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The newest version of the Colts is only the latest chapter in San Angelo's long association with professional baseball. The story actually begins way back in the late 1800's at Historic Fort Concho.
San Angelo's first baseball teams were not actually professional, but rather a loosely organized group that gathered to play the Army's 16th Infantry team stationed at the Fort. The 16th Infantry team distinguished itself by often winning games while only playing six players to even the odds. The 16th Infantry's claim to fame was winning a best-of-3 series against Major League Baseball's New York Giants.
Details through the early 1900's remain sketchy with the only mention of a San Angelo baseball team being an unnamed squad that went 20-24 in the West Texas League in 1905.
The next chapter of the story jumps ahead to 1910. San Angelo's first sanctioned professional team, the Longhorns, joined a fledgling, unnamed league which only lasted one year.
Next, the story jumps ahead again to 1921 when the San Angelo Bronchos were formed to play in the West Texas League. The Bronchos played their home games at Fort Concho Park and had startlingly good attendance. However, that could not be said for the rest of the WTL and the league folded after just two years of existence.
San Angelo gave the West Texas League another try, as the Red Snappers in 1928, and again as the Sheep Herders in 1929, but after that it would be 20 years before professional baseball returned.
The San Angelo Colts were originally born in 1948 when the team joined the Longhorn League. This time it seemed that baseball was here to stay as the Colts enjoyed a long run of success, including league championships in 1951 and 1955. Fans regularly packed Guinn Field and the Colts were consistently among the league leaders in both wins and attendance. But, eventually, financial hardships hit the team and, despite a desperate last-minute push for new investors, the Colts shut down operations on March 17, 1957.
Baseball came back to San Angelo, however briefly, just a couple of years later. The San Angelo Pirates joined the Sophomore League and boasted a young Willie Stargell playing first base at the tender age of 18. But, again, the financial commitment proved to be too much as the Pirates folded after just half a season and turned over the franchise to Roswell, New Mexico.
The most recent chapter in San Angelo's baseball history began in July 1999 when Harlan Bruha and Robert Hegglund rounded up a group of local investors and signed up the reborn Colts to play in the Texas-Louisiana League. Within weeks, a lease was signed with Angelo State University for a stadium site, ground was broken for the new stadium, a new coach and first player had been signed, and a front office staff was assembled as the Colts steamed full speed ahead into the new millennium.
For the first time in 40 years, local baseball fans could once again proudly wear their team's colors and watch the boys of summer as they chased their own dreams on the diamond. The Colts also did their part, putting together an excellent inaugural season where they finished 2nd in the regular season standings and advanced to the playoffs. However, they were eventually eliminated by the eventual champions, the Rio Grande Valley White Wings. For their efforts, the Colts garnered a league-high four post-season All-Star selections, plus Manager, Executive and Franchise of the Year Awards from the league.
Hopefully this latest chapter in San Angelo professional baseball history will be a never-ending one...because baseball is back in San Angelo, and this time it is here to stay!
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