Mission Grapefruiters
Minor league baseball team based in Mission, Texas.
The Mission Grapefruiters were a minor league baseball team based in Mission, Texas. They played as members of the Class D level Gulf Coast League in 1926 and the Texas Valley League from 1927 to 1928, winning the 1927 league pennant.
Quick Facts
- City
- Mission, Texas
- Class level
- Class D (1926–1928)
- League
- Gulf Coast League (1926); Texas Valley League (1927–1928)
- Nickname
- Mission Grapefruiters (1926–1928)
- Ballpark
- Legion Park (1926–1928)
Facts from the source article.
History
The franchise began when the Kingsville Jerseys of the Class D Gulf Coast League relocated to Mission, Texas on July 16, 1926, carrying a 14–26 record. Playing as the Grapefruiters, the team finished the season 46–52 overall, with a 32–26 mark while based in Mission, placing third in the four-team league under managers Tom Deering, Fred Paschal and Ed Marburger, 12.0 games behind the first-place Laredo Oilers. The name reflected local citrus agriculture. In 1927 the Texas Valley League formed from the previous Gulf Coast League, with Mission, Corpus Christi, Edinburg and Laredo continuing. Mission posted the best overall regular season record at 62–55 under manager Ed Marburger, but missed the playoffs due to a split-season schedule; Corpus Christi won the first half and Laredo the second, and Corpus Christi swept Laredo in the final. The 1928 season saw Brownsville and McAllen join the four-team league, but the standings are not recorded. The Texas Valley League folded after 1928, and Mission has not hosted another minor league team.
The ballpark
The Grapefruiters played at Legion Park in Mission, on land donated by citrus grower John H. Shary. The site, near the intersection of East 15th Street and St. Marie Avenue, is now Lions Park at 1500 Kika de la Garza Loop, which includes two lighted baseball fields.
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