Before the Colt .45s
A brief history of Houston professional baseball 1884-1961
by Darrell Pittman

The Amateur Era Game played at a Confederate camp for Union prisoners at Salisbury, NC After Appomattox, the popularity of baseball grew as Civil War veterans of both sides returned home, having played the game, or seen it played, in their various wartime encampments.  There, it served as a relief from the alternating drill, boredom, and terror that personifies Army life. Baseball was even played in many prisoner-of-war camps, sometimes in inmates-versus-guards games.  When they got home, many wanted either to play the game or, at least, to watch it. They taught it to their kids. The first reported organized baseball game in the Houston area was played on April 21, 1867, when the Houston Stonewalls shellacked the Galveston Robert E. Lees 35-2 on the San Jacinto Battleground before a crowd of more than 1,000 people.  While no formal leagues existed at the time, the game was billed as a "state championship game." Earlier games may well have taken place; this was merely the first one reported in the newspaper.

Houston in the Texas League: The Early Years The 1889 Houston Babies -- Texas League Champions Amateur clubs came and went in Houston throughout the late 1800s, until Samuel L. Hain put together the first "Texas League" in 1884, with clubs in Houston, Galveston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Waco.  The Houston club was originally called the "Lambs" or "Red Stockings."  The league sat dormant from 1885-87, when Austinites Sam French and Ed Byrne reorganized the league for 1888. John J. McCloskey, a former catcher for Hain's 1884 Austin Senators, took over the Houston club in 1889, renaming it the "Babies."  Houston won the league championship in 1889, 1892, and 1896, with a few seasons of non-play interspersed in between. The league was again reorganized in 1903, and the Houston club was renamed the "Wanderers," under the day-to-day control of Sam Taub.  In 1905, Wade Moore took over the reigns of the club, which was renamed yet again to the "Buffaloes," the name that finally stuck.  The team won the league championship that year. In 1909, Otto Sens and Doak Roberts purchased the Buffs for $11,000.  The Buffs won Texas League pennants in 1909, 1912, 1913, and 1914.  Sens and Roberts sold the club for $200,000 in 1920 to a group of local businessmen headed by John H. Crooker.  The team moved to West End Park, at the end of the San Felipe streetcar line, near the present-day downtown YMCA building.  It seated 2,500 fans. After the Texas League attained Class A status in 1921, Crooker sold his majority interest in the Buffaloes to the St. Louis Cardinals and their General Manager, Branch Rickey, who was beginning to build his legendary farm system, a major innovation in baseball.  Even so, this was against League rules, which prohibited ownership by Major League teams.  The sale was kept mum until 1925 when the Cardinals took complete control, at which time Rickey bribed the Texas League with the promise of a new ballpark in Houston.  This marked the beginning of Houston's 33 years as an acknowledged St. Louis farm club. This was but the first time that Branch Rickey altered Houston's baseball future.  The second would come in 1960 with the announcement of Rickey's abortive Continental League, which forced the Major Leagues to expand, Houston being awarded one of the new National League franchises for 1962.

Buff Stadium Main entrance to Buff Stadium, ca. 1928 In 1928, 8,000-seat Buff Stadium was completed at a cost of $400,000.  It was located on St. Bernard Street (now Cullen Boulevard) next to the Galveston interurban tracks, a stone's throw from the present-day University of Houston.  At the time, with its Spanish-style tiled-roof entryway, it was hailed as the state-of-the-art in minor-league ballparks. Later, in the 1950s, it would innovate yet again with air-conditioned ladies' rooms. With dimensions of 344 feet to left, 434 to center, 323 to right, with 12-foot walls, oriented the same direction as later Colt Stadium, combined with the high humidity and southeast winds that blew in from right field, the new crib quickly established a reputation as a pitcher's park; a harbinger of things to come for Colt Stadium, hastily erected on the site of its eventual successor, the Houston Astrodome.

The Players Night game at Buff Stadium, 1950s The Houston Buffaloes saw many future stars man its roster over the years.  The 1907 Texas League batting champion was Tris Speaker, with a .314 average.  In 1927, Pepper Martin led the league in stolen bases.  The Buffaloes roster would see many future Cardinal greats over the years:  Dizzy and Daffy Dean, Martin, Ducky Medwick, Enos "Country" Slaughter, and many others. One player, Pete Mazar, would often sing the National Anthem before games in the 1950s. When he and his wife were expecting their first child, the Buffs held "Diaper Night" where fans brought more than 1,000 diapers to the ballpark for the young couple.

