The Rio Grande Valley League was a minor league baseball league, with franchises based exclusively in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. The Rio Grande Valley League had two incarnations, playing in 1931 and 1949 to 1950.

History

In 1931, the league initially featured the Corpus Christi Seahawks of Corpus Christi, the Harlingen Ladds of Harlingen, the McAllen Palms of

McAllen McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

and the San Benito Saints of San Benito. Corpus Christi moved to

La Feria LA most frequently refers to Los Angeles, the second largest city in the United States. La, LA, or L.A. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * La (musical note), or A, the sixth note * "L.A.", a song by Elliott Smith on ''Figur ...

to become the La Feria Nighthawks in June. The league disbanded on July 30. McAllen finished in first place with a 55–37 record; they also won the league playoff against La Feria 3 games to 0.

Johnny Rizzo John Costa Rizzo (July 30, 1912 – December 4, 1977) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1938 to 1942. Rizzo set the Pittsburgh Pirates record for most home runs in a season, with 23 in his rookie year of 1938. , Rizzo sti ...

, who played in the major leagues from 1938 to 1942, played for Corpus Christi/La Feria.

Tex Covington William Wilkes Covington (March 19, 1887 – December 10, 1931) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Detroit Tigers.Class D level circuit in 1949, featuring the Donna Cardinals of

Donna Donna may refer to the short form of the honorific ''nobildonna'', the female form of Don (honorific) in Italian. People *Donna (given name); includes name origin and list of people and characters with the name * Roberto Di Donna (born 1968), Ita ...

, the Corpus Christi Aces, the

Laredo Apaches The Laredo Apaches were a minor league baseball team from Laredo, Texas that existed in two different incarnations: 1949-53 and again in 1995. History The original Apaches were one of the six charter franchises of the Class D Rio Grande Valley Lea ...

of Laredo, the Brownsville Charros of Brownsville, the McAllen Giants and the

Del Rio Cowboys The Del Rio Cowboys were a Longhorn League (1948) and Rio Grande Valley League (1949-1950) baseball team based in Del Rio, Texas, United States. Dick Midkiff and Sam Harshaney played for them. In 1954, the Bryan Indians of the Big State League ...

of Del Rio. On June 6, Donna moved to Robstown to become the Robstown Cardinals. Charlie Engle managed Donna/Robstown for part of the season. Corpus Christi finished first in the standings and faced McAllen in the postseason, winning 4 games to 0. Brownsville matched against Laredo and won 4 games to 2. In the finals, Corpus Christi beat Brownsville 4 games to 0. In 1950, the league became a Class C level circuit. Laredo, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Del Rio returned from 1949. Robstown became the Robstown Rebels. Donna and

Weslaco Weslaco is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 41,103, and in 2020 the estimated population was 41,103. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexi ...

featured the Donna-Weslaco Twins. Harlingen featured the

Harlingen Capitals Harlingen may mean: * Harlingen, Netherlands, a municipality and city in the province of Friesland in the Netherlands * Harlingen, Texas, a city in the United States * Harlingen, New Jersey Harlingen is an unincorporated community and census-d ...

. On May 4, Donna-Weslaco disbanded; Robstown did the same on May 13. The playoffs had first-place finisher Harlingen beating Brownsville 4 games to 2. and Corpus Christi beating Laredo 4 games to 1. In the finals, Corpus Christi beat Harlingen 4 games to 1. Notably,

Sam Harshaney Samuel Harshany (April 24, 1910 – February 1, 2001) was a Major League Baseball catcher Catcher is a position in baseball and softball. When a batter takes their turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the ( hom ...

managed Harlingen, Leonardo Alanís and Jack Smith managed Laredo, John Davis managed Corpus Christi and

Fabian Kowalik Fabian Lorenz Kowalik (April 22, 1908 – August 14, 1954), was a professional baseball pitcher. He played in the Major League Baseball from 1932 to 1936 for the Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Boston Bees. Kowalik ...

managed Robstown.

Monty Stratton Monty Franklin Pierce Stratton (May 21, 1912 – September 29, 1982) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was born in Palacios, Texas (some sources state Wagner, Texas) and lived in Greenville, Texas, for part of his life. ...

, Joe Koppe,

Dick Midkiff Richard James Midkiff (September 9, 1914 – October 30, 1956) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He pitched in thirteen games for the Boston Red Sox in 1938, receiving two decisions (one win and one loss). He also pitched for Boston's Americ ...

and

Vicente Amor Vicente Amor Álvarez (born August 8, 1932) is a Cuban former professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (1955 for the Chicago Cubs and 1957 for the Cincinnati Redlegs). Born in ...

played in the league that year.

Cities represented

Brownsville, TX Brownsville () is a city in Cameron County in the U.S. state of Texas. It is on the western Gulf Coast in South Texas, adjacent to the border with Matamoros, Mexico. The city covers , and has a population of 186,738 as of the 2020 census. It ...

: Brownsville Charros 1949–1950 *

Corpus Christi, TX 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 Patricio ...

: Corpus Christi Seahawks 1931; Corpus Christi Aces 1949–1950 *

Del Rio, TX Del Rio is a city and the county seat of Val Verde County in southwestern Texas, United States. The city is 152 miles west of San Antonio. As of 2020, Del Rio had a population of 34,673. History The Spanish established a small settlement south o ...

1949–1950 *

Donna, TX Donna is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. The population was 16,797 at the 2020 census. History Donna is in southeastern Hidalgo County, east of McAllen, in territory that was granted to Lino Cabazos as part of the La Blanca la ...

: Donna Cardinals 1949 *

–

Weslaco, TX Weslaco is a city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 41,103, and in 2020 the estimated population was 41,103. It is located at the southern tip of Texas in the Rio Grande Valley near the Mexic ...

: Donna-Weslaco Twins 1950 * Harlingen, TX: Harlingen Ladds 1931; Harlingen Capitols 1950 * La Feria, TX: La Feria Nighthawks 1931 *

Laredo, TX Laredo ( ; ) is a city in and the county seat of Webb County, Texas, United States, on the north bank of the Rio Grande in South Texas, across from Nuevo Laredo, Tamaulipas, Mexico. Laredo has the distinction of flying seven flags (the flag of th ...

1949–1950 *

McAllen, TX McAllen is the largest city in Hidalgo County, Texas, United States, and the 22nd-most populous city in Texas. It is located at the southern tip of the state in the Rio Grande Valley, on the Mexico–United States border. The city limits extend ...

: McAllen Palms 1931; McAllen Giants 1949–1950 * Robstown, TX: Robstown Cardinals 1949; Robstown Rebels 1950 * San Benito, TX: San Benito Saints 1931

Standings & statistics

1931 Rio Grande Valley League

schedule
Corpus Christi (20–23) moved to La Feria June 5. La Feria played its home games at Harlingen.
The league disbanded July 30.
Playoff: McAllen 3 games, La Feria 0.

1949 Rio Grande Valley League

schedule
Donna moved to Robstown June 6.
Playoffs: Corpus Christi 4 games, McAllen 0; Brownsville 4 games, Laredo 2.
Finals: Corpus Christi 4 games, Brownsville 0.

1950 Rio Grande Valley League

schedule
Donna-Weslaco disbanded May 4; Robstown disbanded May 13.
Playoffs: Harlingen 4 games, Brownsville 2; Corpus Christi 4 games, Laredo 1.
Finals: Corpus Christi 4 games, Harlingen 1.

References

*''The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball'': Second and Third Editions {{reflist Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Texas