Lone Star Series
Encyclopedia
The Lone Star Series is an annual Major League Baseball
contest featuring Texas' two major league franchises, the Houston Astros
of the National League
and the Texas Rangers
of the American League
. It is an outgrowth of the "natural rivalry" established by MLB as part of interleague play
.
The winner of the 6-game series is awarded the Silver Boot. A 30 inches (762 mm) tall display of a size-15 cowboy boot
cast in silver, complete with a custom, hand-made spur
. If the series is split (3-to-3), the winner is the club which scored the most runs
over the course of the series.
in 1861 with the formation of the Houston Base Ball Club to promote the game the same way Alexander Cartwright
had during the 1840s with the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in Manhattan
. Baseball was played in Galveston and other Lone Star locations prior to the Civil War. The distribution of the game was interrupted by the Civil War but would pick up by the end of the war. Baseball was played during the Civil War mostly by Yankees
but occasionally by Confederates. A humorous story by Texas-based Union soldier George A. Putnam told of a baseball game interrupted by Confederate
gunfire.
Putnam stated:
On April 21, 1867, the first occurrence of a baseball game was taken into account by the Houston Post
. At the San Jacinto
Battlegrounds near Houston, where General Sam Houston
led Texas to triumph in the War of Independence from Mexico in 1836, a baseball game took place on the anniversary now celebrated as Texas Independence Day
. The Houston Stonewalls
defeated the Galveston
Robert E. Lee
s, 35–2, that rivaled the result of what originally happened on the same site.
Baseball spread throughout the state in the next two decades as a popular amateur game. The influence of what Houston had done in the early 1860s, those who acquired the nuances of the game from Civil War travels, and experience of immigrants who moved to Texas during the Reconstruction Era helped in organizing the sport and bringing more attention to the game in the state of Texas. Scarcely a generation after the state’s first recorded game in 1867, Texas fielded 100 minor league clubs—more than any other state.
The acceptance of baseball had expanded throughout Texas like a stampede of cattle by the end of the 19th century. Houston was the founding member of the Texas League
in 1888 and also won their first league pennant the next year. The Houston ballclub went by the nicknames of Babies, Red Stockings, Mud Cats, Magnolias, and Wanderers before Buffaloes became permanent around the turn of the 20th century.
. There were teams in Austin, Beaumont, Cleburne, Corsicana, Fort Worth, Galveston, Greenville, Paris, San Antonio, Sherman, Temple, Texarkana, Waco as well as Dallas and Houston. (Both the Rangers and Astros have teams in present-day Double A Texas League. The Rangers' affiliate is the Frisco Roughriders
while the Astros' affiliate is the Corpus Christi Hooks
.) Along with the Texas League, there have been many baseball leagues that briefly existed in Texas or included at least one team from the Lone Star State such as: Lone Star Colored League of Texas, Negro American League
, Colored Texas League, Texas Negro League, Texas-Oklahoma Negro League, South Texas Negro League, West Texas Negro League, Mexican National League, Central Baseball League
, American Association
, All-American Association
, South Central League, Arkansas State League, Cotton States League
, Rio Grande Valley League, Rio Grande Association, Southwestern League, Panhandle-Pecos Valley League, Longhorn League, North Texas League, West Texas-New Mexico League
, Sooner State League
, Arizona-Texas League
, Lone Star League, Big State League, Gulf States League, East Texas League, Texas Association, Arkansas-Texas League, West Texas League
, South Texas League, Middle Texas League, Central Texas League, Texas-Southern League, Texas-Louisiana League, Texas Valley League, Texas-Oklahoma League, Southwest Texas League, Evangeline League
, West Dixie League, Gulf Coast League, Western Association
, and Sophomore League
and also including present-day Pacific Coast League
, United League Baseball
, Texas Collegiate League
, Continental Baseball League
, Texas Winter League
, and American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
Long before professional baseball came to Texas, college baseball also has been a staple of Texas culture
. Outside of the Lone Star Shootout, college baseball
in Texas is overwhelmingly popular and has some intense in-state rivalries such as the Battle of the Brazos
between Texas A&M
and Baylor University
, Houston-Rice rivalry
, the Holy War between Baylor and TCU
, Battle of the Piney Woods between Sam Houston State
and Stephen F. Austin State University
, and the Lone Star Showdown between the Texas Longhorns
and Texas A&M Aggies
. Other in-state rivalries include Texas-Rice, Texas State-Rice, Texas State-University of Texas at San Antonio
, Texas Tech
-Baylor, Texas-Texas Tech, Texas Tech-Texas A&M, Texas-Baylor, Sam Houston State-Houston, Texas Southern
-Prairie View A&M, St. Mary's
-University of the Incarnate Word
, Dallas Baptist
-Houston Baptist
as well as other esoteric rivalries. Tournaments, like the Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, TX, Whataburger College Classic in Corpus Christi, TX, and Houston College Classic played at Minute Maid Park, take place there in late February because of the more convenient, warmer weather. Texas collegiate baseball programs can be found throughout the different levels of the NCAA. 1-A conferences that include Texas collegiate baseball are the Big 12 Conference
, Conference USA
, and the Mountain West Conference
as well as the Southland Conference
, Southwestern Athletic Conference
, and 1-A Independent teams, UTPA
and Dallas Baptist. (TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, Houston, Baylor, and SMU
(ceased operations after 1980) baseball programs once belonged together to the Southwest Conference before 1996; Clark Field
, Dan Law Field
, Olsen Field
, and TCU Diamond
are just some of the ballparks that played host to Southwest Conference baseball over the course of the SWC.) Other conferences that include one or more Texas collegiate baseball programs are the Heartland Conference
, Lone Star Conference
, American Southwest Conference
, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
, Red River Athletic Conference
, Sooner Athletic Conference
, Southwest Junior College Conference.
, Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
, Western Junior College Athletic Conference
, and NAIA independent schools
(University of Houston–Victoria
).
The Lone Star Series was the consequence of many things that happened to Texas in the 1950s: population shift westward from metropolitan areas on the East Coast, the space program
, more modernized higher education, and the formation of the brief Continental League
resulting in expansion in Major League Baseball
shortly thereafter.
Prior to 1962, there were no Major League Baseball teams in Texas until the Houston Colt .45's of the National League. They played in Colt Stadium
for the first three years of existence, fighting against hot and humid weather and outrageously large mosquitoes, which also had an effect on the fans. Unbelievably, they did not play a Sunday night baseball game at home until June 9, 1963, which was also the major leagues' first Sunday night game. The Astros, as they came to be with the new all-weathered Harris County Domed Stadium, really did not have a strong rivalry with any team in the NL, except for the St. Louis Cardinals
and later on the Atlanta Braves
.
During the planning of the second wave of expansion in the big leagues in 1968, the National League
considered putting a new team in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by an overwhelming majority of its owners. However, Judge Roy Hofheinz
did not want it to happen or allow it because he owned all the television and radio rights in Texas for Astros ballgames. The other owners were in favor, except Hofheinz, of having a rivalry approaching the intensity of the Dodgers–Giants rivalry in the Senior Circuit. San Diego and Montreal were selected instead. The Dallas-Fort Worth area would have to wait four more years for a team to arrive when the Senators (see below) moved to Arlington, TX. It would be another 32 years before there was a meeting between the Rangers and Astros.
Before they were the Texas Rangers, the team belonged to the Beltway as the second version of the Washington Senators
where they played mediocre baseball most of the time for the first 11 years of existence. They replaced the old Washington Senators
who had moved to Minnesota to become the Twins in 1961. The new Senators changed into the Texas Rangers in time for the 1972 season and so a rivalry was born. (At one time, the Kansas City Athletics were interested in moving to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the early 1960s but were voted down, 9–1, by the other American League owners.) The Astros have been in Texas ten years longer than the Rangers, but the Senators/Rangers franchise is one year older than the Astros. They met, starting in 1992, at the end of Spring Training
with the Rangers winning 2–0 claiming the very first Silver Boot. On April 1, 1993, Nolan Ryan
returned to the Astrodome as a member of the Texas Rangers in front of 53,657, the biggest crowd to see a big league game in Texas up to that point. The Rangers won the last two exhibition games, a 6–5 victory in Arlington in 1999 and a 9–3 victory at Houston in 2000, before the two teams met for the first time in regular season in 2001.
During the 1997 off-season, "radical" realignment plans were bandied around about possibly rearranging teams from one league to another, especially Houston and Texas. In order to cut down on traveling costs and align teams together based on geography, the MLB owners came up with many plans to put the Astros and Rangers in a more suitable placement together. However, the American League
and National League
would lose their respective identities in the process. (The only move was the Brewers from the AL Central to the NL Central.) One of the plans in 2000 even featured the Texas Rangers in a six-team AL Central so that they would be with other teams in the Central Time Zone while the fledging Arizona Diamondbacks
would have had to leave the NL West for the AL West to replace the Rangers. In the 2005–06 off-season, the Florida Marlins were considering moving to San Antonio among other cities due to lack of funding for a new stadium. Another professional baseball team in Texas, whether by relocation or expansion, in either league would create greater rivalries, similar to the kind in the NBA with the Spurs
, Mavericks
, and Rockets
, and possible realignment issues.
Of course, the Lone Star Series wasn't conceived until , four years after Interleague Play
began. It was only logical to have the Rangers and Astros matched together since they are the only MLB teams representing Texas. Since both play in two different "divisions" (AL West and NL Central respectively), Major League Baseball
had to rectify the oversight even though Interleague Play wouldn't be rotated from division to division on a yearly basis until 2002.
On November 11, 2011, the Astros were sold to Jim Crane
, and also agreed to move to the American League West
beginning with the 2013 season. Thus the Lone Star Series will now be considered an intradivisional rivalry instead of an Interleague series, and both the Astros and Rangers are expected to play each other more often instead of playing only six games a season.
