- Victoria Rosebuds
The Victoria Rosebuds were a
minor league baseball team in the Double-ATexas League located inVictoria, Texas , between 1958 andMay 27 , 1961, when the club was transferred toArdmore, Oklahoma , because of attendance woes. Two weeks later, onJune 10 ,
1961, Victoria received another club struggling at the gate, theRio Grande Valley Giants , who transferred fromHarlingen, Texas .Both the Ardmore Rosebuds (who drew a total of almost 49,000 fans for the season) and Victoria Giants (a total of 43,000) disappeared from the TL map in 1962, succeeded by the
Albuquerque Dukes andEl Paso Sun Kings .Victoria, Texas, has been represented in numerous organized baseball associations since 1910, including the
Southwest Texas League , Gulf Coast League (not to be confused with the current Rookie-level GCL based inFlorida ), Big State League,Gulf States League , and Lone Star League.However, the Rosebuds/Giants' four years in the Texas League during the 1958-61 period (along with a return to the Texas loop in 1974 for one season as the "Victoria Toros") represented the highest level of minor league team to represent the city.
The Rosebuds' most successul season was in 1959, when they won the TL's regular-season championship before falling in the playoffs to the
San Antonio Missions . The '59 Buds were managed by "Pistol Pete" Reiser, the former star Dodgercenterfielder , who won the 1959 "Sporting News" Minor League Manager of the Year Award for his efforts.Outfielder Carl Warwick , a future major leaguer, was the league Most Valuable Player, whileCarroll Beringer , later a long-time MLB coach, was the TL's toppitcher .The Rosebuds played the final three months of the 1961 season in Ardmore before being dropped from the Texas League.
Affiliations
The Rosebuds were affiliated with the following major league teams:
References
*Johnson, Lloyd, and Wolff, Miles, ed., "The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball," 1997 edition. Durham, N.C.:
Baseball America .
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