The Taft Cardinals were a minor league baseball franchise based in

Taft, Texas Taft is a city in San Patricio County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,048 at the 2010 census. History Taft, often called the "Friendliest Cotton-Pickin' Town in Texas", is not only rich in cotton, but also gas and oil resources. Taft ...

. In 1938, the Cardinals played as members of the Class D level

Texas Valley League The Texas Valley League was a minor league baseball league that played in three different periods. The league was an Independent league from 1901 to 1908 and a Class D level league from 1927 to 1928 and in 1938. In every season of play, the Texas ...

in their only season of minor league play, qualifying for the playoffs. Taft hosted home minor league games at the

Taft High School Taft School or Taft High School may refer to: * Taft School in Watertown, Connecticut, founded by Horace Dutton Taft, William Howard Taft's brother Schools named after William Howard Taft: * William Howard Taft High School (Los Angeles) * William ...

Field.

History

The Taft Cardinals began minor league play in the 1938

. After a nine-season hiatus, the 1938 Texas Valley League reformed as a six–team Class D level league, with the Brownsville Charros, Corpus Christi Spudders,

Harlingen Hubs 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 ...

McAllen Packers The McAllen Packers were a minor league baseball franchise based in McAllen, Texas. In 1938, the Packers played as members of the Class D level Texas Valley League, hosting home games at Legion Park. History The Packers were preceded by the 1931 ...

and Refugio Oilers joining Taft as the league members. In their opening game, Taft was defeated by the Brownsville Charros by the score of 8–5. After beginning league play on April 14, 1938, the Cardinals finished the season in 3rd place, qualifying for the Texas Valley League playoffs, in their only season of play. Taft finished the 1938 regular season with a record of 68–67, playing under managers Leroy "Cowboy" Jones and John Morrow. Taft finished 23.5 games behind the first place Corpus Christi Spudders in the final regular season standings. In the 1938 playoffs, the Cardinals lost in first round, as the Harlingen Hubs swept Taft in three games. Future major league players made an impact for Taft, as

Jack Creel Jack Dalton Creel (April 23, 1916 – August 13, 2002), nicknamed "Tex", was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1945. The 29-year-old rookie right-hander was a native of Kyle, Texas. Creel is one of many bal ...

led Taft with a 15–7 record and

Fats Dantonio John James "Fats" Dantonio (December 31, 1918 – May 28, 1993) was a Major League Baseball catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1944 and 1945. "Fats" was tall and weighed only 165 pounds. Dantonio is one of many ballplayers who only appeared i ...

hit .324 in 349 at bats for the 1938 Cardinals. Following the 1938 season, the Texas Valley League permanently folded. Taft, Texas has not hosted another minor league team. TXMap-doton-Taft

St. Louis Cardinals non–affiliation

While the 1938 Taft Cardinals franchise is not referenced as being an official affiliate of the

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals hav ...

, the Taft roster was filled almost exclusively with St. Louis Cardinals' affiliate players and the franchise used the corresponding moniker. On March 23, 1938, the St. Louis Cardinals were fined for having multiple minor league team affiliates in certain leagues and 74 Cardinal minor league players were declared free agents in the ruling by baseball commissioner

Kenesaw Mountain Landis Kenesaw Mountain Landis (; November 20, 1866 – November 25, 1944) was an American jurist who served as a United States federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death. He is remembered for his h ...

. The Cardinals and minor league teams involved were also fined for not notifying Landis of existing "working agreements". Taft player Jack Creel was future St Louis Cardinals player and was channeled in 1939 with Fats Dantonio from Taft to the St. Louis Cardinals' affiliate

New Iberia Cardinals The New Iberia Cardinals were an Evangeline League baseball team that played under various names from 1934 to 1956. From 1934 to 1942, 1946 to 1947, in 1949 and in 1953, they were known as the New Iberia Cardinals. They were based in New Iberia, L ...

. Taft Cardinals player Charles Flash played for St. Louis Cardinals' affiliates in both 1937 and 1939 and numerous other Taft teammates had played for 1937 Cardinals' affiliates before joining the Taft roster. Nearly all other 1938 Taft Cardinal players who continued to play minor league baseball in 1939, continued their careers with 1939 St. Louis Cardinals' affiliate teams. Manager John Morrow went on to manage the

Johnson City Cardinals The Johnson City Cardinals were a Minor League Baseball team based in Johnson City, Tennessee. The team was affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals organization from 1975 through 2020 and played in the Rookie-level Appalachian League. The team won ...

, who were a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate.

The ballpark

The Taft Cardinals were noted to have played minor league home games at the Taft High School Field. In 1938, the ballpark had a capacity of 1,200 and dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 315–390–315. Today,

is located at 502 Rincon Road in Taft, Texas.

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

(1938) *

(1938)

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Taft - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams established in 1938 Baseball teams disestablished in 1938 Texas Valley League teams San Patricio County, Texas