Austin Senators
The "Austin Senators" is the name of various minor league baseball teams based in Austin, Texas, United States which played on-and-off between 1898 and 1964. Different incarnations of the Senators have played in the Texas League (1888-1890, 1905, 1907-1908, 1911-1914, 1956-1967), Texas-Southern League (1896), South Texas League (1906) Middle Texas League (1915) and Texas Association (1925-1926). In 1915, the Senators moved to the Middle Texas League and won two games as the "Austin Representatives" before relocating to Taylor, Texas due to severe flooding.[1] From 1956-1967 they were affiliated with the Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves. For the final three seasons of their existence, they were known as the "Austin Braves."[2] After the 1967 season, the team relocated to Shreveport, Louisiana, depriving Austin of professional baseball for the rest of the twentieth century.[3]
Over the course of their existence, they won multiple league championships. Their first came in 1906 under manager Warren Gill. They won their next in 1907 under Brooks Gordon; during the same year, the Senators would post one of the most lopsided victories in baseball history, by defeating the San Antonio Bronchos in the second game of a doubleheader 44-0.[4] During this game, Senators player Harry Short scored seven runs on five hits, stole four bases and hit a double and a triple.[5]
In 1911, the Senators won their third championship under manager Dale Gear. They won their final league championship in 1959 under the guidance of Ernie White. In that season, Charlie Gorin threw a no-hitter against the Mexico City Diablos Rojos.[1] On the fiftieth anniversary of their championship season, members of the 1959 team reunited in Central Texas where they were honored during a Round Rock Express series and given championship rings.[6]
In 2017, the Austin Senators were re-chartered as a semi-professional baseball team that plays in a sandlot baseball setting. Co-Managed by Lee Nix and Jim Dow, they had a perfect record, an impressive social media presence and lots of adoring fans.
References
- 1 2 "From Unknowns to Senators: A Central-Texas baseball timeline". Minor League Baseball. July 10, 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ BR Minors page
- ↑ Chamy, Michael (July 4, 2003). "A Short History of Professional Baseball in Austin". The Austin Chronicle. Retrieved 28 April 2015.
- ↑ Hagerty, Tim. "The time a minor league team lost 44-0". Sporting News. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ↑ "Austin Senators: 44-0" (PDF). Diamonds in the Dusk. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ↑ "Austin Senators to Receive Rings 50 Years Later". Minor League Baseball. July 7, 2009. Retrieved 28 April 2015.