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
contest featuring Texas' two major league franchises, the Houston Astros
Houston Astros
The Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
of the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
and the Texas Rangers
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
of the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
. It is an outgrowth of the "natural rivalry" established by MLB as part of interleague play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
.
The winner of the 6-game series is awarded the Silver Boot. A 30 inches (762 mm) tall display of a size-15 cowboy boot
Cowboy boot
Cowboy boots refer to a specific style of riding boot, historically worn by cowboys. They have a Cuban heel, rounded to pointed toe, high shaft, and, traditionally, no lacing...
cast in silver, complete with a custom, hand-made spur
Spur
A spur is a metal tool designed to be worn in pairs on the heels of riding boots for the purpose of directing a horse to move forward or laterally while riding. It is usually used to refine the riding aids and to back up the natural aids . The spur is used in every equestrian discipline...
. If the series is split (3-to-3), the winner is the club which scored the most runs
Run (baseball)
In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls are met or assured...
over the course of the series.
19th century: The Beginning of Baseball in Texas
The birth of baseball in Texas happened at the same time as the Civil WarAmerican Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
in 1861 with the formation of the Houston Base Ball Club to promote the game the same way Alexander Cartwright
Alexander Cartwright
Alexander Joy Cartwright, Jr. is one of several people sometimes referred to as a "father of baseball". Cartwright is thought to be the first person to draw a diagram of a diamond shaped baseball field, and the rules of the modern game are based on the Knickerbocker Rules developed by Cartwright...
had during the 1840s with the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
. Baseball was played in Galveston and other Lone Star locations prior to the Civil War. The distribution of the game was interrupted by the Civil War but would pick up by the end of the war. Baseball was played during the Civil War mostly by Yankees
Union (American Civil War)
During the American Civil War, the Union was a name used to refer to the federal government of the United States, which was supported by the twenty free states and five border slave states. It was opposed by 11 southern slave states that had declared a secession to join together to form the...
but occasionally by Confederates. A humorous story by Texas-based Union soldier George A. Putnam told of a baseball game interrupted by Confederate
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
gunfire.
Putnam stated:
On April 21, 1867, the first occurrence of a baseball game was taken into account by the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
. At the San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...
Battlegrounds near Houston, where General Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
led Texas to triumph in the War of Independence from Mexico in 1836, a baseball game took place on the anniversary now celebrated as Texas Independence Day
Texas Independence Day
Texas Independence Day is the celebration of the adoption of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. With this document, settlers in Mexican Texas officially broke from Mexico, creating the Republic of Texas...
. The Houston Stonewalls
Stonewall Jackson
ຄຽשת״ׇׂׂׂׂ֣|birth_place= Clarksburg, Virginia |death_place=Guinea Station, Virginia|placeofburial=Stonewall Jackson Memorial CemeteryLexington, Virginia|placeofburial_label= Place of burial|image=...
defeated the Galveston
Galveston, Texas
Galveston is a coastal city located on Galveston Island in the U.S. state of Texas. , the city had a total population of 47,743 within an area of...
Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
s, 35–2, that rivaled the result of what originally happened on the same site.
Baseball spread throughout the state in the next two decades as a popular amateur game. The influence of what Houston had done in the early 1860s, those who acquired the nuances of the game from Civil War travels, and experience of immigrants who moved to Texas during the Reconstruction Era helped in organizing the sport and bringing more attention to the game in the state of Texas. Scarcely a generation after the state’s first recorded game in 1867, Texas fielded 100 minor league clubs—more than any other state.
The acceptance of baseball had expanded throughout Texas like a stampede of cattle by the end of the 19th century. Houston was the founding member of the Texas League
Texas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
in 1888 and also won their first league pennant the next year. The Houston ballclub went by the nicknames of Babies, Red Stockings, Mud Cats, Magnolias, and Wanderers before Buffaloes became permanent around the turn of the 20th century.
20th century: Growth and popularity of baseball in Texas
The roots of the Lone Star Series started in the late 19th century and early 20th century in the Texas LeagueTexas League
The Texas League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the South Central United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The league was founded in 1888 and ran through 1892...
. There were teams in Austin, Beaumont, Cleburne, Corsicana, Fort Worth, Galveston, Greenville, Paris, San Antonio, Sherman, Temple, Texarkana, Waco as well as Dallas and Houston. (Both the Rangers and Astros have teams in present-day Double A Texas League. The Rangers' affiliate is the Frisco Roughriders
Frisco RoughRiders
The Frisco RoughRiders are currently the Class AA affiliate of the Texas Rangers major league baseball club. The team plays in the Texas League, assigned to the South Division. Prior to 2003, the franchise was based in Shreveport, Louisiana, and were known as the Shreveport Captains...
while the Astros' affiliate is the Corpus Christi Hooks
Corpus Christi Hooks
The Corpus Christi Hooks are a minor league baseball team of the Texas League, and are the Double-A affiliate of the Houston Astros. They are located in Corpus Christi, Texas, and are named for the city's association with fishing. The team's ownership group is headed by Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan...