The Legacy The 1957 Houston Buffaloes: Back-to-back Texas League and Dixie Series Champions Harry Craft was the last manager for the Buffaloes, and the first for the Houston Colt .45s the following year. Only one Buffalo player, Pidge Browne, would see service as a Colt .45 in major league play, and even then, only for one short season. In 1963, Buff Stadium was sold to Sammy Finger for $1 million.  Damaged by Hurricane Carla in 1961, it was sold at auction for $19,750, and was promptly demolished. The interurban line has long since been replaced by the Gulf Freeway, and the massive Finger Furniture Center was built on the site.  The store now contains a museum dedicated to Houston sports history in its basement, and the position of Buff Stadium's home plate is marked on the floor of the museum. As the minor-league era of baseball in Houston closed in 1961, the Houston Buffaloes simply ceased to exist. Bought out by the Houston Sports Association (i.e. Judge Roy Hofheinz) to settle any minor-league turf wars, all eyes were by then on the new major-league Colt .45s. The .45s and Astros would for several decades be patterned on the old parent club, the St. Louis Cardinals. Pitchers' parks and "small ball" would prevail in Houston into the 1990s. The Texas League thrives to this day as a Class AA circuit. As of this writing, Houston's representative in the league is the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Season Log, Houston, 1888-1958

Year	Record	Pct	Stdg	Pennant/Playoffs
1888	32-42	.432	5th
1889	54-44	.551	1st	pennant
1890	23-23	.500	4th
1892	59-26	.694	1st	pennant
1895	26-65	.286	7th
1896	81-49	.623	2nd	won playoff
1897	60-54	.526	3rd
1898	15-15	.500	3rd
1899	34-41	.453	3rd
1903	57-63	.475	3rd
1904	64-61	.512	3rd	lost playoff
1905	83-42	.664	1st	pennant
1906	78-43	.645	1st	forfeited playoff
1907	79-60	.568	4th
1908	77-67	.535	3rd
1909	86-57	.601	1st	pennant
1910	82-58	.598	2nd
1911	71-74	.486	6th
1912	87-52	.626	1st	pennant
1913	93-57	.620	1st	pennant
1914	102-50	.670	1st	co-champions
1915	68-74	.479	6th
1916	74-73	.503	4th
1917	77-88	.467	4th
1918	38-48	.442	5th
1919	87-77	.531	4th
1920	50-101	.331	7th
1921	92-67	.679	2nd
1922	57-95	.375	7th
1923	74-75	.497	5th
1924	80-73	.523	2nd
1925	87-56	.569	2nd
1926	75-80	.484	6th
1927	85-70	.548	3rd
1928	104-54	.658	1st	won playoff and Dixie Series
1929	73-86	.459	6th
1930	89-65	.578	2nd
1931	108-51	.679	1st	won playoff and Dixie Series
1932	88-66	.574	3rd
1933	94-57	.623	1st	lost opener
1934	76-78	.478	6th
1935	77-84	.478	5th
1936	83-69	.547	2nd	lost opener
1937	67-91	.424	7th
1938	74-84	.468	5th
1939	97-63	.606	1st	lost opener
1940	105-56	.652	1st	won opener and finals, lost Dixie Series
1941	103-50	.673	1st	lost opener
1942	81-70	.536	5th
1946	64-89	.418	6th
1947	96-58	.623	1st	won opener, finals, and Dixie Series
1948	82-71	.536	3rd	lost opener
1949	60-91	.397	7th
1950	61-93	.396	8th
1951	99-61	.619	1st	won opener and finals, lost Dixie Series
1952	66-95	.410	8th
1953	72-82	.468	6th
1954	89-72	.553	2nd	won opener and finals, lost Dixie Series
1955	86-75	.534	4th	won opener, lost finals
1956	96-58	.623	1st	won opener, finals, and Dixie Series
1957	97-57	.630	1st	won opener, finals, and Dixie Series
1958	79-74	.516	2nd	lost opener

Houston in the Texas League Playoffs, 1896-1958

Year	Opponent	W/L	Record
1896	Galveston	W	3-2
1928	Wichita Falls	W	3-1
1933	San Antonio	L	0-3
1936	Tulsa	L	1-3
1951	Beaumont	W	4-2
	San Antonio	W	4-0
1954	Oklahoma City	W	4-1
	Fort Worth	W	4-1
1955	Dallas	W	4-2
	Shreveport	L	3-4
1956	Tulsa	W	4-1
	Dallas	W	4-1
1957	San Antonio	W	4-3
	Dallas	W	4-3
1958	Corpus Christi	L	1-4

