The Houston Buffs flew their team pennant as four times winners of the Dixie Series.
As professional baseball rolled into the 1920s, the desire among fans for achieving the greatest recognition available for the accomplishments of their local clubs grew with it. The major leagues had the World Series to settle the “who’s best?” in the universe question, but the minor leagues wanted that kind of opportunity also for their (unspoken word to follow here) “lesser” championships in lower levels leagues.
At the highest minor league level, the “Little World Series” was formed by the clubs in the American Association and International League to determine the best club in minor league professional baseball, but that did not stop leagues at even lower levels of competition from coming up with their own end-of-season ultimate prizes. There was money to be made in the stir of post-year drama and the club owners and leagues hated to miss out on any extra opportunities to pack the houses of their champions four to seven more times.
Beneath the American Association and International League, the Texas League and the Southern Association jumped on the championship series idea like regional frogs on regional June Bugs. They got together and formed the Dixie Series as the annual settlement match between their two annual champs, starting in 1920.
The Dixie Series became an inter-league minor league postseason series that pitted the playoff champions of the Southern Association and the Texas League in a best of seven in games won match from 1928 to 1958. The series was revived for a single time in 1967, placing the Southern League champion Birmingham A’s into a match with the Albuquerque Dodgers of the Texas League. The A’s won that one, four games to two, but the appeal of a permanent rival of the series died on the vine. The Dixie Series finally was put to bed for good.
Here are the results of the Dixie Series from 1920 to 1958. Naturally, the eight trips to the Series by the Houston Buffs are expressed here in bold type. The Buffs won their first trip to “the big south show” in 1928, the first year of Buff Stadium, but the great 1931 club of Dizzy Dean and Ducky Medwick lost to Birmingham in a local shocker. In the end, the Houston Buffs split their eight Dixie Series trips, winning four and losing four. My personal favorite was their 1947 win over Nashville. My personally greatest disappointments came in 1951 and 1954, by the time I was old enough to better appreciate the meaning of their losses in 1951 and 1954.
For your information, here are the results of all Dixie Series matches played from 1920 to 1958:
1958 was the last encounter in the Dixie Series between the Southern Association and Texas League. Beginning in 1959 it was replaced by the Pan-Am Series, the Texas League vs. the Mexican League.
Tags: Baseball, Dixie Series, History
The Pecan Park Eagle 
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September 11, 2014 at 9:44 pm |
Except for the first twow paragraphs, this is a great article. Remember even now,entering the 7th grade in 1951, and playing the Barons against the Buffs or the 51 series by throwing a rubber ball against the concrete door steps. Was looked for a comparison attendance figures, but have not been able to locate.