Storyline: History is a great teacher and history teaches us that Houston has a proud baseball tradition.
The history of Houston baseball dates back to 1861. An amateur league was comprised of players who had a meeting at the Palmer Building on April 11th, 1861. The team was known as the Houston Base Ball Club. Ironically, the team never played a game because of the Civil War.
The first games were played after the war. In a game featured by The Daily Telegraph–and with the team name changed to the Houston Stonewalls–the local team defeated a team from Galveston, The Robert E. Lees, at the San Jacinto Battleground on San Jacinto Day, April 12, 1868. The game was dubbed “The Texas State Championship.”
Houston Babies, 1889 (photo, A Texas Scrapbook: San Antonio’s Military Plaza)
Houston’s first minor league team was organized by city leaders on December 31st, 1887. The team was called Babies because Houston was the last team to join the Texas League. The Babies played their first game against the Cincinnati Red Stockings at Houston Base Ball Park on March 6, 1888. The Babies lost, 8-2.
Later, The Houston Buffaloes–know also as the “Buffs”–were Houston’s first minor league team to be associated with Major League Baseball. Affiliated with the St. Louis Cardinals, From 1905-1928 the Buffaloes played at West End Park and then moved to Buffalo Stadium after West End Park was sold to the Houston Independent School District.
In 1931 the Buffaloes had a 108-win season (159 games played) and won the Texas League Championship. But the Buffaloes most notable seasons came between 1939-41 when the team won three straight Texas league pennants.
1957 Houston Buffalos (photo, Astros Daily)
The Houston Buffaloes lasted until 1961 when Houston became a major league franchise, known as the Houston Colt 45s. That team soon became the Astros. The early Astros played at the Houston Astrodome. Today they compete at Minute Maid Park.
History is a great teacher and history teaches us that Houston has a proud baseball tradition.