Houston in the Dixie Series, 1928-1957

Year	Opponent	W/L	Record
1928	Birmingham	W	4-2
1931	Birmingham	L	2-4
1940	Nashville	L	1-4
1947	Mobile	W	4-2
1951	Birmingham	L	2-4
1954	Atlanta	L	3-4
1956	Atlanta	W	4-2
1957	Atlanta	W	4-2

League Leaders and Awards, Houston, 1896-1958
Notes:

• MVP voting began in 1931
• For 1933, 1934, and 1946 on, separate awards were given for Most Valuable Player and Most Valuable Pitcher
• Rookie of the Year was awarded from 1955 to 1959
• Manager of the Year was awarded from 1955 to 1960

Year	Player	Category	Statistic	Notes
1896	Henry Cote	Stolen Bases	64
	John Roach	Wins	29
1907	Tris Speaker	Batting	.314
	Ivy Tevis	Wins	24
1908	Bob Edmondson	Batting	.391
1909	Harry Stewart	Wins	23
	Harry Stewart	Win Pct.	.742	23-8
1910	John Eubank	Win Pct.	.714	10-4
1912	George Foster	Wins	24	Tied with Poll Perritt, Fort Worth
	George Foster	Win Pct.	.774	24-7
1913	George Foster	Wins	24
	Dode Criss	Win Pct.	.800	16-4
1914	Gerald Davis	Stolen Bases	65
1916	Walt Dickson	Win Pct.	.692	18-8
	Walt Dickson	ERA	1.06
1918	Joe Martina	Strikeouts	105
1919	Roy Leslie	Homers	16	Tied with Jewel Ens, Dallas
	Bryan Harris	ERA	1.56	Tied with John Verbout, Shreveport
1924	Jack Knight	ERA	2.34
1927	Pepper Martin	Stolen Bases	36
	Ken Penner	ERA	2.52
1928	Jim Lindsay	Wins	25
	Bill Hallahan	Strikeouts	244
	Bill Hallahan	ERA	2.25
1929	Pepper Martin	Stolen Bases	43
1930	Joel Hunt	Stolen Bases	55
	Dizzy Dean	Win Pct.	.800	8-2
	Allyn Stout	Strikeouts	166
	Ralph Judd	ERA	2.61
1931	Joe Medwick	Homers	19
	Joe Medwick	RBIs	126
	Dizzy Dean	Wins	26
	Dizzy Dean	Strikeouts	303
	Dizzy Dean	ERA	1.53	Tied with Whitlow Wyatt, Beaumont
	Dizzy Dean	Most Valuable Player
1933	Ed Greer	Wins	22	Tied with George Darrow, Galveston
	Mike Cvengros	ERA	2.43
1935	Lynn King	Stolen Bases	55
1938	Mort Cooper	Strikeouts	201
1939	Nick Cullop	Homers	23
	Nick Cullop	RBIs	112	Tied with John Stoneham, Fort Worth
	Nick Cullop	Most Valuable Player
	Murray Dickson	Wins	22	Tied with Ed Greer, Fort Worth
1940	Sam Nahem	ERA	1.65
1941	Willis Norman	RBIs	107
	Fred Martin	Wins	23
	Howie Pollet	Win Pct.	.780	20-3
	Howie Pollet	Strikeouts	151
	Howie Pollet	ERA	1.16
1942	John Whitehead	ERA	1.20
1947	Clarence Beers	Wins	25
	Clarence Beers	Most Valuable Pitcher
1948	Cloyd Boyer	Strikeouts	188
1950	Joe Presko	Strikeouts	165
1951	Jerry Witte	Homers	38
	Al Papai	Wins	23
	Octavio Rubert	Win Pct.	.792	19-5
	Wilmer Mizell	Strikeouts	257
1953	Floyd Woolridge	ERA	2.46
1954	Willard Schmidt	Win Pct.	.783	18-5
1955	Sherman Dixon	Stolen Bases	40
1956	Bob Mabe	Wins	21
	Bob Mabe	Strikeouts	195
1957	Keith Little	Homers	30
	Tom Hughes	Win Pct.	.778	14-4
1958	Charles James	Rookie of the Year
	Harry Walker	Manager of the Year

Sources:

• The Texas League 1888-1987: A Century of Baseball, by Bill O'Neal
• A Six-Gun Salute: An Illustrated History of the Houston Colt .45s, by Robert Reed
• Special thanks to Dr. Bill McCurdy.

