The Rio Grande Valley League was a minor league baseball league, with franchises based exclusively in Texas. The Rio Grande Valley League had two incarnations, playing in 1931 and 1949 to 1950.
| Classification | Class D (1931, 1949) Class C (1950) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Minor League Baseball |
| First season | 1931 |
| Ceased | 1950 |
| President | George P. Blevins (1931) C.F.C. Ladd (1931) William R. Byrd (1949–1950) Kelly Nemeck (1950) |
| No. of teams | 10 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Most titles | 1 McAllen Palms (1931) Corpus Christi Aces (1949) Harlingen Capitols (1930) |
| Related competitions | East Texas League |
History edit
In 1931, the league initially featured the Corpus Christi Seahawks of Corpus Christi, the Harlingen Ladds of Harlingen, the McAllen Palms of McAllen and the San Benito Saints of San Benito. Corpus Christi moved to La Feria to become the La Feria Nighthawks in June. The league disbanded on July 30. McAllen finished in first place with a 55–37 record; they also won the league playoff against La Feria 3 games to 0. Johnny Rizzo, who played in the major leagues from 1938 to 1942, played for Corpus Christi/La Feria.[1] Tex Covington managed McAllen.
The league returned as a Class D level circuit in 1949, featuring the Donna Cardinals of Donna, the Corpus Christi Aces, the Laredo Apaches of Laredo, the Brownsville Charros of Brownsville, the McAllen Giants and the Del Rio Cowboys of Del Rio. On June 6, Donna moved to Robstown to become the Robstown Cardinals. Charlie Engle managed Donna/Robstown for part of the season. Corpus Christi finished first in the standings and faced McAllen in the postseason, winning 4 games to 0. Brownsville matched against Laredo and won 4 games to 2. In the finals, Corpus Christi beat Brownsville 4 games to 0.
In 1950, the league became a Class C level circuit. Laredo, Corpus Christi, Brownsville, McAllen and Del Rio returned from 1949. Robstown became the Robstown Rebels. Donna and Weslaco featured the Donna-Weslaco Twins. Harlingen featured the Harlingen Capitals. On May 4, Donna-Weslaco disbanded; Robstown did the same on May 13. The playoffs had first-place finisher Harlingen beating Brownsville 4 games to 2. and Corpus Christi beating Laredo 4 games to 1. In the finals, Corpus Christi beat Harlingen 4 games to 1. Notably, Sam Harshaney managed Harlingen, Leonardo Alanís and Jack Smith managed Laredo, John Davis managed Corpus Christi and Fabian Kowalik managed Robstown. Monty Stratton, Joe Koppe, Dick Midkiff and Vicente Amor played in the league that year.
Cities represented edit
- Brownsville, TX: Brownsville Charros 1949–1950
- Corpus Christi, TX: Corpus Christi Seahawks 1931; Corpus Christi Aces 1949–1950
- Del Rio, TX: Del Rio Cowboys 1949–1950
- Donna, TX: Donna Cardinals 1949
- Donna–Weslaco, TX: Donna-Weslaco Twins 1950
- Harlingen, TX: Harlingen Ladds 1931; Harlingen Capitols 1950
- La Feria, TX: La Feria Nighthawks 1931
- Laredo, TX: Laredo Apaches 1949–1950
- McAllen, TX: McAllen Palms 1931; McAllen Giants 1949–1950
- Robstown, TX: Robstown Cardinals 1949; Robstown Rebels 1950
- San Benito, TX: San Benito Saints 1931
Standings & statistics edit
1931 Rio Grande Valley League edit
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| McAllen Palms | 55 | 37 | .598 | -- | Tex Covington |
| Corpus Christi Seahawks / La Feria Nighthawks |
49 | 46 | .516 | 7.5 | Pat Withers / Ray Pipken |
| Harlingen Ladds | 43 | 49 | .467 | 12.0 | Paul Trammel |
| San Benito Saints | 40 | 55 | .421 | 16.5 | Bishop Clements / Elgar Waitman |
Corpus Christi (20–23) moved to La Feria June 5. La Feria played its home games at Harlingen.
