The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas–Louisiana League, was a

independent baseball league An independent baseball league is a professional baseball organization in the United States or Canada that is not overseen by Major League Baseball and is outside the Minor League Baseball clubs affiliated to it. The Northern League and Frontie ...

whose member teams were not affiliated with any

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), ...

(MLB) franchises. In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron Pierce and U. S. Congressman John Bryant, became frustrated that 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 ...

had no plans to expand into other

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 ...

locations, and formed The Texas–Louisiana League. The league began play in 1994. After further expansion into

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

and

Mississippi Mississippi () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered to the north by Tennessee; to the east by Alabama; to the south by the Gulf of Mexico; to the southwest by Louisiana; and to the northwest by Arkansas. Miss ...

, the Texas–Louisiana League changed its name to the Central Baseball League. In 12 seasons, the league produced 10 different champions; Alexandria and Edinburg were the only teams to win a title twice. After the 2005 season, the eight-team Central Baseball League disbanded. Five teams joined the

American Association American Association may refer to: Baseball * American Association (1882–1891), a major league active from 1882 to 1891 * American Association (1902–1997), a minor league active from 1902 to 1962 and 1969 to 1997 * American Association of Profe ...

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

Shreveport Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population o ...

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, Coastal Bend and

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

; and one joined the United League,

San Angelo San Angelo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Tom Green County, Texas, United States. Its location is in the Concho Valley, a region of West Texas between the Permian Basin to the northwest, Chihuahuan Desert to the southwest, Osage Plai ...

. Edinburg also received a franchise in the United League, unrelated to the now-defunct Roadrunners of the Central League.

Teams

The following teams were, at one time, either a member of the Central Baseball League or the Texas–Louisiana League. *

Abilene Prairie Dogs The Abilene Prairie Dogs were an independent professional baseball team based in Abilene, Texas. They were members of the Texas–Louisiana League from 1995 to 1999, and returned in the North American League in 2012. Team history Texas–Lou ...

* Alexandria Aces * Amarillo Dillas * Beaumont Bullfrogs (also

Bayou Bullfrogs In usage in the Southern United States, a bayou () is a body of water typically found in a flat, low-lying area. It may refer to an extremely slow-moving stream, river (often with a poorly defined shoreline), marshy lake, wetland, or creek. They ...

Lafayette Bullfrogs Lafayette or La Fayette may refer to: People * Lafayette (name), a list of people with the surname Lafayette or La Fayette or the given name Lafayette * House of La Fayette, a French noble family ** Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de Lafayette (1757� ...

) *

Coastal Bend Aviators The Coastal Bend Aviators were a minor league baseball team which played in Robstown, Texas, in the United States from 2003 to 2007. They were a member of the Central Baseball League, then the American Association and were not affiliated with a ...

Corpus Christi Barracudas Corpus is Latin for "body". It may refer to: Linguistics * Text corpus, in linguistics, a large and structured set of texts * Speech corpus, in linguistics, a large set of speech audio files * Corpus linguistics, a branch of linguistics Music * ...

Edinburg Roadrunners The Edinburg Roadrunners were a professional baseball team based in Edinburg, Texas, in the United States. The Roadrunners were a member of the United League Baseball, an independent professional league which is not affiliated with Major League B ...

El Paso Diablos "El Paso Diablos" refers to two different professional baseball teams based in El Paso, Texas, in the United States. The most recent Diablos were a member of the South Division of the American Association of Independent Professional Baseball, whi ...

Fort Worth Cats The Fort Worth Cats was a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Basebal ...

* Greenville Bluesmen *

Jackson Senators The Jackson Senators was the name of at least two minor league baseball teams that played in Jackson, Mississippi. First team The first known Jackson Senators club competed in the Delta League in 1904. Jackson also played as a member of the Cott ...

(also

Jackson DiamondKats The Jackson DiamondKats played one year in the independent Texas-Louisiana League, struggling to a last place finish in 2000 (38-74) and finishing 6th of 8 teams in attendance (37,066). Managed by Steve Dillard, they had no All-Stars. Ryan Creek ...

) *

(also Beaumont Bullfrogs and

) *

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 ...

* Lubbock Crickets *

Mobile BaySharks Mobile may refer to: Places * Mobile, Alabama, a U.S. port city * Mobile County, Alabama * Mobile, Arizona, a small town near Phoenix, U.S. * Mobile, Newfoundland and Labrador Arts, entertainment, and media Music Groups and labels * Mobile ...

Pensacola Pelicans The Pensacola Pelicans were a minor league baseball team based in Pensacola, Florida. In various incarnations, they played in three different independent baseball leagues (leagues unaffiliated with Major League Baseball) from 2002 to 2010. They ...

Pueblo Bighorns The Pueblo Bighorns were a minor league baseball team which played in Pueblo, Colorado. They were a member of the Texas–Louisiana League, an expansion team owned and organized by the league's investors, and brought professional baseball back t ...

* Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings *

San Antonio Tejanos The San Antonio Tejanos are a now-defunct baseball team which belonged to the Texas-Louisiana Baseball League, which later became the Central League. The team lasted for one year, and in 1995 moved to Laredo, Texas, becoming the Laredo Apaches T ...

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 ...

* Shreveport-Bossier Sports *

Springfield/Ozark Mountain Ducks The Springfield/Ozark Mountain Ducks were a minor league team that previously played in Ozark, Missouri, a suburb of Springfield. The team was a member of the Texas-Louisiana League, later named the Central Baseball League from 1998 to 2003. The ...

Tyler Wildcatters The Tyler WildCatters were a minor league baseball team located in Tyler, Texas. The team, which existed from 1994 to 1997, played in the independent Texas–Louisiana League, and was un-affiliated with any major league baseball team. Their home ...

Texas–Louisiana League champions

*1994 Corpus Christi *1995 Lubbock *1996 Abilene *1997 Alexandria *1998 Alexandria *1999 Amarillo *2000 Rio Grande Valley *2001 Edinburg

Central Baseball League champions

*2002 San Angelo *2003 Jackson *2004 Edinburg *2005 Fort Worth

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Defunct independent baseball leagues in the United States Baseball leagues in Alabama Baseball leagues in Arkansas Baseball leagues in Colorado Baseball leagues in Florida Baseball leagues in Kansas Baseball leagues in Louisiana Baseball leagues in Mississippi Baseball leagues in Missouri Baseball leagues in Texas