Rio Grande Valley League

Rio Grande Valley League
ClassificationClass D (1931, 1949)
Class C (1950)
SportMinor League Baseball
First season1931
Ceased1950
PresidentGeorge P. Blevins (1931)
C.F.C. Ladd (1931)
William R. Byrd (1949–1950)
Kelly Nemeck (1950)
No. of teams10
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles1
McAllen Palms (1931)
Corpus Christi Aces (1949)
Harlingen Capitols (1930)
Related
competitions		East Texas League

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.

History

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

[2]

Standings & statistics

1931 Rio Grande Valley League

schedule

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 statistics
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

schedule

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 statistics
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

schedule

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 statistics
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

[2]

References

  • The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second and Third Editions
  1. ^ "Johnny Rizzo Minor Leagues Statistics & History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. ^ a b Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.