.) Along with the Texas League, there have been many baseball leagues that briefly existed in Texas or included at least one team from the Lone Star State such as: Lone Star Colored League of Texas, Negro American League
Negro American League
The Negro American League was one of the several Negro leagues which were created during the time organized baseball was segregated. The league was established in 1937, and continued to exist until 1960...
, Colored Texas League, Texas Negro League, Texas-Oklahoma Negro League, South Texas Negro League, West Texas Negro League, Mexican National League, Central Baseball League
Central Baseball League
The Central Baseball League, formerly the Texas-Louisiana League, was a minor league whose member teams were independent of any Major League Baseball affiliations.In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron Pierce and U. S...
, American Association
American Association (20th century)
The American Association was a minor league baseball league at the Triple-A level of baseball in the United States from to and to . Together with the International League, it contested the Junior World Series which determined the championship team in minor league baseball, at least for the...
, All-American Association
All-American Association
The All-American Association was an independent minor league that existed in the southern United States in 2001. Total attendance in 2001 was 200,970. The league folded after the end of the season and four of the league's six teams joined other leagues...
, South Central League, Arkansas State League, Cotton States League
Cotton States League
The Cotton States League name was used five different times in baseball history. The first Cotton States League ran from 1902 through 1908 as a class D league. After the league shut down, another Cotton States League was reformulated in 1910, with three of the six '08 members returning for the new...
, Rio Grande Valley League, Rio Grande Association, Southwestern League, Panhandle-Pecos Valley League, Longhorn League, North Texas League, West Texas-New Mexico League
West Texas-New Mexico League
The West Texas-New Mexico League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1937 through 1955. The league was not active in 1943-1945 because of World War II...
, Sooner State League
Sooner State League
The Sooner State League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1947 through 1957. The league owners kept it alive in 1958, anticipating a return to play in 1959. However, when only Ardmore and Paris, Texas, were able to secure working agreements, the League folded on February 12,...
, Arizona-Texas League
Arizona-Texas League
The Arizona-Texas League was a low-level circuit in American minor league baseball that existed from 1928-32, 1937-41, 1947-50 and 1952-54. The Arizona-Texas loop merged with the Sunset League to form the Southwest International League in 1951...
, Lone Star League, Big State League, Gulf States League, East Texas League, Texas Association, Arkansas-Texas League, West Texas League
West Texas League
The West Texas League was a class-D minor league baseball league that existed from 1920 to 1922 and from 1928 to 1929.-1920-1922:The following teams played in 1920:*Abilene Eagles*Ranger Nitros*Mineral Wells Resorters*Cisco Scouts...
, South Texas League, Middle Texas League, Central Texas League, Texas-Southern League, Texas-Louisiana League, Texas Valley League, Texas-Oklahoma League, Southwest Texas League, Evangeline League
Evangeline Baseball League
The Evangeline Baseball League began in 1934 as a six-team Class-D minor league in and around Louisiana, United States. The following season, the league was expanded to eight teams and ceased operations in 1942, with six teams, during World War II. It resumed activities in 1946, getting promoted to...
, West Dixie League, Gulf Coast League, Western Association
Western Association
The Western Association was the name of five different leagues in American minor league baseball during the 19th and 20th centuries.The oldest league, originally established as the Northwestern League in 1883, was refounded as the Western Association on October 28, 1887...
, and Sophomore League
Sophomore League
The Sophomore League was a Class D minor league baseball league that operated from 1958 through 1961. In 1956 and 1957 the league was known as the Southwestern League.- Former :...
and also including present-day Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
, United League Baseball
United League Baseball
United League Baseball was an independent baseball league that operated in Texas. It later merged with the Northern League and the Golden Baseball League to form the North American League.- History :...
, Texas Collegiate League
Texas Collegiate League
The Texas Collegiate League is a collegiate summer baseball league comprising teams of the top college players from North America and beyond. The TCL is based in Coppell, Texas, and shares its headquarters with the Coppell Copperheads, the DFW Metroplex-area team...
, Continental Baseball League
Continental Baseball League
The Continental Baseball League, based in Addison, Texas, was an independent minor league professional baseball league that operated for four seasons, from 2007-2010. The league conceived as a professional, independent baseball organization operating in the U.S...
, Texas Winter League
Texas Winter League
The Texas Winter League was the winter professional baseball league of the United League. Announced on October 25, 2006, and headquartered in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, it was an independent baseball league. The Winter League played in Harlingen, Texas with teams based in the lower Rio Grande...
, and American Association of Independent Professional Baseball.
Long before professional baseball came to Texas, college baseball also has been a staple of Texas culture
Culture of Texas
The culture of Texas has been a melting pot of the "Southern" and Southwestern culture, with pockets of colonies of ethnic groups in Texas also has an influx of people fromNorth America moving in to find oil...
