Fort Worth Cats | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|||||
Location | Fort Worth, Texas | ||||
Ballpark | LaGrave Field (2002-2014) | ||||
Year founded | 2001 | ||||
Year disbanded | 2014 | ||||
Nickname(s) | The Cats | ||||
League championships | 3 (2005, 2006, 2007) | ||||
Former league(s) |
|
||||
Former ballparks | Lon Goldstein Field (2001) | ||||
Colors | Blue, white |
The Fort Worth Cats were a professional baseball team based in Fort Worth, Texas, in the United States. The Cats were a member of the South Division of the now disbanded United League Baseball, which was not affiliated with Major League Baseball. From 2002 to 2014, the Cats played their home games at LaGrave Field.
Under the management of Wayne Terwilliger (2005) and Stan Hough (2006–2007), the team won the 2005 Central Baseball League championship and the 2006 and 2007 American Association championships.
The new Cats began play in Fort Worth in 2001 at Lon Goldstein Field, which was their temporary home until the new ballpark was constructed. They were named after the original Fort Worth Cats, who played mostly in the Texas League until 1964. Former Cats' owner Carl Bell commissioned a new Lagrave Field to be built directly on top of the original stadium's location. Home plate is exactly where it was in 1926 when the old facility opened. On May 23, 2002, the Cats opened up the season in their brand new home. The team's mascot was Dodger, whose namesake is a tribute to the Cats' affiliation with the great Brooklyn Dodgers teams in the 1940s and 1950s.
Under the management of Wayne Terwilliger, the Cats defeated the San Angelo Colts for the 2005 Central Baseball League championship after beating the Pensacola Pelicans in the first round of the playoffs. It was Fort Worth's first championship since 1948. They won both halves of the season with identical 30-17 records, which was a franchise record for wins in a season. The Cats also made the playoffs in 2003, which was Terwilliger's first season as manager.