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.
20-854: 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
40-878: The Corpus Christi Giants . The 1958 Corpus Christi Giants won the Texas League Championship. The Giants finished the regular season with a 77–75 record. They were 3rd in the Texas League under Manager Ray Murray. In the 1958 Texas League Playoffs, Corpus Christi defeated the Houston Buffalos 4 games to 1. In the Finals, the Corpus Christi Giants defeated the Austin Senators 4 games to 1 to capture
60-529: 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
80-828: 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
100-606: The St. Louis Browns in 1938, Milwaukee Braves from 1954 to 1956, Pittsburgh Pirates in 1957 and San Francisco Giants from 1958 to 1959. The Corpus Christi Clippers and Aces preceded the Corpus Christi Seagulls of 1976 and today,s Corpus Christi Hooks of the Texas League. Early Corpus Christi teams played in various leagues under differing monikers. The first minor league team based in Corpus Christi
120-818: The major leagues from 1938 to 1942, played for Corpus Christi/La Feria. 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
140-606: The 1954 season. Texas businessman, George Schepps, was the owner of both the Aces and Clippers. The Corpus Christi Clippers were affiliates of the Milwaukee Braves (1954–1956) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1957). In their four seasons of play, the Corpus Christi Clippers finished with records of 87–60, 93–48, 83–57 and 69–58 (1954–1957). The Clippers captured the 1955 Big State League Championship and made
160-717: The Big State Finals the other three seasons. The Clippers had home attendance totals of 97,255; 102,788; 112,625 and 56,871 in their four seasons. The Big State League permanently folded after the 1957 season. In 1958, the Oklahoma City Indians of the Class AA Texas League moved to Corpus Christi, Texas. The new Corpus Christi franchise became a minor league affiliate of the San Francisco Giants and began play in 1958 as
180-491: The Class D level league, as Edinburg and Laredo had folded. The 1928 season standings are unknown. The league folded after the 1928 season. The Texas Valley League formed for a final season in 1938, playing as a six–team Class D level league. The Brownsville Charros , Corpus Christi Spudders , Harlingen Hubs , McAllen Packers , Refugio Oilers and Taft Cardinals teams made up the 1938 league franchises. The league president
200-490: The Class D level league. The Seahawks finished 1st in the regular season standings with a 63–56 record in the four–team league. Corpus Christi then defeated the Laredo Oilers 3 games to 0 in the finals. The Corpus Christi Aces played in the Class D level Rio Grande Valley League in 1949 and 1950. The Aces joined the Class B level Gulf Coast League from 1951 to 1953, before changing their moniker to "Clippers" for
220-536: The Corpus Christi Seahawks winning the first–half standings. Laredo won the second–half standings. Mission had the best overall record. In the Final, Corpus Christi Swept Laredo in three games. The Texas Valley League continued play as a four–team league in 1928 before folding. The Corpus Christi Seahawks and Mission Grapefruits were joined by teams from Brownsville, Texas and McAllen, Texas in
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#1732780835181240-600: The ballpark was torn down in 1960 after the departure of the Corpus Christi Giants. Schepps Palm Field was located near Old Brownsville Road, Highway 44 and Baldwin Boulevard. The approximate address of the site today is 4242 Baldwin Boulevard, Corpus Christi, Texas 78405. Corpus Christi Aces players Corpus Christi Clippers players Corpus Christi Giants players Corpus Christi Pelicans players Corpus Christi Seahawks players Corpus Christi Spudders players Texas Valley League The Texas Valley League
260-456: The championship. Playing at Schepps Palms, Corpus Christi had season attendance of 87,774, an average of 1,155 per game. Baseball Hall of Fame member Gaylord Perry played for the 1959 Corpus Christi Giants. Perry was 10–11 with a 4.05 ERA at age 20. In 1959, the Corpus Christi Giants finished 66–79. They placed 6th in the Texas League, playing under manager Ray Murray. Corpus Christi had season attendance of 61,501, an average of 848. After
280-650: The league that year. schedule 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. schedule 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. schedule 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. Corpus Christi Seahawks The Corpus Christi Clippers
300-676: The season, Corpus Christi relocated to Harlingen, Texas and became the Rio Grande Valley Giants . Corpus Christi next hosted minor league baseball when the 1976 Corpus Christi Seagulls began play as members of the Class A level Gulf Coast League . The Corpus Christi Seahawks hosted 1926 and 1927 home minor league games at Kleberg Park . The ballpark was named for its builder and owner Richard M. Kleberg . In 1931 and 1938, Corpus Christi played home games at League Park . Corpus Christi teams played at Schepps Palm Field from 1949–1959. Named after owner George Schepps,
320-551: The seasons from 1901 to 1908 are unknown. In 1927, the Texas Valley League reformed and began play as a four–team Class D level league, evolving from the 1926 Gulf Coast League . The 1927 Texas Valley League members were the Corpus Christi Seahawks , Edinburg Bobcats , Laredo Oilers and Mission Grapefruiters . All four teams had played the previous season as the only members of the 1926 Gulf Coast League. The Texas Valley League began play on April 5, 1927, with
340-724: Was Guy Airey. Corpus Christi won the regular season pennant with a 92–44 record, finishing 8.5 games ahead of second place Harlingen. In the first round of the playoffs, the Harlingen Hubs defeated the Taft Cardinals 3 games to 0 and the Corpus Christi Spudders defeated the Refugio Oilers 3 games to 2. In the Finals, the Harlingen Hubs won the championship, defeating Corpus Christi in a four–game sweep. The Texas Valley League permanently folded after
360-494: 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 Valley League consisted of teams based exclusively in Texas . The Texas Valley League began play as an Independent league in the 1901 season and played continuously through 1908. The exact records and teams in
380-687: Was a primary name of the minor league baseball teams based in Corpus Christi, Texas between 1910 and 1959. Corpus Christi teams played as members of the Southwest Texas League (1910–1911), Gulf Coast League (1926), Texas Valley League (1927–1928), Rio Grande Valley League (1931), Texas Valley League (1938), Rio Grande Valley League (1949–1950), Gulf Coast League (1951–1953), Big State League (1954–1957), Rio Grande Valley League (1949–1950) and Texas League (1958–1959). Corpus Christi played as minor league affiliates of
400-541: Was the 1910 Corpus Christi Pelicans , who played as charter members of the Southwest Texas League in 1910 and 1911. The Corpus Christi Seahawks were members of the Gulf Coast League in 1926, Texas Valley League in 1927 and 1928 and Rio Grande Valley League in 1931. The Corpus Christi Spudders played in the 1938 Texas Valley League. The 1927 Corpus Christi Seahawks won the 1927 Texas Valley League championship. The Seahawks were managed by Jim Payton in
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