. Outside of the Lone Star Shootout, college baseball
College baseball
College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. Compared to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a less significant contribution to cultivating professional players, as the minor leagues primarily...
in Texas is overwhelmingly popular and has some intense in-state rivalries such as the Battle of the Brazos
Battle of the Brazos
The Battle of the Brazos is the official collegiate sports rivalry between the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies. The rivalry is named for the Brazos River that flows by the two schools, which are only 90 miles apart...
between Texas A&M
Texas A&M University
Texas A&M University is a coeducational public research university located in College Station, Texas . It is the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System. The sixth-largest university in the United States, A&M's enrollment for Fall 2011 was over 50,000 for the first time in school...
and Baylor University
Baylor University
Baylor University is a private, Christian university located in Waco, Texas. Founded in 1845, Baylor is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.-History:...
, Houston-Rice rivalry
Houston-Rice rivalry
The Houston–Rice rivalry is a crosstown college rivalry between the University of Houston and Rice University. The universities are located approximately five miles from each other in Houston's "Inner loop" area...
, the Holy War between Baylor and TCU
TCU Horned Frogs baseball
The TCU Horned Frogs baseball team represents Texas Christian University and competes in the Mountain West Conference of NCAA Division I. Since 2002, they have played their home games at Lupton Stadium, which is located on campus in Fort Worth, and holds 3,500...
, Battle of the Piney Woods between Sam Houston State
Sam Houston State University
Sam Houston State University was founded in 1879 and is the third oldest public institution of higher learning in the State of Texas. It is located in Huntsville, Texas. It is one of the oldest purpose-built institutions for the instruction of teachers west of the Mississippi River and the first...
and Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University
Stephen F. Austin State University is a public university located in Nacogdoches, Texas, United States. Founded as a teachers' college in 1923, the university was named after one of Texas' founding fathers, Stephen F. Austin. Its campus resides on part of the homestead of another Texas founding...
, and the Lone Star Showdown between the Texas Longhorns
Texas Longhorns baseball
The Texas Longhorns baseball team represents The University of Texas at Austin and competes in the Big 12 Conference of NCAA Division I.The Texas Longhorns are the winningest program in college baseball history in terms of win percentage with .740 and ranks second all-time in total wins to the...
and Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies
Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "Aggie" is common at land-grant or "Ag" schools in many states. The teams compete in Division I of NCAA sports...
. Other in-state rivalries include Texas-Rice, Texas State-Rice, Texas State-University of Texas at San Antonio
University of Texas at San Antonio
The University of Texas at San Antonio, commonly referred to as UTSA, is a state university in San Antonio, Texas. With an enrollment of more than 30,000 students, it is the third-largest of nine universities and six health institutions in the University of Texas System and the eighth-largest in...
, Texas Tech
Texas Tech Red Raiders
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are the athletic teams that represent Texas Tech University . The women's basketball team uses the name Lady Raiders; however, the school's other women's teams use the "Red Raiders" name. The university's athletic program fields teams in 15 varsity sports and 30 club sports...
-Baylor, Texas-Texas Tech, Texas Tech-Texas A&M, Texas-Baylor, Sam Houston State-Houston, Texas Southern
Texas Southern University
Texas Southern University is a historically black university located in Houston, Texas, United States....
-Prairie View A&M, St. Mary's
St. Mary's University, Texas
St. Mary's University is a Catholic and Marianist liberal arts institution located on northwest of downtown San Antonio, Texas, United States. St. Mary’s is a nationally recognized master’s level school ranked among the top colleges in the west for best value and academic reputation by U.S. News...
-University of the Incarnate Word
University of the Incarnate Word
The University of the Incarnate Word is a private Catholic university located within the cities of San Antonio and Alamo Heights in Texas, United States....
, Dallas Baptist
Dallas Baptist University
Dallas Baptist University , formerly known as Dallas Baptist College, is a Christian liberal arts university located in Dallas, Texas. The main campus is located approximately fifteen miles southwest of downtown Dallas overlooking Mountain Creek Lake...
-Houston Baptist
Houston Baptist University
Houston Baptist University is a private Baptist institution founded in 1960. It is located in Greater Sharpstown in Houston, Texas near the Southwest Freeway.- History :...
as well as other esoteric rivalries. Tournaments, like the Southwest Diamond Classic in Frisco, TX, Whataburger College Classic in Corpus Christi, TX, and Houston College Classic played at Minute Maid Park, take place there in late February because of the more convenient, warmer weather. Texas collegiate baseball programs can be found throughout the different levels of the NCAA. 1-A conferences that include Texas collegiate baseball are the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
, Conference USA
Conference USA
Conference USA, officially abbreviated C-USA, is a college athletic conference whose member institutions are located within the Southern United States. The conference participates in the NCAA's Division I in all sports...
, and the Mountain West Conference
Mountain West Conference
The Mountain West Conference , popularly known as the Mountain West, is the youngest of the college athletic conferences affiliated with the NCAA’s Division I FBS . The MWC officially began operations in July 1999...
as well as the Southland Conference
Southland Conference
The Southland Conference is a college athletic conference which operates in the south central United States. It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in the Division I Football Championship Subdivision...
