{{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Infobox Minor League Baseball | name =Temple Eagles | firstseason =1949 | lastseason =1954 | allyears = | city =Temple, Texas | logo = | uniformlogo = | class level =Class B (1949–1954) | league =Big State League (1949–1954) | majorleague = | nickname =Temple Eagles (1949–1954) | ballpark =American Legion Park (1949–1954) | classnum = | classchamps = | leaguenum =0 | leaguechamps =None | confnum =1 | conferencechamps =1952 | divnum = | divisionchamps = | wildcardnum =2 | wildcardberths ={{hlist|1950|1951}} }} The '''Temple Eagles''' were a minor league baseball team based in Temple, Texas. From 1949 to 1954, the Eagles played exclusively as members of the Class B level Big State League, winning the 1952 league pennant and qualifying for the playoffs in three seasons. Temple hosted home minor league games at the American Legion Park
==History== Minor league baseball began in Temple, Texas with the 1905 Temple Boll Weevils, who played as members of the Class C level Texas League.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/t-tw14908|title=Temple Boll Weevils Statistics and Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1905 Temple Boll Weevils Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Several other minor league teams later played in Temple, preceding the Temple Eagles, including the "Temple Tigers"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/t-tt14913|title=Temple Tigers Statistics and Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> and "Temple Governors", who played as members of the Class D level Middle Texas League in 1914 and 1915,<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1915 Temple Governors Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1914 Temple Tigers Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> the Temple Governors who continued play in the Central Texas League in 1916 and 1917<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1917 Temple Governors/Corsicana Athletics Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> and the "Temple Surgeons" who played in the Texas Association between 1924 and 1926.<ref>{{Cite web|title=1924 Temple Surgeons Statistics|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="encyc">{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball |editor1-first=Lloyd |editor1-last=Johnson |editor2-first=Miles |editor2-last=Wolff |edition=Third |publisher=Baseball America |date=2007 |isbn=978-1932391176}}</ref><ref name="auto4">{{Cite web|url=https://www.tdtnews.com/archive/article_7590e35e-6a1c-56a2-adef-897e9f02757d.html|title=Boll Weevils: A glance at pro baseball in Temple|first=Clay Coppedge|last=TDT|website=Temple Daily Telegram}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/t-ts14912|title=Temple Surgeons Statistics and Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref>
In 1949, minor league baseball returned, as Temple "Eagles" franchise was formed and joined the Class B level Big State League. The Eagled joined with the Austin Pioneers, Gainesville Owls, Greenville Majors, Sherman–Denison Twins, Texarkana Bears, Waco Pirates and Wichita Falls Spudders as fellow league members.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?code=BSTL&class=B|title=Big State League (B) Encyclopedia and History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=e0e0581a|title=1949 Big State League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
In their first season of play in the eight–team Big State League, the 1949 Temple Eagles finished the season in last place. Temple ended the regular season with a 58–89 record, placing eighth.<ref name="encyc"/><ref name="auto3">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1949 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-te14909/y-1949|title=1951 Temple Eagles Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> Amputee and former All–Star major league pitcher Monty Stratton pitched briefly for Temple in 1949.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=stratt001mon|title=Monty Stratton Minor Leagues Statistics & History|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> Stratton pitched for Temple in the same year that the motion picture The Stratton Story was released nationwide in theaters, starring Jimmy Stewart as Stratton.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0041928/?ref_=tttr_tr_tt|title=The Stratton Story|date=September 29, 1949|via=IMDb}}</ref> With a prosthetic leg, Stratton pitched 4 innings in one game for Temple in 1949, taking the loss in the game after giving up 4 unearned runs.<ref name="auto3"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/monty-stratton/|title = Monty Stratton – Society for American Baseball Research}}</ref>
Continuing play in the 1950 Big State League, the Temple Eagles finished the season with a 74–70 record to place fourth, drawing 105,081 fans in attendance.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1950 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref> In 1951, the Eagles had a record of 88–60 to place second, finishing 1.0 games behind the 1st place Gainesville Owls. Temple had home season attendance of 112,022 in 1951.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-te14909/y-1951|title=1951 Temple Eagles minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1951 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
