The Vernon Dusters were a minor league baseball team based in

Vernon, Texas Vernon is a city and the county seat of Wilbarger County, Texas, United States. and as of the 2010 Census had a population of 11,002. History The original town was called Eagle Springs by the indigenous community as early as 1858. After the ...

. From 1947 to 1952, the Dusters played exclusively as members of the

Longhorn League The Longhorn League was the name of a Minor league baseball circuit that operated from through in the Southwestern United States. In , it was renamed the Southwestern League and operated through before changing its name to the Sophomore Leag ...

, qualifying for the playoffs on three occasions. Hosting home games at Wilbarger Memorial Stadium, the Dusters were the only minor league based in Vernon, Texas.

History

Minor league baseball started in Vernon in 1947, when the Vernon "Dusters" became charter members of the six-team Class D level

. The

Ballinger Cats The Ballinger Cats were a Longhorn League baseball team based in Ballinger, Texas, United States that played from 1947 to 1950. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948. As well, they played their home games at Ballinger Rec. Park that ...

Big Spring Broncs Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * '' Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show present ...

Midland Indians The Midland Indians were a minor league baseball team based in Midland, Texas. Between 1937 and 1959, Midland teams played as members of West Texas-New Mexico League (1937–1940), Longhorn League (1947–1955), Southwestern League (1956–1957) a ...

Odessa Oilers Odesa (also spelled Odessa) is the third most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine and a major seaport and transport hub located in the south-west of the country, on the northwestern sho ...

and Sweetwater Sports joined Vernon in beginning Longhorn League play on April 23, 1947. In their first season of play, the Dusters finished in last place. With a 42–87 record, the Vernon Dusters placed sixth in their first season of play Longhorn League play. Vernon drew 30,758 fans at home games for the 1947 season. In 1948, the

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 ...

and

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 ...

joined the Longhorn League as the league expanded to eight teams. The Vernon Dusters placed fourth in the eight–team league with a 76–64 record, playing under manager Lloyd Rigby, drawing 50,250 fans. In the playoffs, Vernon defeated the Big Spring Broncs four games to two to advance. In the Finals, the Vernon Dusters lost to the Midland Indians in seven games. The Dusters qualified for the playoffs in 1949. The Dusters finished with a record of 72–66 in 1949, placing third in the Longhorn League. Vernon lost to the Midland Indians four games to one in their playoff series. Vernon drew 50,386 for the season. In 1949,

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. ...

pitched briefly for the Vernon Dusters. Stratton had been a major league pitcher, whom had his career affected after a 1939 hunting accident that necessitated his right leg being amputated below the knee. Stratton pitched a complete-game shutout for the Vernon Dusters on a wooden right leg. Stratton was the inspiration for the feature film

The Stratton Story ''The Stratton Story'' is a 1949 American biographical film directed by Sam Wood that tells the true story of Monty Stratton, a Major League Baseball pitcher who pitched for the Chicago White Sox from 1934 to 1938. The film is the first of three ...

starring

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. The film opened in theaters in June, 1949. The 1950 Vernon Dusters finished with a record 83–70, placing fourth in the Longhorn League final standings. They lost to the Odessa Oilers four games to one in the playoffs. Vernon drew 46,099 fans for the season. In 1951, the Vernon Dusters did not qualify for the playoffs. Vernon finished with a regular season record of 67–71 and a sixth-place finish. The team drew 36,686 home game fans in 1951. In 1952, Vernon played their final season and finished last. The Vernon Dusters finished with a record of 45–95, placing last in the Longhorn League. Vernon drew 30,015 total home game fans for the season. The franchise folded after the 1952 season. Vernon, Texas has not hosted another minor league team.

The ballpark

The Vernon Dusters hosted minor league home games at Wilbarger Memorial Stadium. The ballpark had a capacity of 3,000 in 1947 and 3,500 in 1950. Wilbarger Memorial Stadium was located at 1826 Pease Street, Main Street & Wilbarger Street in Vernon, Texas.

Timeline

Year–by–year records

Notable alumni

* Joe Berry (1950–1951, MGR) *

Jerry Fahr Gerald Warren Fahr (December 9, 1924 – February 12, 2010) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who played in the minor leagues from 1947–1956, with the exception of a five-game Major League trial as a relie ...

(1947–1948) * Jim King (1950) *

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 ...

(1952, MGR) *

(1949) Feature film:

References

{{reflist

External links

Vernon Dusters - Baseball Reference
Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Texas Vernon, Texas Defunct baseball teams in Texas Baseball teams established in 1947 Baseball teams disestablished in 1952 Longhorn League teams