The city of

Denison, Texas Denison is a city in Grayson County, Texas, Grayson County, Texas, United States. It is south of the Texas–Oklahoma border. The population was 22,682 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. Denison is part of the Texoma region and is one ...

, hosted a franchise in minor league baseball that competed in the

Texas–Oklahoma League The Texas–Oklahoma League was a Minor League Baseball Class-D circuit that operated between and . The league formed twice, the first began in 1911 and finished in 1914, while the second was active in 1921 and 1922. League franchises were based ...

for three seasons, under the names Denison Katydids, Denison Blue Sox and Denison Champions. They competed as the Katydids in 1912, as the Blue Sox in 1913, and as the Champions in 1914. Starting in 1915, the city of Denison would host a team in the

Western Association The Western Association was the name of five different leagues formed in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries. The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western ...

, the Denison Railroaders. The Katydids of 1912 had at least one player who went on to compete in the major leagues, pitcher

Jim Haislip James Clifton Haislip (August 4, 1891 – January 26, 1970) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Haislip played for the Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They com ...

. Records for the team are largely incomplete. Horace H. Covington, brother of

Tex Covington William Wilkes Covington (March 19, 1887 – December 10, 1931) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Detroit Tigers.Sam Covington Clarence Calvert "Sam" Covington (November 18, 1894 – January 4, 1963) was a professional baseball player. He was a first baseman in parts of three seasons (1913, 1917–18) with the St. Louis Browns and Boston Braves. For his career, he comp ...

, managed the team. The Blue Sox of 1913 had at least two players who went on to compete in the major leagues; Haislip and first baseman Sam Covington. Pitcher Rick Adams had played in the major leagues in 1905. The Blue Sox were managed by Babe Peebles, who would continue to manage teams in Denison through 1917. The Champions of 1914 had several past or future major league players: pitchers Adams, Haislip, and

Walt Kinney Walter William Kinney (September 9, 1893 – July 1, 1971) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox (1918) and Philadelphia Athletics (1919–20, 1923). Kinney batted and threw left-handed. He was born in Deniso ...

, along with position players Fred Nicholson and

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

inductee Rogers Hornsby.

References

{{reflist, 30em Grayson County, Texas 1912 establishments in Texas 1914 disestablishments in Texas Baseball teams established in 1912 Baseball teams disestablished in 1914 Defunct baseball teams in Texas Professional baseball teams in Texas Defunct minor league baseball teams Texas–Oklahoma League teams