The 1952 Temple Eagles finished with a 85–62 record and won the Big State League pennant, finishing 1.0 game ahead of the Tyler East Texans and drawing 101,906 fans for the season. In the playoffs, Temple was defeated 4 games to 1 by the Austin Pioneers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1952 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="encyc"/> Temple followed with a 72–73 record in 1953 to place 5th in 1953.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-te14909/y-1953|title=1953 Temple Eagles Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1953 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref name="encyc"/> Temple's 1954 season resulted in a last place finish, as the Eagles ended the season in eighth place with a record of 44–102 and finished 60.5 games behind the 1st place Waco Pirates, playing the season under managers Fred Campbell, Bob Moyer and Fred Martin.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/minorbaseball/roster/t-te14909/y-1954|title=1954 Temple Eagles Roster on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref><ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/league.cgi?id=28d1186d|title=1954 Big State League|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=1954 Temple Eagles Statistics|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
The Temple Eagles franchise folded after the 1954 season in which they had season attendance of 31,673.<ref name="encyc"/><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.tdtnews.com/news/article_b3607656-d0f4-11e4-9442-2baea8217fd2.html|title=Backroads: Baseball was a hit in early 1900s|first=Patricia |last=Benoit |work=Temple Daily Telegram |location=Temple, Texas |date=March 22, 2015 |access-date=October 12, 2024}}</ref> The Big State League continued play in 1955 with the Port Arthur Seahawks franchise replacing Temple in league play.<ref name="auto"/> Temple has not hosted another minor league team.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi|title=Temple, Texas Encyclopedia|website=Baseball-Reference.com}}</ref>
==The ballparks== Early Temple teams hosted minor league home games at Woodson Field.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-2676|title=15th Street Park in Temple, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref> Today, the site is still in use as a football and soccer facility for Temple High School. Woodson Field is located at 670 West Elm, Temple, Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://wildcatstrong.com/facilities-2/woodson-field/|title=Woodson Field|first=Temple Wildcats|last=on}}</ref>
The Temple Eagles played their minor league home games at American Legion Park in Temple, Texas.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.statscrew.com/venues/v-2677|title=American Legion Park in Temple, TX history and teams on StatsCrew.com|website=www.statscrew.com}}</ref>
==Year–by–year records== {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year !! Record !! Finish !! Manager !! Playoffs/Notes |- align=center | 1949 || 58-89 || 8th || Barney White (20–40) / Homer Peel (38–49) || Did not qualify |- align=center | 1950 || 74–70 || 4th || Lou Finney || Lost in 1st round |- align=center | 1951 || 88–60 || 2nd || Bill Herring (47–37) / Jack Bradsher (41–23) || Lost in 1st round |- align=center | 1952 || 85–62 || 1st || Salty Parker || '''Won league pennant'''<br />Lost in 1st round |- align=center | 1953 || 72–73 || 5th || Salty Parker (36–40) / Lon Goldstein (36–33) ||Did not qualify |- align=center | 1954 || 44–102 || 8th || Fred Martin (14–38) / Fred Campbell(15–26) <br /> Robert Moyer (15–38) || Did not qualify |- align=center |}<ref name="encyc"/>
==Notable alumni== {{Famous|date=January 2022}} The following Temple alumni advanced to the major leagues in their careers: {{Div col|colwidth=25em}} *John Bottarini (1949) *Lou Finney (1950, MGR) *Lon Goldstein (1951–1952; 1953, MGR) *Fred Martin (1954, MGR) *Salty Parker (1952–1953, MGR) *Homer Peel (1949, MGR) *Earl Reid (1950) *Hal Schacker (1950) *Tom Simpson (1949) *Monty Stratton (1949) Subject of The Stratton Story *Bill Tremel (1951) *Tommy Warren (1953) *Barney White (1949, MGR), (1950-1951) {{Div col end}} *Temple Eagles players
==References== {{reflist|2}}
==External links== *[https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/team.cgi?city=Temple&state=TX&country=US Baseball Reference]
Category:Defunct minor league baseball teams Category:Professional baseball teams in Texas Category:Temple, Texas Category:Defunct Big State League teams Category:Defunct baseball teams in Texas Category:Baseball teams established in 1949 Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1954 Category:1949 establishments in Texas Category:1954 disestablishments in Texas