The Longhorn League was the name of a Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 circuit that operated from through in the Southwestern United States

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

. In , it was renamed the Southwestern League

Southwestern League

The Southwestern League was the name of three former minor league baseball leagues that operated in the Southwestern United States. The first league, also known as the Oklahoma State League, was in operation for the 1904 season. The second league operated from 1921 to 1926...

 and operated through before changing its name to the Sophomore League

Sophomore League

The Sophomore League was a Class D minor league baseball league that operated from 1958 through 1961. In 1956 and 1957 the league was known as the Southwestern League.- Former :...

.

Member teams

• Artesia Drillers (1951-1953)
• Artesia Numexers (1954-1955)
• Ballinger Cats
  Ballinger Cats
  The Ballinger Cats were a Longhorn League baseball team based in Ballinger, Texas, USA that played from 1947 to 1950. They were affiliated with the Cincinnati Reds in 1948. As well, they played their home games at Ballinger Rec. Park that season...
  
   (1947-1950)
• Big Spring Broncs (1947-1954)
• Big Spring Cosden Cops (1955)
• Carlsbad Potashers (1953-1957)
• Del Rio Cowboys
  Del Rio Cowboys
  The Del Rio Cowboys were a Longhorn League and Rio Grande Valley League baseball team based in Del Rio, Texas, USA. Dick Midkiff and Sam Harshaney played for them....
  
   (1948)
• Hobbs Sports (1955-1957)
• Lamesa Lobos (1953)
• Midland Indians (1947-1957)

• Odessa Oilers (1947-1954)
• Odessa Eagles (1955)
• Roswell Rockets (1949-1957)
• San Angelo Colts
  San Angelo Colts (1948-1957 baseball team)
  The San Angelo Colts were a Longhorn League and Southwestern League minor league baseball team based in San Angelo, Texas, USA. They were not affiliated with any major league teams....
  
   (1948-1956)
• Sweetwater Braves (1952)
• Sweetwater Sports (1947-1948)
• Sweetwater Spudders (1954)
• Sweetwater Swatters
  Sweetwater Swatters
  The Sweetwater Swatters were a West Texas League and Longhorn League baseball team based in Sweetwater, Texas, USA. They began as the Gorman Buddies in 1920, however they moved to Sweetwater partway through the season....
  
   (1949-1951)
• Vernon Dusters (1947-1952)
• Wichita Falls Spudders
  Wichita Falls Spudders
  The Wichita Falls Spudders were a minor league baseball team that formed in 1920 and played its last game in 1957. They were based in Wichita Falls, Texas....
  
   (1954)
• Winters-Ballinger Eagles (1953)

Championship teams

• 1947 - Ballinger Cats
• 1948 - Midland Indians
• 1949 - Big Spring Broncs
• 1950 - Odessa Oilers
• 1951 - Odessa Oilers
• 1952 - Midland Indians
• 1953 - Carlsbad Potashers
• 1954 - Artexia Numesers
• 1955 - San Angelo Colts

Fact

Joe Bauman

Joe Bauman

Joe Willis Bauman was an American first baseman in professional baseball who played primarily in the low minor leagues, including the American Association, the Eastern League, and the Southwestern League...

 has been recognized by historians as the best player in the league's history. Bauman joined the league in 1952 with Artesia, and won the triple crown

Triple crown (baseball)

In Major League Baseball, a player earns the Triple Crown when he leads a league in three specific statistical categories. For batters, a player must lead the league in home runs, run batted in , and batting average; pitchers must lead the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned run average...

 after hitting a .352 batting average

Batting average

Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...

 with 59 home run

Home run

In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...

s and 157 runs batted in. He also led the circuit in home runs, RBI and walks

Base on balls

A base on balls is credited to a batter and against a pitcher in baseball statistics when a batter receives four pitches that the umpire calls balls. It is better known as a walk. The base on balls is defined in Section 2.00 of baseball's Official Rules, and further detail is given in 6.08...

 (148). In 1953, he finished first in homers (53), runs

Run (baseball)

In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...

 scored (135) and walks (130). He moved to Roswell in 1954 and hit .400 with 72 home runs and 228 RBI, good to win the triple crown again. He also set a professional record for home runs in a regular season, until Barry Bonds

Barry Bonds

Barry Lamar Bonds is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder. Bonds played from 1986 to 2007, for the Pittsburgh Pirates and San Francisco Giants. He is the son of former major league All-Star Bobby Bonds...

topped it in 2001. Bauman dropped to .336 and 46 home runs in 1955, and belted 17 homers in just 52 games during 1956. He retired after that season.

Sources

• Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball – Lloyd Johnson, Miles Wolff. Publisher: Baseball America, 1993. Language: English. Format: Paperback, 420pp. ISBN 0963718916