Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs 1965–1971 Fort Worth, Texas |
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Class-level | |
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Previous | AA |
Minor league affiliations | |
League | Texas League |
Major league affiliations | |
Previous |
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Minor league titles | |
League titles | None |
Team data | |
Previous names
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Spurs |
Previous parks
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Turnpike Stadium |
The Dallas–Fort Worth Spurs were an American minor league baseball team in the Texas League from 1965–1971. The team played in Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Spurs were created when the Triple-A Dallas Rangers moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, in 1965. With the opening of Turnpike Stadium, the Double-A Texas League's Fort Worth Cats, an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, moved into the new venue and adopted the regional Dallas-Fort Worth designation and the Spurs nickname.
The Spurs were affiliated with the Cubs (1965–1967),Houston Astros (1968), and Baltimore Orioles (1969–1971). In its affiliation with Baltimore, the team featured future Major League players Don Baylor,Bobby Grich,Enos Cabell, and Wayne Garland, along with managers Cal Ripken Sr. and Joe Altobelli and batboy Cal Ripken Jr.
The Spurs set many Texas League attendance records, especially after Turnpike Stadium expanded to a capacity of 20,500 in 1970. The Dallas-Fort Worth area was considered a prime location for an expansion team or a re-located franchise. Indeed, Turnpike Stadium had been built specifically to attract a major-league team to the Metroplex. That dream nearly came to fruition when the National League expanded in 1969. But the league instead expanded to Montreal, with the Montreal Expos.