Belton Braves
The Belton Braves was a minor league baseball team based in Belton, Texas in 1914 and 1915. The Belton Braves played as members of the Class D level Middle Texas League and won league championships in both seasons of play. The Belton Braves are the only minor league team hosted in Belton, Texas.
Belton Braves (1914–1915) Belton, Texas | |
Minor league affiliations | |
---|---|
Previous classes | Class D (1914–1915) |
Previous leagues | Middle Texas League (1914–1915) |
Major league affiliations | |
Previous teams | None |
Minor league titles | |
League titles | 2 1914, 1915 |
Team data | |
Previous names | Belton Braves (1914–1915) |
Previous parks | Belton Baseball Park (1914–1915) |
History
The Belton Braves became members of the Middle Texas League in 1914. The Middle Texas League began play in the 1914 season as a new Class D minor league, operating as a six–team league, hosting franchises from Bartlett, Texas (Bartlett Bearcats), Belton, Texas (Belton Braves), Brenham, Texas (Brenham Brewers), Georgetown, Texas (Georgetown Collegians), Lampasas, Texas (Lampasas Resorters) and Temple, Texas (Temple Tigers).[1][2][3][4][5][6]
The Belton Braves began play in the Middle Texas League began on May 8, 1914 and won the first of two consecutive championships. The Middle Texas League played a spit season schedule with champions during each half. In 1914, the Temple Tigers won the first half standings and the Belton Braves won the second half standings. The final overall standings featured the Temple Tigers (54–27), Georgetown Collegians (50–30), Brenham Brewers (50–34), Belton Braves (37–47), Lampasas Resorters (35–51) and Bartlett Bearcats (22–59). In the Championship playoff, the Belton Braves defeated the Temple Tigers 5 games to 1. Temple was managed by Baseball Hall of Fame member Kid Nichols. Belton was managed Leslie Mitchell, L. B. Hubbard, Bob Hart, Jack Forrester and Cal Callahan during the 1914 season, playing at Belton Base Ball Park.[7][8][9][6][10][11][2][12]
Belton folded, along with the Middle Texas League in the middle of the 1915 season. Belton was in 1st place under Manager Charles Lawson when the league folded. The Belton Braves won both half seasons of the league and no playoffs were held as the league folded. The Middle Texas League permanently folded on June 19, 1915. During the season, the Austin Reps/Representatives (2–5) had moved to become the Taylor Producers on May 1, 1915, as floods forced the team to leave their ballpark in Austin. Taylor (15–23) then moved to Brenham on June 8, 1915, becoming the second team in Brenham, after the Brenham Brewers folded the day before. The final league standings featured the Belton Braves (40–19), 8.0 games ahead of the 2nd place Temple Governors (32–27), followed by the Bartlett Bearcats (29–26) and Austin Representatives/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers (21–36). The Schulenburg Giants were 23–18 and the Brenham Brewers 12–31 when they both folded on June 7, 1915. Belton has not hosted another minor league team.[13][14][15][16][17][11][6][18][19]
The ballpark
The Belton Braves played home games at Belton Base Ball Park. The ballpark was likely located at South Davis Street & West Avenue A in Belton, Texas.[20]
Notable alumni
- George McAvoy (1915)
Year–by–year record
Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs/Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|
1914 | 37–47 | 4th | Leslie Mitchell/L.B. Hubbard/Bob Hart/Jack Forrester/Cal Callahan | League Champions |
1915 | 40–19 | 1st | Charles Lawson | League Champions |
Timeline
Year(s) | # Yrs. | Team | Level | League |
---|---|---|---|---|
1914–1915 | 2 | Belton Braves | Class D | Middle Texas League |
References
- "Middle Texas League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "1914 Belton Braves Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "1914 Temple Tigers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "TSHA | Texas League". www.tshaonline.org.
- Reichard, Kevin (November 5, 2008). "Middle Texas League".
- "Middle Texas League - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
- "1914 Middle Texas League (MTL) on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "1914 Middle Texas League (MTL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "Kid Nichols Coaching Records on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "1914 Belton Braves Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "Belton Braves - BR Bullpen". www.baseball-reference.com.
- "1914 Middle Texas League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "Riverside Park in Austin, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "1915 Austin Reps/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "1915 Austin Reps/Taylor Producers/Brenham Kaisers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "From Unknowns to Senators: A Central-Texas baseball timeline". MiLB.com.
- "1915 Belton Braves Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- "1915 Middle Texas League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "1915 Belton Braves Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "Belton Base Ball Park in Belton, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.