Several different minor league baseball teams were based in

Sherman, Texas Sherman is a U.S. city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas. The city's population in 2020 was 43,645. It is one of the two principal cities in the Sherman–Denison metropolitan statistical area, and it is part of the Texoma region ...

, intermittently for a total of 14 seasons between 1895 and 1952. These teams won one championship, shared; that of the

Texas Association The Texas Association was a sports league of Minor League Baseball, minor league baseball teams in Texas that operated from 1923 through 1926. An earlier league, initially known as the Texas-Southern League, used the same name from mid-1896 throu ...

in 1923. The 14 seasons saw nine different team names used, with only two names used for more than a single season; the Lions (four seasons) and the Twins (three seasons). The 14 seasons were contested in seven different leagues. Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder

Ross Youngs Ross Middlebrook "Pep" Youngs (April 10, 1897 – October 22, 1927) was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Pep", he played ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants from 1917 through 1926, playing right field ...

played for Sherman in 1916.

Teams

Sherman Orphans

The Orphans played only during 1895, as a member of the Class B Texas-Southern League, finishing in fourth place within the eight-team league, with a record of 53–64.

Sherman Students

The Students only played part of the 1896 season, as a member of the Class C Texas-Southern League, compiling a record of 25–27 before disbanding in June. Their spot in the league, and record, were taken over by a team located in

Paris, Texas Paris is a city and county seat of Lamar County, Texas, United States. Located in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods, the population of the city was 24,171 in 2020. History Present-day Lamar County was part of Red River ...

. The league renamed itself as the

in July, and four of its eight teams (including Paris) folded in early August.

Sherman Cubs

The Cubs played only during 1912, as a member of the Class D Texas–Oklahoma League, finishing in third place within the eight-team league, with a record of 56–37; the team was managed by Jimmie Humphries.

Sherman Hitters

The Hitters played only during 1915, as a member of the Class D

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 Weste ...

, finishing in third place within the eight-team league, with a record of 70–65; the team was managed by A. L. "Dad" Ritter.

Sherman Lions

The Lions played during four seasons: 1913, 1914, 1916, and 1921. They competed in the Class D Texas–Oklahoma League in 1913, 1914, and 1921. They were members of the Class D Western Association in 1916. The 1913 team finished fourth of eight teams, with a record of 68–58, managed by Jimmie Humphries. Ed Appleton of Sherman pitched a

no hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher wh ...

on July 6 against the Denison Blue Sox. Pitcher Ben Tincup led the league with 233 strikeouts. The 1914 team disbanded at the end of July, with a record of 30–75; the team had been led by three different managers. The 1916 team finished seventh of eight teams, with a record of 61–76, led by two different managers. The 1921 team finished last in a six-team league, with a record of 48–78, led by two different managers. Pitcher Sam Gray led the league with 237 strikeouts. In addition to Appleton, Gray, and Tincup, Lions players who appeared in the major leagues include Howard Murphy,

Farmer Ray Robert Henry "Farmer" Ray (September 17, 1886 – March 11, 1963) was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Ray played for the St. Louis Browns in the 1910 season. In 21 career games, he had a 4–10 record, with a 3.58 ERA. He batted left and threw ...

, and Hall of Fame inductee

Sherman Browns

The Browns played only during 1917, as a member of the Class D Western Association, finishing in third place within the eight-team league, with a record of 79–73; the team was managed by Leo Hellman. Notable players for the Browns include pitcher Charlie Robertson, who in 1922 would pitch the fifth

perfect game Perfect game may refer to: Sports * Perfect game (baseball), a complete-game win by a pitcher allowing no baserunners * Perfect game (bowling), a 300 game, 12 consecutive strikes in the same game * Perfect Game Collegiate Baseball League, New York ...

in major league history.

