The Texas-Southern League was a

sports league A sports league is a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other and gain points in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur sports, amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and ...

of minor league baseball teams that operated from 1895 to 1899, primarily 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 ...

. During the 1896 season, the league renamed itself as the Texas Association. History of the Texas-Southern League / Texas Association prior to 1900 follows.

History

In 1895, the league began with eight teams: the Austin Senators,

Dallas Steers The Dallas Rangers were a high-level minor league baseball team located in Dallas, Texas from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers from 1960 to 1963. It played in ...

Fort Worth Panthers A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

Galveston Sand Crabs The Galveston Sand Crabs were a professional baseball team based in Texas. The team competed in the South Texas League and Texas League, and was an active baseball team from the 1903 season until the 1912 season and from 1922 to 1924. The team later ...

, Houston Magnolias,

San Antonio Missionaries The San Antonio Missionaries were a Texas League and Texas-Southern League minor league baseball team based in the United States city of San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive m ...

, Sherman Orphans, and Shreveport Grays. In early August, the Austin, Houston, and San Antonio teams disbanded; Shreveport also dropped out, so the league would have an even number of teams remaining. The league played a split season, with Dallas winning the first half, and Fort Worth winning the second half. In a postseason series, Fort Worth defeated Dallas, seven games to six. In 1896, the league again began with eight teams: the returning Austin, Fort Worth, and Galveston teams were joined by the Dallas Navigators,

Denison Indians Denison may refer to: People *Denison (name) Places *Denison, Iowa *Denison, Kansas * Denison, Texas, birthplace of Dwight D. Eisenhower *Denison, Washington *Denison University, in Granville, Ohio * the English name for Kosinj, a valley and ...

Houston Buffaloes The Houston Buffaloes, Houston Buffalos, or Buffs were an American minor league baseball team, and were the first minor league team to be affiliated with a Major League Baseball, Major League franchise, which was the St. Louis Cardinals. The clu ...

San Antonio Bronchos The San Antonio Bronchos were a minor league baseball team based in San Antonio, Texas, that played in the South Texas League (1903–1906) and Texas League (1907–1919). The team was also known as the Mustangs (1903–04), Warriors (1905), and Ace ...

, and Sherman Students. The Students disbanded in June and were replaced by the Paris Midlands. In early August, four teams (Dallas, Denison, Fort Worth, and Paris) disbanded. The league played a three-part split season, with Fort Worth, Houston, and Galveston each winning segments. Fort Worth dropped out of the playoffs, leaving Houston to defeat Galveston for the championship, five games to two. Notable players in the league included

Kid Elberfeld Norman Arthur "Kid" Elberfeld (April 13, 1875 – January 13, 1944) was an American professional baseball shortstop. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies (1898), Cincinnati Reds (1899), Detroit Tigers (1901–1903 ...

and

Harry Steinfeldt Harry M. Steinfeldt (September 29, 1875 – August 17, 1914) was an American professional baseball player. A third baseman, Steinfeldt played in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, and Boston Rustlers. He batted and threw ...

. The 1897 league consisted of eight teams: the returning Austin, Galveston, Houston, Paris, and San Antonio teams were joined by the

Dallas Defenders The Dallas Defenders were a team in the Premier Basketball League (PBL) which began play in 2008. The team played at the Alfred J. Loos Fieldhouse, which was also the part-time home to the Dallas Chaparrals of the original American Basketball A ...

Fort Worth Colts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

, and Sherman-Denison Tigers. During July, the Sherman-Denison team moved to

Waco Waco ( ) is the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a 2020 population of 138,486, making it the 22nd-most populous city in the st ...

, while Austin, San Antonio, and Houston dropped out of the league in August. The winners of the two split seasons, San Antonio and Galveston, were declared league co-champions. Notable players in the league included

Warren Wallace Beckwith Warren Wallace Beckwith Sr. (August 10, 1874 – September 24, 1955) was an American sportsman who served as a minor league baseball player during the late 1800s. His first wife was Jessie Harlan Lincoln, a member of the Lincoln family and grandd ...

. The 1898 league had six teams: the Austin, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio teams were joined by the

Dallas Colts Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

and Fort Worth Panthers. At the end of April, Fort Worth disbanded and Dallas was dropped from the league, while in May, Austin and San Antonio disbanded. Austin and Galveston each won a half of the split-season, but no playoffs were held and no champion was declared. In 1899, the final season of the league, four teams competed, all of which returned from the prior year: Austin, Galveston, Houston, and San Antonio. Galveston won both halves of the split season, and was declared league champion.

Results by season

Name changed during July

Notes

Records from baseball's early years, especially in the minor leagues, are often incomplete, with frequent changes in team names and locations. Some early seasons 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 ...

, which began operation in 1888, are listed as the Texas-Southern League in online sources.

References

{{Authority control Defunct baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Texas Baseball leagues in Louisiana Sports leagues established in 1885 1885 establishments in Texas 1899 disestablishments in the United States Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Sports leagues disestablished in 1896