The league disbanded July 30.
Playoff: McAllen 3 games, La Feria 0.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Johnny Rizzo | Corpus/La Feria | BA | .385 | Adrian Johnson | Harlingen | W | 14 | |
| Frank Denson | McAllen | Runs | 99 | Adrian Johnson | Harlingen | SO | 148 | |
| Frank Denson | McAllen | Hits | 109 | Horace Hardy | McAllen | Pct | .786; 11–3 | |
| Harry Bonds | McAllen | HR | 8 | |||||
| Frank Denson | McAllen | SB | 70 |
1949 Rio Grande Valley League edit
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Corpus Christi Aces | 89 | 51 | .686 | -- | 97,192 | William Gann |
| Laredo Apaches | 80 | 60 | .571 | 9.0 | 47,857 | William Cearley / Ishmael Montalvo |
| Brownsville Charros | 75 | 65 | .536 | 14.0 | 51,416 | Joseph King |
| McAllen Giants | 70 | 68 | .507 | 18.0 | 22,598 | Frank Matthews / Philip Kuykendall |
| Del Rio Cowboys | 58 | 80 | .420 | 30.0 | 32,323 | Boyd SoRelle |
| Donna Cardinals / Robstown Cardinals |
45 | 93 | .326 | 43.0 | 19,753 | Russell Frisch / Charlie Engle / Mimi Cavazos |
Donna moved to Robstown June 6.
Playoffs: Corpus Christi 4 games, McAllen 0; Brownsville 4 games, Laredo 2.
Finals: Corpus Christi 4 games, Brownsville 0.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joseph King | Brownsville | BA | .354 | Gilberto Garza | Laredo | W | 21 | |
| Lloyd Pearson | Corpus Christi | Runs | 140 | Edward Arthur | McAllen | SO | 178 | |
| Bernard Pardue | Corpus Christi | Hits | 205 | Robert Wiltse | Brownsville | ERA | 2.08 | |
| Don Petschow | Brownsville | RBI | 146 | Harold Jackson | McAllen | PCT | .741 20–7 | |
| Don Petschow | Brownsville | HR | 28 |
1950 Rio Grande Valley League edit
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harlingen Capitols | 86 | 62 | .581 | - | 80,001 | Sam Harshaney |
| Laredo Apaches | 84 | 62 | .575 | 1.0 | 57,948 | Leo Najo / Jack Smith / Manuel Salvatierra |
| Corpus Christi Aces | 79 | 64 | .552 | 4.5 | 68,313 | Red Davis |
| Brownsville Charros | 80 | 67 | .544 | 5.5 | 56,146 | Joseph King |
| Del Rio Cowboys | 76 | 69 | .524 | 8.5 | 30,568 | Robert Hamric |
| McAllen Giants | 42 | 102 | .292 | 42.0 | 32,473 | Boyd SoRelle / Philip Kuykendall |
| Robstown Rebels | 13 | 18 | .419 | NA | 6,637 | Fabian Kowalik |
| Donna-Weslaco Twins | 4 | 20 | .167 | NA | 3,008 | Baldy Quinn |
Donna-Weslaco disbanded May 4; Robstown disbanded May 13.
Playoffs: Harlingen 4 games, Brownsville 2; Corpus Christi 4 games, Laredo 1.
Finals: Corpus Christi 4 games, Harlingen 1.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lloyd Pearson | Corpus Christi | BA | .383 | Dick Midkiff | Del Rio | W | 22 | |
| Joe Koppe | Corpus Christi | Runs | 181 | William Guthrie | Harlingen | SO | 195 | |
| Lloyd Pearson | Corpus Christi | Hits | 207 | Dick Midkiff | Del Rio | ERA | 3.77 | |
| Jesse McClain | Harlingen | Hits | 207 | Dick Midkiff | Del Rio | PCT | .733 22–8 | |
| Jesse McClain | Harlingen | RBI | 173 | |||||
| Jesse McClain | Harlingen | HR | 53 |
References edit
- The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second and Third Editions
- ^ "Johnny Rizzo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
- ^ a b The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.
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