<p>308 pages with glossary, maps, ballpark diagrams, statistical tables, an extensive index and over 300 illustrations and photographs, many appearing for the first time. Different than most books about the minor leagues, Baseball in the Cross Timbers: The Story of the Sooner State League relates a regional history and study of society in post-World War II Oklahoma and north Texas through the prism of the last Class D league west of the Mississippi. The Sooner State League operated for eleven seasons between 1947 and 1957. More than 3,100 players mounted the bottom rung of baseball's ladder leading to the dream-come-true of playing in the Show. More than just a sports book, in fourteen chapters Baseball in the Cross Timbers reintroduces us to the Oklahoma and north Texas of the 1940s and 1950s. The heroes and the goats, the civic pillars and the criminals, the raconteurs, wheelers and dealers, rogues and rascals are all there along with the players and fans as well as the owners, managers, umpires, and officials, the people who made the Sooner State League live. The story of the League continued beyond its last season in 1957 in the form of the short 1961 season of Ardmore Rosebuds, the last small-town minor league team in Oklahoma. Each minor league has its own story worth telling and Pete Pierce has through his meticulous research told the story of the Sooner State League with the care and depth it deserves. . . .Pete tells behind the scenes stories of the League and its franchises, most run on a shoestring by men dedicated to bringing something worthwhile to their communities. I know a labor of love when I see one and Baseball in the Cross Timbers is certainly that. . . . Cross Timbers records and celebrates a simpler time when the U.S. was emerging from World War II and young men were able to turn from the battlefield to the ball field. It pays homage to the grassroots tradition of baseball and to the impact of minor leagues in our communities and on youngsters like the Pete Pierces of the 1950s. The unique collection of photos that Pete has been able to gather further returns one to those halcyon days. From the Foreword by C. Paul Rogers, III, Professor of Law and past Dean Dedman School of Law Southern Methodist University</p>

Baseball in the Cross Timbers: The Story of the Sooner State League

Peter G. Pierce

Oklahoma Heritage Association

Professional baseball in Ardmore segments nicely into two eras. The first covers the time the Territorians of the Texas League arrived through the day when the Western Association Boomers pulled up stakes for Joplin, Missouri. The second is the period 1947 through 1961 when the Indians and Cardinals toiled in the Sooner State League and the 1961 Rosebuds returned from Texas League baseball after a fifty-seven year absence. I have structured the history of professional baseball in Ardmore into two small volumes. The first, From Territorians to Boomers tells the story from the time the Territorians took the field as a semi-pro club in 1904 to July, 12, 1926 when the Boomers moved on to greener pastures in the Ozarks. The second, Indians, Cardinals and Rosebuds, covers the decade of membership in the Sooner State League and the short 1961 season of the Texas League Rosebuds who, like the Territorians, took shelter in Ardmore following flight from their home town.

Territorians to Boomers: Professional Baseball in Ardmore 1904-1926

Sports & Outdoors

Baseball

Ada has a short but rich history in professional baseball. While only a handful of the hundreds of players who wore the flannel of the Herefords ever appeared in a Major League game, they left a fascinating human and social legacy and impact on Ada. Originally conceived as a chapter in a book in the Red Dirt Baseball series, information and photos from former players and their children provided enough to justify an expansion to a full book. Most of the photos in EIGHT SEASONS OF THE HEREFORDS appear publicly for the first time and the vignettes on owners, managers, and players, have been expanded from BASEBALL IN THE CROSS TIMBERS.

Eight Seasons of the Herefords: Red Dirt Baseball in Ada

<p>Twenty-four Oklahoma cities and towns fielded teams in five leagues between 1920 and 1942. Dozens of past and future Major Leaguers toiled in the bushes of the Sooner State between the World Wars. Red Dirt Baseball–Boom and Bust tells the story of those leagues and the ball clubs from the cities that hosted them, from Ardmore to Wewoka and Wilson along with hundreds of photos of towns, teams, and players.</p>

Red Dirt Baseball Boom and Bust 1920-1942

Oklahoma Hall of Fame

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Peter G. Pierce. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Peter G. Pierce

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Peter G. Pierce. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Baseball in the Cross Timbers: The Story of the Sooner State League

Territorians to Boomers: Professional Baseball in Ardmore 1904-1926

Eight Seasons of the Herefords: Red Dirt Baseball in Ada

Red Dirt Baseball Boom and Bust 1920-1942