Addendum

The idyllic graphic at the top of this article, in which Civil War prisoners play baseball at Salisbury, North Carolina, is rebutted by the following excerpt from Patricia Millen's article entitled "Baseball and the Civil War" from the seventh edition of Total Baseball:

A print "drawn from nature" by Otto Boetticher, an artist from New York City, depicts a bucolic scene with a baseball game taking place on the grounds of the Confederate prison camp in Salisbury, North Carolina. This popular image, published in 1863, is often used by modern day historians to underscore how baseball was frequently played in prison camps during the Civil War. Otto was a prisoner at Salisbury; he was Captain of Company G of the 68th New York Volunteers and was captured and sent to the camp during the summer of 1862. But the diaries and letters of several Union prisoners and writings of a Confederate chaplain who resided in the city of Salisbury give us a more accurate picture of the conditions of the camp and the games played there.

Before the great influx of prisoners who were shipped to Salisbury in October of 1864, the prison population remained relatively low. The Confederate government renovated an old cotton factory and intended the prison to house about 2,500 men. Salisbury's buildings and grounds were relatively spacious and prisoners were allowed "liberty of the yard," according to a 1989 article by Jim Summer. Some of the men enjoyed afternoon and evening games of baseball.

"Took a little walk in the evening and watched some of the officers play ball," wrote 23-year-old Charles Gray, who was captured and sent to the prison in May of 1862. Gray was a Union doctor who remained a spectator of the games at Salisbury and mentioned them frequently in his diary. "A good state of cheerfulness (sic), thanks to the open space is fairly prevailing," he wrote in a journal entry. "Ball play for those who like it and are able, walking, card playing as keep us in employment, but reading matter is about used up."

Josephus Clarkson, a ship chandler's apprentice from Boston before the war, recalled baseball games played at Salisbury with the prison guards. "Since many of the men were in a weakened condition, it was agreed," wrote Clarkson in his diary, "to play the faster but less harsh New York rules... The game of baseball had been played much in the South, but many of them (the guards) had never seen the sport devised by Mr. Cartwright." (This statement also adds further proof that Alexander Cartwright, not Union General Abner Doubleday, was credited as the inventor of baseball during the mid-1800s.)

One pitcher, a Confederate from Texas, was expelled from playing the game by widespread agreement for "badly laming" too many of the prisoner players. The Southerners kept forgetting that "plugging" the runner, or hitting the runner with the ball, was not allowed under the New York rules. Such fond memories of baseball games, for the majority of men imprisoned at Salisbury, are very few. As the population of prisoners soared in the fall of 1864, the conditions became unbearable. Baseball games would have been impossible as survival became paramount in a soldier's mind.

"For months Salisbury was the most endurable prison I had seen; there were 600 inmates," former prisoner Willard W. Glazier recalled in 1866. "They were exercised in open air, comparatively well fed, and kindly treated. Early in October, 10,000 regular prisoners of war arrived. It immediately changed into a scene of cruelty and horror; it was densely crowded, rations were cut down and issued very irregularly." The prison, Glazier remembered, "became so notorious during the War as one of the most loathsome dungeons in rebeldom."

Rations at Salisbury prison, toward the end of its existence, were intolerable and meager. They were not substantial enough to support most soldiers very long, especially when the lack of food was compounded by the scarcity of shelter, heat and medical attention. In Louis Brown's The Salisbury Prison, A Case Study of Confederate Military Prisons, one soldier described the not always daily fare at the prison in 1864 as consisting of "coarse meal, cob, and all ground together, and so musty that a decent hog would not eat it." Starving soldiers ate anything they could get their hands on to stay alive, including roaming dogs, cats, and rats. The Confederate Army hadn't the means to feed its own men, let alone its prisoners of war.

When the Union Army marched into Salisbury on April 12, 1865, three days after Robert E. Lee surrendered at Appomattox Courthouse, Union General George Stoneman ordered the prison burned to the ground. The best estimate of the dead at Salisbury would tally almost 4,000 men, most of whom died during the last year of the prison's life.

It is easy for historians to surmise that the game of baseball spread as a result of the Civil War due to the many references to the game being played in the army, and because of its growth in popularity in America during the decades following the war. But, as research proves, the popularity of the game was well on its way before the start of the Civil War, when all leisure time activities were blossoming in the developing urbanized American society.

As author Harold Seymour confirmed, "by the time of the Civil War the rapid spread of the Knickerbockers style of baseball manifested itself in both the Union and Confederate armies." These rules, devised by the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in 1845, were no doubt taught to many soldiers of the war, but whether it was townball, baseball, or rounders, men from the North and South had already learned to play ball before they became soldiers. Regardless of the Civil War, baseball was already on its way to becoming the "National Game."