Austin Pioneers
The Austin Pioneers were a minor league baseball team based in Austin, Texas from 1947 to 1955. The Pioneers were founding members of the Class B level Big State League. The Pioneers were preceded in Austin by the 1915 Austin Representatives and succeeded by the 1956 Austin Senators. History. Preceded in Austin by the Austin Senators, the Austin Pioneers were founded, owned and operated by Edmund P. Knebel, a local bottler of 7-Up and Nu-Grape soft drinks. Knebel had Disch Field constructed for the Pioneers. Knebel sold the team after the 1955 season, when the franchise  moved to the Texas League and renamed the Austin Senators. The Pioneers began play in the Big State League in 1947, joining the Gainesville Owls, Greenville Majors, Paris Red Peppers, Sherman–Denison Twins, Texarkana Bears, Waco Dons and Wichita Falls Spudders as charter members. The Pioneers never finished higher than 3rd place in the Big State League standings during their nine seasons of play in the league. Austin qualified for the playoffs in five Big State League seasons and advanced to the Finals in 1952. Baseball first began in Austin with the Austin Senators in 1888. The last minor league  baseball team in Austin, was the Class AA Austin Braves of the Texas League, who folded after the 1967 season. The Pioneers were both preceded and succeeded by Austin teams with the Austin Senators moniker. The ballpark. The Austin Pioneers played minor league home games at Disch Field. Located next to the Colorado River, the ballpark was built for the beginning of the 1947 season, financed by Pioneers' owner Edmund Knebel. Named after collegiate coach Billy Disch, the original ballpark was demolished in 1975. Today, UFCU Disch–Falk Field is a collegiate field, located on the campus of the University  of Texas at Austin. External links. Baseball Reference Bullpen