level circuit in American minor league baseball that played for 11 seasons, from 1947 through 1957. Its member clubs were exclusively based in Texas. The Corpus Christi Clippers (1955-1956), Texark ...

(1954–1957), Rio Grande Valley League (1949–1950) and

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 ...

(1958–1959). Corpus Christi played as minor league affiliates of the

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 p ...

in 1938, Milwaukee Braves from 1954 to 1956, Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957 and

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Y ...

from 1958 to 1959. The Corpus Christi Clippers and Aces preceded the

Corpus Christi Seagulls The Corpus Christi Seagulls were a minor league baseball team based in Corpus Christi, Texas in 1976 and 1977. The Seagulls played as members of the Class A level Gulf States League in 1976 and Lone Star League in 1977, winning the league champ ...

of 1976 and today,s

Corpus Christi Hooks The Corpus Christi Hooks are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team is owned by ...

of the Texas League.

History

Early Corpus Christi teams played in various leagues under differing monikers. 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 in 1910 and 1911. The Corpus Christi Seahawks were members of the

in 1926, Texas Valley League in 1927 and 1928 and

in 1931. The Corpus Christi Spudders played in the 1938 Texas Valley League. The 1927 Corpus Christi Seahawks won the 1927 Texas Valley League championship. The Seahawks were managed by Jim Payton in the Class D level league. The Seahawks finished 1st in the regular season standings with a 63–56 record in the four–team league. Corpus Christi then defeated the Laredo Oilers 3 games to 0 in the finals. The Corpus Christi Aces played in the Class D level

in 1949 and 1950. The Aces joined the Class B level

from 1951 to 1953, before changing their moniker to "Clippers" for the 1954 season. Texas businessman, George Schepps, was the owner of both the Aces and Clippers. The Corpus Christi Clippers were affiliates of the Milwaukee Braves (1954–1956) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1957). In their four seasons of play, the Corpus Christi Clippers finished with records of 87–60, 93–48, 83–57 and 69–58 (1954–1957). The Clippers captured the 1955 Big State League Championship and made the Big State Finals the other three seasons. The Clippers had home attendance totals of 97,255; 102,788; 112,625 and 56,871 in their four seasons. The Big State League permanently folded after the 1957 season. In 1958, the

Oklahoma City Indians The Oklahoma City Indians was the primary name of an American professional baseball team representing Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, from 1904 though 1957, except for 1913 and three seasons during World War II. The team played in several different minor ...

of the Class AA

moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. The new Corpus Christi franchise became a minor league affiliate of the

and began play in 1958 as the Corpus Christi Giants. The 1958 Corpus Christi Giants won the Texas League Championship. The Giants finished the regular season with a 77–75 record. They were 3rd in the Texas League under Manager Ray Murray. In the 1958 Texas League Playoffs, Corpus Christi defeated the Houston Buffalos 4 games to 1. In the Finals, the Corpus Christi Giants defeated the

Austin Senators The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888–1890, 1905, ...

4 games to 1 to capture the championship. Playing at Schepps Palms, Corpus Christi had season attendance of 87,774, an average of 1,155 per game. Baseball Hall of Fame member

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a right-handed pitcher for eight different teams from 1962 to 1983. During a 22-year baseb ...

played for the 1959 Corpus Christi Giants. Perry was 10–11 with a 4.05 ERA at age 20. In 1959, the Corpus Christi Giants finished 66–79. They placed 6th in the Texas League, playing under manager Ray Murray. Corpus Christi had season attendance of 61,501, an average of 848. After the season, Corpus Christi relocated to Harlingen, Texas and became the

Rio Grande Valley Giants The Rio Grande Valley Giants was an American minor league baseball franchise in the Double-A Texas League located in Harlingen, Texas, that played from the beginning of the 1960 season through June 10, 1961. As its nickname implies, the team was a ...

