The Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs were an American

minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...

team in 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 ...

from 1965–1971.Franchise History since 1902
at texas-league.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 The team played in

Turnpike Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home of the Texas Rangers (baseball), Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 unt ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

.The History of Baseball in Fort Worth
at fwcats.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 The Spurs were created when the Triple-A

Dallas Rangers The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas, from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960 to 1963. It played i ...

moved to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

.Pacific Coast League (AAA) Encyclopedia and History
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009
Archived
12/30/09 With the opening of Turnpike Stadium, the Double-A Texas League's

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseba ...

, an affiliate of the

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

, moved into the new venue and adopted the regional Dallas-Fort Worth designation and the Spurs nickname. The Spurs were affiliated with the Cubs (1965–1967),

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

(1968) and

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles (also known as the O's) are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East Division. As one of the America ...

(1969–1971).1969 Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/091971 Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs
at baseball-reference.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 As a Cubs' affiliate, the Spurs groomed future Major League players

Don Kessinger Donald Eulon Kessinger (born July 17, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from to , most prominently as a member of the Chicago Cubs, where he was a six-time Al ...

Chuck Hartenstein Charles Oscar Hartenstein (May 26, 1942 – October 2, 2021) was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five different teams between the 1966 and 1977 seasons. Listed at , , Hartenstein bat ...

Joe Niekro Joseph Franklin Niekro ( ; November 7, 1944 – October 27, 2006) was an American professional baseball pitcher. During a 22-year baseball career, he pitched from 1967 to 1988 for seven different teams, primarily for the Houston Astros. He was ...

, Fred Norman and

Bill Stoneman William Hambly Stoneman III (born April 7, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player and executive who, during his eight-year (–) pitching career in Major League Baseball, threw two no-hitters; then, as general manager of the A ...

. The club's one season in the Houston organization was lean in terms of prospects, with Fred Stanley and

Danny Walton Daniel James Walton (July 14, 1947 – August 9, 2017) was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. Walton attended Bishop Amat Memorial High School, and was selected in the 10th round (192nd overall) of the 1965 MLB draft by the Houston As ...

enjoying the longest big-league careers. During their affiliation with Baltimore, the Spurs featured

Don Baylor Don Edward Baylor (June 28, 1949 – August 7, 2017), nicknamed "Groove," was an American professional baseball player, coach and manager. During his 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), Baylor was a power hitter known for standing very clo ...

Bobby Grich Robert Anthony Grich (born January 15, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles (–) and the California Angels (–). In 1981, Grich led the ...

Enos Cabell Enos Milton Cabell (pronounced ), (born October 8, 1949) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a first baseman and third baseman from 1972 to 1986, most prominently as a member of the Hous ...

and

Wayne Garland Marcus Wayne Garland (born October 26, 1950) is a retired American professional baseball player. A right-hander, he pitched in the major leagues for nine seasons from 1973 to 1981 for the Baltimore Orioles (1973–1976) and Cleveland Indians ...

, along with

managers Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administr ...

Cal Ripken Sr. and

Joe Altobelli Joseph Salvatore Altobelli (May 26, 1932 – March 3, 2021) was an American professional baseball first baseman and outfielder who played for the Cleveland Indians and Minnesota Twins of Major League Baseball. He was also a manager for the San F ...

and batboy

Cal Ripken Jr. Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed "the Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played his entire 21-season career in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). ...

The Spurs set many Texas League attendance records, especially after Turnpike Stadium expanded to a capacity of 20,500 in 1970.A look at historic stadiums in Dallas-Fort Worth area
at pe.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 The Dallas-Fort Worth area was considered a prime location for an expansion team or a re-located franchise. Indeed, Turnpike Stadium had been built specifically to attract a major-league team to the Metroplex. That dream nearly came to fruition when the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

expanded in

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

. But the league instead expanded to

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, with the

Expos The Montreal Expos () were a Canadian professional baseball team based in Montreal. The Expos were the first Major League Baseball (MLB) franchise located outside the United States. They played in the National League (baseball), National League ...

.The Team That Nearly Wasn’t: The Montreal Expos
by Maury Brown at hardballtimes.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 Two years later, the struggling Washington Senators received

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

permission to transfer to the area in

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

as the Texas Rangers,Historical Moments
at sportsencyclopedia.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09 who moved into Turnpike Stadium (expanded and renamed

Arlington Stadium Arlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home of the Texas Rangers of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1972 until 1993, after which the ...

).Arlington Stadium
at ballparks.com, URL accessed December 30, 2009. 12/30/09

Yearly record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Texas Defunct Texas League teams Houston Astros minor league affiliates Sports in Arlington, Texas 20th century in Arlington, Texas Baseball teams in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex Baseball teams disestablished in 1971 Baseball teams established in 1965