Baseball in the Lone Star State: The Texas League’s Greatest Hits

The Texas League chronicles the nine minor league teams in Arkansas, Texas, and Oklahoma that have brought America’s favorite sport to local fans for more than 100 summers. In quick, lively chapters, authors Tom Kayser and David King examine colorful Texas League favorites like the San Antonio Missions and the Midland Rock Hounds, painting an epic picture of down-home America through the lens of semi-pro baseball. The story begins with a look at how the discovery of oil in East Texas provided the funds to secure the league in its core locales. The league is then brought to life with several key profiles, including those of founder John McCloskey, managers Jake Atz and Paul LaGrave, who built the Fort Worth Cats into the league’s most dominant team, and players Gene Half-Pint Rye, who hit two home runs in an inning for Waco, and Dave Hoskins, who integrated the league five years after Jackie Robinson integrated the majors. Also featured are dozens of archival photos dating back to the league’s beginnings and an appendix of statistics.