, Southwestern Athletic Conference
Southwestern Athletic Conference
The Southwestern Athletic Conference is a college athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black universities in the Southern United States...
, and 1-A Independent teams, UTPA
Utpa
Utpa may refer to:* Utpa, an Enochian angel* University of Texas–Pan American...
and Dallas Baptist. (TCU, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, Rice, Houston, Baylor, and SMU
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
(ceased operations after 1980) baseball programs once belonged together to the Southwest Conference before 1996; Clark Field
Clark Field (Austin, Texas)
Clark Field was a baseball park in Austin, Texas, used primarily by the University of Texas Longhorns. The field was used from 1928 until 1974. It is considered one of the most novel ballparks ever conceived thanks to its location. There was a limestone cliff in the outfield that created havoc for...
, Dan Law Field
Dan Law Field
Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park, nicknamed "The Law", is the home stadium of the Texas Tech Red Raiders baseball team in Lubbock, Texas. It is located on the Texas Tech University campus, adjacent to Jones AT&T Stadium and Fuller Track...
, Olsen Field
Olsen Field
Olsen Field is a baseball stadium in College Station, Texas, that is home to the Texas A&M baseball program. The stadium was dedicated on March 21, 1978, and is named in honor of Pat Olsen, a 1923 graduate of Texas A&M University and a former baseball player in the New York Yankees farm system...
, and TCU Diamond
TCU Diamond
TCU Diamond was a ballpark located in Fort Worth, TX and was the home of the TCU Horned Frogs baseball program for four decades. The Horned Frogs won Southwest Conference regular season championships in 1963 , 1966 , 1967 , 1972 , and 1994...
are just some of the ballparks that played host to Southwest Conference baseball over the course of the SWC.) Other conferences that include one or more Texas collegiate baseball programs are the Heartland Conference
Heartland Conference
The Heartland Conference is an NCAA Division II college athletic conference founded in 1999. The majority of members are in Texas, with additional members in Arkansas, Kansas, and Oklahoma.-Member schools:...
, Lone Star Conference
Lone Star Conference
The Lone Star Conference is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division II. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Texas, Oklahoma and New Mexico...
, American Southwest Conference
American Southwest Conference
The American Southwest Conference is a college athletic conference, founded in 1996, whose member schools compete in the NCAA's Division III. The schools are located in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas and Mississippi...
, Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference , founded in 1962, is an athletic conference which competes in the NCAA's Division III. Member institutions are located in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Texas...
, Red River Athletic Conference
Red River Athletic Conference
The Red River Athletic Conference is an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . The conference's 14 member institutions are located in Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Pending acceptance of their application to the conference, a 15th member, the University...
, Sooner Athletic Conference
Sooner Athletic Conference
The Sooner Athletic Conference is an affiliate of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics . Its 12 member institutions are located in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas....
, Southwest Junior College Conference.
Southwest Junior College Conference.
Also known as '. Hosted by the National Junior College Athletic Association, also known as Region XIV is a junior college conference for many Tech and Community Colleges...
, Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Association was an NCAA-affiliated Division III college athletic association for schools in Texas from 1976 to 1996....
, Western Junior College Athletic Conference
Western Junior College Athletic Conference
Also known as '. Hosted by the National Junior College Athletic Association, also known as Region IV is a junior college conference for many Tech and Community Colleges...
, and NAIA independent schools
NAIA independent schools
NAIA independent schools are 4-year institutional members of the NAIA that play independent of any formal conference affiliation. Many NAIA independent schools are members of the Association of Independent Institutions , which allows members to have a formal route to NAIA tournaments.-See...
(University of Houston–Victoria
University of Houston–Victoria
The University of Houston–Victoria is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Houston System. Its campus spans 20-acre in Victoria, with satellite locations at UH System centers in Sugar Land and Cinco Ranch...
).
The Lone Star Series was the consequence of many things that happened to Texas in the 1950s: population shift westward from metropolitan areas on the East Coast, the space program
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
, more modernized higher education, and the formation of the brief Continental League
Continental League
The Continental League was a proposed third major league for baseball, announced in 1959 and scheduled to begin play in the 1961 season...
resulting in expansion in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
shortly thereafter.
Prior to 1962, there were no Major League Baseball teams in Texas until the Houston Colt .45's of the National League. They played in Colt Stadium
Colt Stadium
Colt Stadium was a Major League baseball stadium that formerly stood in Houston, Texas. It was the home of the Houston Colt .45s. It was their temporary home from 1962-1964 while the Astrodome was being built, just to the south of it. The stadium consisted of an uncovered grandstand stretching from...
for the first three years of existence, fighting against hot and humid weather and outrageously large mosquitoes, which also had an effect on the fans. Unbelievably, they did not play a Sunday night baseball game at home until June 9, 1963, which was also the major leagues' first Sunday night game. The Astros, as they came to be with the new all-weathered Harris County Domed Stadium, really did not have a strong rivalry with any team in the NL, except for the St. Louis Cardinals
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
and later on the Atlanta Braves
Atlanta Braves
The Atlanta Braves are a professional baseball club based in Atlanta, Georgia. The Braves are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League. The Braves have played in Turner Field since 1997....
