# West Texas League

The West Texas League was a Class D level minor league baseball league that existed from 1920 to 1922 and from 1928 to 1929.

## 1920-1922

The following teams played in 1920: Abilene Eagles, Ranger Nitros, Mineral Wells Resorters, Cisco Scouts, Gorman Buddies/Sweetwater Swatters and Eastland Judges.
The Abilene Eagles beat the Ranger Nitros in the playoffs to win the league championship.
For the 1921 season, the Swatters, Eagles, Resorters, Nitros and Scouts returned to the league. The Resorters moved to Ballinger to become the Ballinger Bearcats. The Cisco Scouts changed their name to the Cisco Orphans. The Eastland Judges left the league and a new team, the San Angelo Bronchos, joined. The Abilene Eagles won their second championship in a row, beating the Swatters.
There were multiple new teams in 1922: the Amarillo Gassers, Lubbock Hubbers, Clovis Buzzers and Stamford Colonels. No team represented Ballinger, Cisco or Mineral Wells. Amarillo won the league championship, beating the Buzzers.
The league ceased play following the 1922 season and never reformed.

## 1928-1929

The league began play again in 1928, lasting until 1929. The following teams played in 1928: San Angelo Red Snappers, Coleman Bobcats, Abilene Aces, Midland Colts, Lubbock Hubbers and Hamlin Pied Pipers/Big Spring Springers.
The Lubbock Hubbers were the only returning team from the 1922 season. The Red Snappers beat the Aces to take the league championship.
New teams for the 1929 season included the San Angelo Sheep Herders and Big Spring Cowboys. The Ballinger Bearcats returned to the league. Coleman won the league championship.

## Cities represented

* Abilene, TX: Abilene Eagles 1920–1922; Abilene Aces 1928–1929
* Amarillo, TX: Amarillo Gassers 1922
* Ballinger, TX: Ballinger Bearcats 1921, 1929
* Big Spring, TX: Big Spring Springers 1928; Big Spring Cowboys 1929
* Cisco, TX: Cisco Scouts 1920–1921
* Clovis, NM: Clovis Buzzers 1922
* Coleman, TX: Coleman Bobcats 1928–1929
* Eastland, TX: Eastland Judges 1920
* Gorman, TX: Gorman Buddies 1920
* Hamlin, TX: Hamlin Pied Pipers 1928
* Lubbock, TX: Lubbock Hubbers 1922, 1928
* Midland, TX: Midland Colts 1928–1929
* Mineral Wells, TX: Mineral Wells Resorters 1920–1921
* Ranger, TX: Ranger Nitros 1920–1922
* San Angelo, TX: San Angelo Bronchos 1921–1922; San Angelo Red Snappers 1928; San Angelo Sheep Herders 1929
* Stamford, TX: Stamford Colonels 1922
* Sweetwater, TX: Sweetwater Swatters 1920–1922

