From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
American minor league baseball franchise
The
Rio Grande Valley Giants
was an American
minor league baseball
franchise in the Double-A
Texas League
located in
Harlingen, Texas
, that played from the beginning of the
1960
season through June 10, 1961. As its nickname implies, the team was affiliated with the
San Francisco Giants
. It played its home games at
Harlingen Field
.
The Texas League underwent a massive face lift in the late 1950s after three of its top franchises ?
Dallas
,
Fort Worth
and
Houston
? moved up to the Triple-A
American Association
for the
1959
season.
The
Corpus Christi Giants
, which joined the TL in
1958
, finished last in attendance (61,500) in 1959, and transferred to Harlingen over the winter. Harlingen had been represented in numerous lower-level minor leagues, most recently the
Big State League
(1954?55).
In 1960, the Rio Grande Valley club won the regular-season pennant and finished third in attendance (75,000) in the six-team league. But the following season, a poor club on the field resulted in a severe attendance decline, and the Giants moved to
Victoria, Texas
, in mid-June. Harlingen has since had clubs in the
Gulf States League
and the
Lone Star League
of the 1970s and in independent leagues since 1994.
Notable alumni
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed.,
The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,
1997 edition. Durham, N.C.:
Baseball America
.
