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.
19-809: 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
38-818: 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
57-824: 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
76-484: 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. Tex Covington managed McAllen. The league returned as a Class D level circuit in 1949, featuring the Donna Cardinals of Donna ,
95-461: 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
114-804: 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
133-586: 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
152-424: 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
171-584: 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
190-682: 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
209-531: 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
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#1732883682044228-605: 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 Rio Grande Valley League The Rio Grande Valley League
247-456: 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
266-531: 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
285-650: 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
304-666: 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,
323-468: 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. 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
342-670: 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
361-533: 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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