## Standings & statistics

1920 West Texas League schedule
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Abilene Eagles | 70 | 50 | .583 | -- | Bugs Young / Ed Kizziar |
| Ranger Nitros | 66 | 60 | .524 | 7.0 | Jim Galloway |
| Mineral Wells Resorters | 60 | 60 | .500 | 10.0 | Charley Stis / Bill Burns |
| Cisco Scouts | 55 | 61 | .474 | 13.0 | Jack York / Tom Carson |
| Gorman Buddies / Sweetwater Swatters | 51 | 58 | .467 | 13.5 | Bert Hise |
| Eastland Judges | 54 | 67 | .446 | 16.5 | Jimmy Maloney |
Gorman (36–44) moved to Sweetwater August 7, first home game August 15. Playoff: Abilene 4 games, Ranger 3.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Jim Galloway | Ranger | BA | .341 | Henry Meade | Mineral Wells | W | 20 |
| Charles Gressett | Gorm/Sweet | Runs | 77 | John Kolzelnick | Cisco | S0 | 200 |
| Joe Bratcher | Cisco/East | Hits | 126 | Carl Hill | Abilene | PCT | .778 14–4 |
| Jim Galloway | Ranger | HR | 9 |
1921 West Texas League schedule
| Team Standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Sweetwater Swatters | 72 | 55 | .567 | -- | Pop-Boy Smith / Earl Fleharty |
| Abilene Eagles | 70 | 57 | .551 | 2.0 | Grady White / Hub Northen |
| San Angelo Bronchos | 69 | 59 | .539 | 2.5 | Luke Robinson |
| Mineral Wells Resorters / Ballinger Bearcats | 57 | 72 | .442 | 15.5 | Roy Brashear / Vernon Brown / Albert Briscoe / Jim Flagg / Pop-Boy Smith |
| Ranger Nitros | 37 | 43 | .463 | NA | Fletcher "Sled" Allen |
| Cisco Scouts | 27 | 47 | .365 | NA | Joshua L. Billings / Jimmy Flagg |
Mineral Wells moved to Ballinger May 20; Cisco disbanded July 6; Ranger disbanded July 9 Playoffs: Sweetwater defeated San Angelo in a one game playoff for the first half title Finals: Abilene 4 games, Sweetwater 2.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Sam Langford | Min Wel/Bal | BA | .381 | Murray Richburg | Sweetwater | W | 31 |
| Warwick Comstock | Abilene | Runs | 93 | Murray Richburg] | Sweetwater | S0 | 226 |
| Sam Langford | Min Wel/Bal | Hits | 166 | Murray Richburg | Sweetwater | Pct | .721 31–12 |
| Ed Conkrite | San Angelo | HR | 17 |
1922 West Texas League schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| Amarillo Gassers | 86 | 52 | .623 | -- | Billy Smith / Jack Meanor |
| Lubbock Hubbers | 79 | 56 | .585 | 5.5 | Sled Allen |
| Clovis Buzzers | 75 | 57 | .568 | 8.0 | Dutch Wetzel |
| Sweetwater Swatters | 62 | 72 | .463 | 22.0 | Pop-Boy Smith |
| Abilene Eagles | 61 | 72 | .459 | 22.5 | Charles Anderson |
| San Angelo Bronchos | 61 | 73 | .455 | 23.0 | Walt Alexander / Luke Robinson |
| Stamford Colonels | 56 | 76 | .424 | 27.0 | Tom Price / Poston Baker |
| Ranger Nitros | 56 | 78 | .418 | 28.0 | Bob Allen / Joe Clayton |
Playoff: Amarillo 5 games, Clovis 1.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Tom Pyle | Ranger | BA | .377 | F. J. Smith | Amarillo | W | 21 |
| John King | Lubbock/Abiline | Runs | 116 | F.J Smith | Amarillo | S0 | 223 |
| Tom Pyle | Ranger | Hits | 183 | Jim Sewell | Clovis | PCT | .778 14–4 |
| Sam Langford | Lubbock | HR | 21 |
1928 West Texas League schedule 1st half - 2nd half
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
| San Angelo Red Snappers | 69 | 47 | .595 | -- | Red Snapp |
| Coleman Bobcats | 67 | 49 | .578 | 2.0 | Bob Couchman |
| Abilene Aces | 61 | 54 | .530 | 7.5 | Les Tullos / Carl Williams |
| Midland Colts | 52 | 64 | .448 | 17.0 | Curley Maloney / Snipe Conley |
| Lubbock Hubbers | 48 | 63 | .432 | 18.5 | Bennie Brownlow / Ray Hill |
| Hamlin Pied Pipers / Big Spring Springers | 46 | 66 | .411 | 21.0 | Army Magness / Poston Baker / J.L. Thornton |
Hamlin moved to Big Spring July 3. Playoff: San Angelo 3 games, Abilene 2.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Bob Sanguinette | Midland | BA | .394 | Jubilo Clements | San Angelo | W | 20 |
| Garland Orr | Abilene | Runs | 121 | J.H. "Hokey" Garcia | San Angelo | S0 | 178 |
| Garland Orr | Abilene | Hits | 171 | Clarence Williams | San Angelo | PCT | .737 14–5 |
| Bob Sanguinette | Midland | HR | 35 |
1929 West Texas League schedule
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Attend | Managers |
| Midland Colts | 67 | 52 | .563 | -- | 14,687 | Kal Segrist, Sr. / John King |
| Coleman Bobcats | 62 | 56 | .525 | 4.5 | 12,922 | Honus Mitze / Jack Holloway |
| Ballinger Bearcats | 62 | 56 | .525 | 4.5 | 17,632 | Bill Bean / Ray Hill |
| San Angelo Sheep Herders | 55 | 61 | .474 | 10.5 | 15,288 | Walt Alexander |
| Abilene Aces | 55 | 64 | .462 | 12.0 | 7,604 | Carl Williams |
| Big Spring Cowboys | 54 | 66 | .450 | 13.5 | 15,288 | Jim Payne / Ralph Rose / Nick Carter |
Playoff: Coleman 3 games, Midland 3. Coleman won the title when Midland failed to appear for the seventh game.
Player statistics :
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot |
| Ed Kallina | Midland | BA | .433 | Jimmie Parker | Ballinger | W | 18 |
| Julian Flowers | Midland | Runs | 136 | Gene Moore | Midland | S0 | 147 |
| Ed Kallina | Midland | Hits | 159 | Tom Vaughn | Ballinger | ERA | 2.11 |
| Ed Kallina | Midland | HR | 44 | T. Baker | Midland | PCT | .867 13–2 |