. Corpus Christi next hosted minor league baseball when the 1976

began play as members of the Class A level

The ballparks

The Corpus Christi Seahawks hosted 1926 and 1927 home minor league games at Kleberg Park. The ballpark was named for its builder and owner

Richard M. Kleberg Richard Mifflin Kleberg Sr. (November 18, 1887 – May 8, 1955), a Democrat, was a seven-term member of the United States House of Representatives from Texas's 14th congressional district over the period 1931–1945 and an heir to the King Ranch i ...

. In 1931 and 1938, Corpus Christi played home games at League Park. Corpus Christi teams played at Schepps Palm Field from 1949–1959. Named after owner George Schepps, the ballpark was torn down in 1960 after the departure of the Corpus Christi Giants. Schepps Palm Field was located near Old Brownsville Road, Highway 44 and Baldwin Boulevard. The approximate address of the site today is 4242 Baldwin Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas 78405.

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

(1959) Inducted, 1991

Notable alumni

* Ernie Bowman (1959) * Earl Caldwell (1954) *

Ed Charles Edwin Douglas Charles (April 29, 1933 – March 15, 2018) was an American professional baseball third baseman in Major League Baseball. A right-handed hitter, Charles played for the Kansas City Athletics (1962–67) and New York Mets (1967–69). ...

(1955) * Charlie Dees (1959) * Eddie Fisher (1958) * John Fitzgerald (1959) * Bill Froats (1958) * Frank Funk (1958) * Rudy Hernandez (1958) * Joe Koppe (1952) *

Dick Lemay Richard Paul LeMay (August 28, 1938 – March 19, 2018) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, LeMay appeared in parts of three Major League Baseball seasons (1961–63), but had a long career in minor league basebal ...

(1959) *

Don Leppert Donald George Leppert (born October 19, 1931) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. A catcher, he appeared in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1964 for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Washington Senators. Leppert ...

(1955) MLB All-Star *

Ray Murray Raymond Lee Murray (October 12, 1917 – April 9, 2003) was an American professional baseball player and manager. A catcher, he appeared in 250 games played over all or parts of six seasons for the Cleveland Indians (1948; 1950–1951), Philade ...

(1958–1959, MGR) * Stan Palys (1959) * Al Papai (1958) *

Leo Posada Leopoldo Jesús Posada Hernández Jr. (April 1, 1936 – June 23, 2022) was a Cuban baseball player. He played for the Kansas City Athletics of Major League Baseball from 1960 through 1962. After his retirement as a player, Posada served as a ...

(1955–1956) * Eric Rodin (1958-1959) *

Kyle Rote William Kyle Rote, Sr. (October 27, 1928 – August 15, 2002) was an American football player, a running back and receiver for eleven years in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Giants. He was an All-American running back at S ...

(1951) NFL player; College Football Hall of Fame *

Connie Ryan Cornelius Joseph Ryan (February 27, 1920 – January 3, 1996) was an American professional baseball second baseman, third baseman, coach and manager who served as interim manager of two Major League Baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves and the ...

(1955) MLB All-Star * Sibby Sisti (1956) * Bert Thiel (1959) * Verle Tiefenthaler (1959) * Jay Van Noy (1958) * Johnny Weekly (1959) *

Spider Wilhelm Charles Ernest "Spider" Wilhelm (May 23, 1929 – October 20, 1992) was an American professional baseball player who played in seven games for the Philadelphia Athletics during the season. He also played professionally in Cuba. He was born i ...

(1958) * Neil Wilson (1959) * Roy Wright (1959)

External links

Baseball Reference

References

{{reflist, 2 Defunct minor league baseball teams Corpus Christi, Texas Atlanta Braves minor league affiliates Pittsburgh Pirates minor league affiliates Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Defunct Big State League teams Defunct Florida Complex League teams Defunct baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams established in 1949 Baseball teams disestablished in 1957 Professional baseball teams in Texas 1949 establishments in Texas 1957 disestablishments in Texas

History

The ballparks

Notable alumni

Baseball Hall of Fame alumni

Notable alumni

See also

External links

References