Sherman Red Sox

The Red Sox played only during 1922, as a member of the Class D Texas–Oklahoma League, finishing in fifth place within the eight-team league, with a record of 48–60; the team was managed by

Grady Higginbotham Grailey Hewett "Grady" Higginbotham (December 31, 1892 – February 10, 1989) was an American football and baseball player, coach of football, basketball, and baseball, and college athletics administrator. Commonly known as Grady, he was also nickn ...

Sherman Snappers

The Snappers played only during 1929, as a member of the Class D

Lone Star League The Lone Star League was the name of three American minor professional baseball leagues located in the state of Texas during the 20th century. The leagues operated from 1927–1929 (as a Class D circuit), 1947–1948 (Class C) and 1977 (Class A ...

, finishing in third place within the four-team league, with a record of 9–9; the team was managed by Red Snapp. The league disbanded in mid-May when the Texarkana Twins folded.

Sherman Twins

The Twins played during 1923, 1946, and 1952 in the Class D Texas Association, Class C East Texas League, and Class D

Sooner State League The Sooner State League was a Class D (baseball), Class D level minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 in sports, 1947 through 1957 in sports, 1957. The league owners kept it alive in 1958, anticipating a return to play in 1959. Howev ...

, respectively. The 1923 team won the first half of a split season, with the

Austin Rangers Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the seat and largest city of Travis County, with portions extending into Hays and Williamson counties. Incorporated on December 27, 1839, it is the 11th-most-populous city ...

winning the second half; the Twins had an overall record of 72–67 for the entire season, third-best in the six-team league. The Twins and Rangers tied a six-game playoff series, three games each. The Twins had two different managers, one being

player-manager A player-coach (also playing coach, captain-coach, or player-manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. A player-coach may be a head coach or an assistant coach. They may make changes to the s ...

Otto McIvor, who had played in the major leagues in 1911. Longtime minor league outfielder Tom Pyle of the Twins led the league in

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

(.359), runs (94), and hits (199). Pitcher Murray Richburg led the league in strikeouts with 197. The 1946 team finished fifth in an eight-team league, with a 70–70 record under manager

Guy Sturdy Guy R. Sturdy (August 7, 1899 – May 4, 1965) was a professional baseball player. He was a first baseman over parts of two seasons (1927–1928) with the St. Louis Browns. For his career, he compiled a .288 batting average and one home run in ...

, a native of Sherman. The squad had several players who appeared in the major leagues:

Larry Drake Larry Richard Drake (February 21, 1950 – March 17, 2016) was an American actor and comedian. He was best known as Benny Stulwicz in '' L.A. Law'', for which he won two Primetime Emmy Awards. He also appeared as Robert G. Durant in both ''Dark ...

Buck Frierson Robert Lawrence "Buck" Frierson (July 29, 1917 – June 26, 1996) was an outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians. He is most famous for his minor league performance in 1947, when he hit 58 home runs with 197 runs batted in. ...

Pat McLaughlin Pat McLaughlin is a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee. He was raised in Waterloo, Iowa, but moved to San Francisco, California in the early 1970s. There McLaughlin began to write songs, playing alone at open mic nights and in the ...

, Monty Stratton, and John Whitehead. Stratton, who had pitched for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

during 1934–1938, was notable for having an

artificial leg In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...

, the result of a hunting accident following the 1938 season. The 1952 team finished fifth in an eight-team league with a record of 72–68. A 6–1 loss to the Shawnee Hawks on the final day of the regular season resulted in Sherman missing the league's four-team postseason by a single game. The Twins were led by player-manager Bennie Warren, who had played six seasons in the major leagues as a

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 ( home) umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. In addition to this primary duty, the ca ...

. Note that another team, also known as the Twins, based jointly in Sherman and nearby Denison, competed from 1947 to 1951 and again in 1953.

Results by season

Notes: * In 1896, the team disbanded on June 10. * In 1914, the team disbanded on July 30. * In 1923, the team won the first-half of a split season, and were league co-champions. * In 1929, the league disbanded on May 16.