The Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings was a professional baseball team based in

Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern part of the U.S. state of Texas, about from the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. The city covers more than and is the second-largest city in ...

, in the United States. The WhiteWings was a member of

United League Baseball United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. The league operated from 2006 to 2009. The league then temporarily merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American Leagu ...

, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

or Minor League Baseball. From the 1994 season to 2014, the WhiteWings played its home games at

Harlingen Field Harlingen Field (also known as Harlingen Municipal Stadium, Lon Hill Ballpark, or Giants Field) is a baseball park in Harlingen, Texas Harlingen ( ) is a city in Cameron County in the central region of the Rio Grande Valley of the southern pa ...

History

Baseball in the region of the

Rio Grande Valley The Lower Rio Grande Valley ( es, Valle del Río Grande), commonly known as the Rio Grande Valley or locally as the Valley or RGV, is a region spanning the border of Texas and Mexico located in a floodplain of the Rio Grande near its mouth. The ...

had been played before in the

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 ...

(Class A ball), which lasted one season (1976) with six teams, one of which played in

by the name of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings. Eighteen years later, the

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 ...

was formed, done on the frustrations of Dallas businessman Byron Pierce and U.S. Congressman John Bryant 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 ...

not having plans for expansion. The Rio Grande Valley would receive a team as a charter member, which was called the WhiteWings and play at

, which had dimensions of 310' for the corners and 380' in center field for a crowd of 4,000. The WhiteWings won the Texas–Louisiana League Championship in 2000, upsetting the

San Angelo Colts The San Angelo Colts were a professional baseball team based in San Angelo, Texas, in the United States. The Colts were most recently a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which was not affiliated with Major Leagu ...

and

Amarillo Dillas The Amarillo Dillas were a professional baseball team based in Amarillo, Texas, in the United States. The Dillas were a member of United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball or Mi ...

to win the pennant under manager Eddie Dennis (two years later, the league rebranded as the Central Baseball League). After falling on hard times, the WhiteWings suspended operations in 2003. In late

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

announced that the WhiteWings would resume play as the first charter member of the new league in

2006 File:2006 Events Collage V1.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin; Twitter is founded and launched by Jack Dorsey; The Nintendo Wii is released; Montenegro 2006 Montenegrin independence referendum, votes to declare ...

. They played the 2006 and 2007 seasons before deciding to rebrand in 2008. That year, they rebranded as the ''Harlingen WhiteWings''. After three seasons, they changed the name back to the ''Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings'', announcing it as such in May 2009. In 2011 and 2012, the WhiteWings played in the North American League, where they made the playoffs twice. They returned to the ULB in 2013 and played two season, winning the championship in 2014, their final season. The team announced in 2015 that it was shutting down and would not a field a team for the upcoming season.

Season-by-season record

All-Stars

Players

Past managers

Alan Ashby Alan Dean Ashby (born July 8, 1951) is an American former professional baseball catcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) and current radio and television sports commentator. A switch hitter, he played for the Cleveland Indians, Toronto Blue Jays, ...

(1994–1995) *

John Pacella John Lewis Pacella (born September 15, 1956) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He became known for his unusual delivery that sometimes caused him to lose his cap after a pitch. Background Born in Brooklyn, New York, Pacella mov ...

(1996) * Mike Brumley (1997) * George Scott (2001) * "Dirty"

Al Gallagher Alan Mitchell Edward George Patrick Henry Gallagher (October 19, 1945 – December 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball player who played four seasons for the San Francisco Giants and California Angels of Major League Baseball. He play ...

(2008) * Eduardo "Eddie" Dennis (1998–2000, 2006–07, 2009 – 2010)

References

External links

WhiteWings website

United League Baseball website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rio Grande Valley Whitewings North American League teams United League Baseball teams Harlingen, Texas Sports in the Rio Grande Valley Professional baseball teams in Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas 1994 establishments in Texas Baseball teams established in 1994 2015 disestablishments in Texas Baseball teams disestablished in 2015 Defunct independent baseball league teams