.
During the planning of the second wave of expansion in the big leagues in 1968, the National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
considered putting a new team in the Dallas-Fort Worth area by an overwhelming majority of its owners. However, Judge Roy Hofheinz
Roy Hofheinz
Roy Mark Hofheinz , popularly known as Judge Hofheinz or "The Judge", was State Representative from 1934 to 1936, County Judge of Harris County, Texas from 1936 to 1944, and mayor of the city of Houston, Texas from 1953 to 1955.-Biography:A flamboyant and successful orator, broadcaster, developer...
did not want it to happen or allow it because he owned all the television and radio rights in Texas for Astros ballgames. The other owners were in favor, except Hofheinz, of having a rivalry approaching the intensity of the Dodgers–Giants rivalry in the Senior Circuit. San Diego and Montreal were selected instead. The Dallas-Fort Worth area would have to wait four more years for a team to arrive when the Senators (see below) moved to Arlington, TX. It would be another 32 years before there was a meeting between the Rangers and Astros.
Before they were the Texas Rangers, the team belonged to the Beltway as the second version of the Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
where they played mediocre baseball most of the time for the first 11 years of existence. They replaced the old Washington Senators
Minnesota Twins
The Minnesota Twins are a professional baseball team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The team is named after the Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and St. Paul. They played in Metropolitan Stadium from 1961 to 1981 and the...
who had moved to Minnesota to become the Twins in 1961. The new Senators changed into the Texas Rangers in time for the 1972 season and so a rivalry was born. (At one time, the Kansas City Athletics were interested in moving to the Dallas/Fort Worth area in the early 1960s but were voted down, 9–1, by the other American League owners.) The Astros have been in Texas ten years longer than the Rangers, but the Senators/Rangers franchise is one year older than the Astros. They met, starting in 1992, at the end of Spring Training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
with the Rangers winning 2–0 claiming the very first Silver Boot. On April 1, 1993, Nolan Ryan
Nolan Ryan
Lynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
returned to the Astrodome as a member of the Texas Rangers in front of 53,657, the biggest crowd to see a big league game in Texas up to that point. The Rangers won the last two exhibition games, a 6–5 victory in Arlington in 1999 and a 9–3 victory at Houston in 2000, before the two teams met for the first time in regular season in 2001.
During the 1997 off-season, "radical" realignment plans were bandied around about possibly rearranging teams from one league to another, especially Houston and Texas. In order to cut down on traveling costs and align teams together based on geography, the MLB owners came up with many plans to put the Astros and Rangers in a more suitable placement together. However, the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
and National League
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League , is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball, and the world's oldest extant professional team sports league. Founded on February 2, 1876, to replace the National Association of Professional...
would lose their respective identities in the process. (The only move was the Brewers from the AL Central to the NL Central.) One of the plans in 2000 even featured the Texas Rangers in a six-team AL Central so that they would be with other teams in the Central Time Zone while the fledging Arizona Diamondbacks
Arizona Diamondbacks
The Arizona Diamondbacks are a professional baseball team based in Phoenix. They play in the West Division of Major League Baseball's National League. From 1998 to the present, they have played in Chase Field...
would have had to leave the NL West for the AL West to replace the Rangers. In the 2005–06 off-season, the Florida Marlins were considering moving to San Antonio among other cities due to lack of funding for a new stadium. Another professional baseball team in Texas, whether by relocation or expansion, in either league would create greater rivalries, similar to the kind in the NBA with the Spurs
San Antonio Spurs
The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio, Texas. They are part of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association ....
, Mavericks
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...
, and Rockets
Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets are an American professional basketball team based in Houston, Texas. The team plays in the Southwest Division of the Western Conference in the National Basketball Association . The team was established in 1967, and played in San Diego, California for four years, before being...
, and possible realignment issues.
Of course, the Lone Star Series wasn't conceived until , four years after Interleague Play
Interleague play
Interleague play is the term used to describe regular season Major League Baseball games played between teams in different leagues, introduced in . Before the 1997 season, teams in the American League and National League did not meet during the regular season...
began. It was only logical to have the Rangers and Astros matched together since they are the only MLB teams representing Texas. Since both play in two different "divisions" (AL West and NL Central respectively), Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
had to rectify the oversight even though Interleague Play wouldn't be rotated from division to division on a yearly basis until 2002.
On November 11, 2011, the Astros were sold to Jim Crane
Jim Crane
James Robert "Jim" Crane is a businessman from Houston, Texas. Crane is chairman and chief executive of Crane Capital Group and he is also the owner and chairman of the MLB team Houston Astros -Early life and education:...
, and also agreed to move to the American League West
American League West
The American League West is one of three divisions in Major League Baseball's American League. The division currently has four teams, but it has had as many as seven teams before the 1994 realignment. Although its teams currently only reside along the west coast and in Texas, historically the...
beginning with the 2013 season. Thus the Lone Star Series will now be considered an intradivisional rivalry instead of an Interleague series, and both the Astros and Rangers are expected to play each other more often instead of playing only six games a season.
