Texas-Louisiana League (1994-2001)
Tombstone
Born: 1994 – Texas-Louisiana League founding franchise
Folded: 1997
First Game: May 27, 1994 (L 6-5 @ Beaumont Bullfrogs)
Last Game: August 23, 1997 (W 7-5 vs. Lubbock Crickets)
All-American Association Champions: 2001
Stadium
Mike Carter Field
Opened: 1938
Dimensions
Branding
Team Colors: Teal & Black1NO BYLINE. “Texas-Louisiana League Glance”. The Morning Telegraph (Tyler, TX). May 27, 1994
Ownership
Owner: Texas-Louisiana League
Attendance
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Source: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (3rd ed.), Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, 2007
Trophy Case
Texas-Louisiana League Most Valuable Player
- 1997: Chris Cassels (shared with Bryan Warner of the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings)
Texas-Louisiana League Most Valuable Pitcher
- 1997: Ray Davis (shared with Daren Brown of the Amarillo Dillas)
Background
The Tyler Wildcatters’ debut in May of 1994 marked the return of professional baseball to Texas’ Rose City for the first time since the Tyler Tigers of the Big State League played their final inning in 1955. The Wildcatters were charter members of the Texas-Louisiana League, a centrally-owned eight club independent loop that operated without Major League affiliations.
Final Season
In many respects, the Wildcatters enjoyed their best season in 1997. With former Major League All-Star Darrell Evans at the helm as manager, the ‘Catters finished tied for the second best record in the now shrunken 6-team circuit. Tyler was eliminated from playoff contention on the season’s final day.
24-year old Ray Davis, a former St. Louis Cardinals farmhand, posted the Texas-Louisiana League’s lowest earned run average in 1997 (2.89) and shared the league’s Most Valuable Pitcher award. First baseman/designated hitter Chris Cassels (.333, 29 homers, 87 RBI) shared Most Valuable Player honors.
The Wildcatters also claimed their best attendance in four seasons in 1997 (71,435), but this was not at all indicative of the team’s financial health. Like all Texas-Louisiana league clubs, the Wildcatters were centrally owned by the league’s founders, rather than by local investors. Through the team’s first three seasons from 1994 to 1996, the Tyler club reportedly ran a cumulative deficit of more than a million dollars. With nine games left in the 1997 season, Texas-Louisiana League officials laid off most of the team’s staff, including seemingly essential workers like grounds crew.2Davies, Laurie. “‘Catters Lay Off 20 Employees”. The Morning Telegraph (Tyler, TX). August 2, 1997 Local vendors reported unpaid bills and began to initiate legal action.
Epilogue
The Tyler Wildcatters quietly folded in late 1997. The Texas-Louisiana League changed its name to the Central Baseball League in 2002 and eventually disbanded following the 2005 season.
Indy ball returned to Tyler’s Mike Carter Field in 2001 with the arrival of the Tyler Roughnecks of the lower-budget All-American Association. Both the Roughnecks and their league last only one season before evaporating.
Tyler Wildcatters Shop
Links
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