Tombstone
Born: Fall 1971
Affiliation Change: September 27, 1984 (Midland Angels)
First Game: April 14, 1972 (W 5-2 @ San Antonio Brewers)
Last Game: September 1, 1984 (W 8-4 vs. San Antonio Dodgers)
Texas League Championships: 1975 (co-champions)
Stadium
Dimensions (1976): 335′ – 392′ – 324′11976 San Antonio Brewers Program
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1972-1976: Chicago Cubs
- 1977-1984: Bernard Lankford & Max Christensen
Major League Affiliation: Chicago Cubs
Attendance
Background
The Midland Cubs were a Class AA Texas League farm club of the Chicago Cubs in for 13 seasons. Minor league baseball was a fixture in the West Texas petroleum hub from the late 1920’s through the late 50’s. But the Cubs arrival in 1972 marked the first pro ball played in the city since the departure of the Midland Braves of the Sophomore League in 1959.
Chicago moved their Texas League operations from San Antonio to Midland during the autumn of 1971 and signed a five-year lease for Midland’s Braves Field (soon re-dubbed ‘Cubs Stadium’). The Chicago Cubs later sold the team to local owners Bernard Lankford and Max Christensen in early 1977.
1975 Texas League Co-Champions
Midland’s best season during the Cubs era came in the summer of 1975. The Cubs, managed by Doc Edwards, won the Texas League pennant for the first and only time with an 81-53 record. The ’75 pitching staff included three future Major League All-Stars in Mike Krukow (13 wins), Donnie Moore (14 wins) and Bruce Sutter (13 saves).
Midland faced the Lafayette Drillers in the best-of-five 1975 Texas League Championship Series. After dropping the first two games at home, the Cubs fought back on the road to even the series at 2-2. After steady rains washed out the decisive Game 5 on September 8, 1975, Texas League Commissioner Bobby Bragan walked onto the field at Lafayette’s Clark Field and declared the season over and the two teams co-champions.
Notable Players
Future Major League stars that played for the Midland Cubs included:
- Pitcher Mike Krukow(Midland ’74-’75)
- Pitcher Donnie Moore (Midland ’74-’75)
- Future Hall-of-Fame reliever Bruce Sutter (Midland ’74-’75)
- Pitcher Ron Davis (Midland ’78)
- Future Hall-of-Fame closer Lee Smith (Midland ’78-’79)
- Outfielder Joe Carter (Midland ’81-’82)
- Outfielder Billy Hatcher (Midland ’83)
- Shortstop Shawon Dunston (Midland ’84)
Cubs To Angels
The Midland Cubs set their all-time season attendance record with 124,152 fans during the summer of 1983. But the Cubs era would soon come to an end. After a grim last-place finish in 1984, owner Bernard Lankford signed a new Player Development Contract with the California Angels that September.
“We were looking for someone with more dedication to their farm system and an organization that would field, if not necessarily a winning team, a competitive team,” owner Bernard Lankford told reporters (El Paso Times 9/28/1984).
Trivia
22-year old outfielder Karl Pagel won the Texas League Most Valuable Player Award after hitting .334 with 28 homers and 114 RBIs in the summer of 1977.
Midland Cubs Shop
Editor's Pick
The Texas League Baseball Almanac
By David King & Tom Kayser
Since forming in 1888, the Texas League has produced some of the most beloved American baseball players and seen more than its fair share of colorful events. In 1931, Houston pitcher Dizzy Dean pitched and won both ends of a double-header in Fort Worth, throwing a three-hit shutout in the second game. In 1906, center fielder Tris Speaker pitched for Cleburne to beat Temple 10-3. In 1998, Arkansas’ Tyrone Horne hit for the “homer cycle” in San Antonio, finishing to a standing ovation. “The Texas League Baseball Almanac” delivers day by day the record-breaking events, personal triumphs and memorable games that helped to shape baseball in the region. Join authors David King and Tom Kayser on a nine-inning trip down one of minor-league baseball’s most historic institutions, both in season and off.
When you make a purchase through an affiliate link like this one, Fun While It Lasted earns a commission at no additional cost to you. Thanks for your support!
In Memoriam
Pitcher Donnie Moore (Midland ’74-’75) died by his own hand on July 18, 1989 during an attempted murder-suicide where he seriously injured his wife, Tonya, who survived. Moore was 35.
Infielder Keith Drumright (Midland ’76-’77) died of a self-inflicted gunshot on August 7, 2010 at the age of 55.
Manager Doc Edwards (Midland ’75) passed away on August 20, 2018 at age 81. Cleveland.com obituary.
Downloads
6-12-1982 Cubs vs. El Paso Diablos Game Notes
6-21-1982 Midland Cubs vs El Paso Diablos Game Notes
Links
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4 Responses
Pagel made to the big leagues, but only made 56 at-bats in five seasons, mostly as a pinch-hitter or late inning replacement. He sounds like a AAAA level player – too good for AAA but not good enough for the Majors.
I was a bat boy for the Midland Cubs, 192, 83, 84, and ran the scoreboard the first year The Angels were in Midland. I still have the baseball cards of those years, and 1982, and 1984 Team photos, wish I had the 1983 photo. Those were great times. All those players trayed me like a fellow team mate, not some dumb kid! I kept in touch with GM Bill Schammel, until his passing in 2024. I still keep in touch with the trai er at the time Dennis Brogna.
For whatever reason, Scott Fletcher continues to be omitted from Midland Cubs history. Also local favorite Tito Nanni is left out from references. He played for the Cubs AND Angels in Midland. I’m sure I’m missing more players who are deserving of mention. I’m pretty sure there’s more Midland minor league history than what has been mentioned here.
Hey Kevin,
Scott Fletcher is an interesting mention. He had a very good year with Midland in 1980 (.327 / .428 /.439 slash line) and played a lengthy 14 years in the Majors. With the sheer amount of teams we cover at Fun While It Lasted, we usually highlight minor league players who developed into All-Stars at the Major League level. Fletcher was never quite that guy. More of a journeyman who enjoyed a notably lengthy career in that role.
I don’t disagree with you that he is worth a mention here as a guy who did great in Midland and turned that into a long career in The Show. But he’s also exactly the kind of player that we would tend to overlook in these overviews. That’s why you guys are here in the comments.
As for Tito Nanni: agree to disagree. Never made the Majors. Hit .253 in seven minor league seasons and never hit 20 homers in a year. Only played 53 games in Midland (and none for the Cubs). I can’t possibly include dudes like that in these write-ups like that unless they throw a no-hitter on acid, pull off a local bank heist or excavate a fully intact triceratops skull from underneath the stadium infield.
Drew