ABOUT US
FRONT OFFICE
Tommy Stephens
General Manager
Tommy and Kristin Stephens
Team Owners
Geoff Daniel
Athletic Trainer / Physical Therapist
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Broadcasting
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Press Box Emcee
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On Field Emcee
David Bagley
Stats Manager
Raymond J. Photography
Team Photographer
Hilary Allison
Marketing Manager
Preston Visual
Team Videographer
OUR STADIUM
SMOKEY JOE WILLIAMS PARK
637 Midway, Seguin, TX 78155
Home of Major League Baseball Hall of Famer
"Smokey" Joe Williams
Seguin is an American Baseball Town
Joseph Williams (April 6, 1886 – February 25, 1951), nicknamed "Cyclone Joe" and "Smokey Joe", was an American right-handed pitcher in Negro league baseball. He is considered one of the greatest pitchers of all-time and was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1999.
Williams was born in Seguin, Texas. One of his parents was African American, and the other was a Comanche Native American. Williams grew up to become an outstanding pitcher, but as his path to the major leagues was barred by the color line, he spent his entire 27-year career (1905–1932) pitching in the Negro leagues, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
On August 2, 1930, at age 44, Williams struck out 27 Kansas City Monarchs in a 1–0, 12-inning, one-hit night game victory. His mound opponent, Chet Brewer, struck out 19 men.[6] That same year, he beat a younger Negro league star who was just bursting into superstardom, Satchel Paige, also by 1–0, in their only meeting against each other. Williams retired from baseball two years later.
OUR LEAGUE
TEXAS COLLEGIATE LEAGUE
Texas Collegiate League Mission Statement
The Texas Collegiate League exists to provide the best summer league experience for the best professional prospects from colleges throughout the country. The league will allow those players with eligibility remaining to showcase and improve their skills in a wholesome, minor league-type atmosphere using wooden bats. The league is committed to providing quality, inexpensive entertainment in a small-town, intimate atmosphere that is distinctively Texan, while helping promote the game of baseball in the communities involved.
About the Texas Collegiate League
The formation of the Texas Collegiate League, Texas' first major collegiate summer wooden bat league, was announced at a press conference on September 24, 2003. The league is owned and operated by the Haddock Foundation, a section 501(c)3 organization. Gerald Haddock, a minority owner and General Counsel of the Texas Rangers from 1989-98 and a passionate baseball fan, became the league's Chair and CEO.
Teams, owners, and playing facilities in eight north Texas cities were secured. With the assistance of former Major League pitcher and then-TCL Vice President of Baseball Operations Darren Hall, some of the nation's top collegiate players from more than 75 schools were secured. Sponsors providing items such as equipment and transportation were acquired. Coaches and umpires were hired. A 54-game schedule for each team was drafted. The inaugural eight league members were Colleyville-Grapevine, Graham, Granbury, Coppell, Highland Park, McKinney, Mineral Wells, and Weatherford.
Host families, with whom the players live in each community, were secured and jobs were provided for players who requested them. League officials also worked with FSN Southwest on the creation of a weekly television program on the Texas Collegiate League: Baseball: TCL Style (later the TCL Magazine Show on FSN). By early June 2004 everything was in place.
Since the league was established, 88 alumni with ties to the Texas Collegiate League have been drafted by Major League teams or signed by professional independent baseball squads. Mark Lowe of the Highland Park Blue Sox and University of Texas-Arlington became the first TCL competitor to make it to the majors in June 2006 and captured his first win as a member of the Seattle Mariners in a relief role.
The TCL is currently represented by 350-plus players from over 100 different colleges and universities. Some of the more nationally-recognized schools sending their standouts to the TCL include programs representing every major conference in college baseball.
The league plans future expansion in the upcoming years as it continues its quest to become one of the premier summer collegiate leagues in the United States.