Lone Star Series results
| Year | Series Winner | Texas W | Houston W | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 2001 Major League Baseball season The Major League Baseball season finished with the Arizona Diamondbacks defeating the New York Yankees in a Game 7 of the 2001 World Series. The attacks of September 11 pushed the end of the regular-season from September 30 to October 7. Because of that, the World Series was not completed until... |
Rangers 2001 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers 2001 season involved the Rangers finishing 4th in the American League west with a record of 73 wins and 89 losses.-Offseason:... |
3 | 3 | Rangers Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have... win tiebreaker outscoring Astros Astros Astros in sports may refer to:*The Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball team*Astros , an American football team in Australia*Astros Field, now renamed Minute Maid ParkAstros may also refer to:... 44–28 (4–5, 16–4, 5–6, 12–9, 1–2, 6–2) |
| 2002 2002 Major League Baseball season The Major League Baseball season finished with the Anaheim Angels defeating the San Francisco Giants in Game 7 of the 2002 World Series.-Major league baseball final standings:... |
Astros 2002 Houston Astros season The Houston Astros' 2002 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central.-Roster:-Farm system:... |
2 | 4 | |
| 2003 2003 Major League Baseball season *World Series MVP: Josh Beckett**American League Championship Series MVP: Mariano Rivera**National League Championship Series MVP: Iván Rodríguez*All-Star Game, July 15 at U.S... |
Astros 2003 Houston Astros season The Houston Astros' 2003 season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Houston Astros attempting to win the National League Central.-Regular season:... |
2 | 4 | |
| 2004 2004 Major League Baseball season * Playoff MVPs** Manny Ramírez ** David Ortiz ** Albert Pujols * All-Star Game, July 13 at Minute Maid Park: American League, 9-4; Alfonso Soriano, MVP-References:* *... |
Rangers 2004 Texas Rangers season The 'Texas Rangers' finished the 2004 season in 3rd place in the West division of the American League. Five Rangers were All Stars, Francisco Cordero, Kenny Rogers, Hank Blalock, Michael Young and All-Star Game MVP Alfonso Soriano.-Offseason:... |
3 | 3 | Rangers Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have... win tiebreaker outscoring Astros Astros Astros in sports may refer to:*The Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball team*Astros , an American football team in Australia*Astros Field, now renamed Minute Maid ParkAstros may also refer to:... 42–29 (3–1, 8–7, 0–1, 5–7, 8–10, 18–3) |
| 2005 2005 Major League Baseball season Click on any series score to link to that series' page.Higher seed had home field advantage during Division Series and League Championship Series.The American League champion had home field advantage during the World Series as a result of the AL victory in the 2005 All-Star... |
Rangers 2005 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers finished the 2005 season in 3rd place in the West division of the American League. The Rangers had four players in the 2005 All-Star Game. Michael Young, Kenny Rogers, Alfonso Soriano, and Mark Teixeira. Young was also the A.L... |
4 | 2 | |
| 2006 2006 Major League Baseball season In , the Major League Baseball season ended with the National League's St. Louis Cardinals winning the World Series with the lowest regular season victory total in history. The American League continued its domination at the All-Star Game by winning its fourth straight game; the A.L. has won nine... |
Astros 2006 Houston Astros season The Houston Astros' 2006 season was the 45th in franchise history. The 2006 Astros finished in second place in the National League Central with a record of 82-80, 1½ games behind the eventual World Champion St. Louis Cardinals, after losing 3-1 to the Braves at Atlanta on the final day of the season... |
2 | 4 | |
| 2007 2007 Major League Baseball season The 2007 Major League Baseball season, began on April 1 with a rematch of the 2006 National League Championship Series; the St. Louis Cardinals and New York Mets played the first game of the season at Busch Stadium in St. Louis, Missouri, which was won by the Mets, 6–1... |
Rangers 2005 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers finished the 2005 season in 3rd place in the West division of the American League. The Rangers had four players in the 2005 All-Star Game. Michael Young, Kenny Rogers, Alfonso Soriano, and Mark Teixeira. Young was also the A.L... |
4 | 2 | |
| 2008 2008 Major League Baseball season The 2008 Major League Baseball season began on March 25, 2008 in Tokyo, Japan with the 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox defeating the Oakland Athletics at the Tokyo Dome 6–5 in the first game of a two-game series, and ended on September 30 with the host Chicago White Sox defeating the... |
Rangers 2008 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers' 2008 season was the 48th year of the franchise and 37th since moving to Arlington, Texas. The organization, after finishing second in the American League Western Division in 2007. The new season would be the first under the oversight of newly-hired club president and former... |
3 | 3 | Rangers Texas Rangers (baseball) The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have... win tiebreaker outscoring Astros Astros Astros in sports may refer to:*The Houston Astros, a Major League Baseball team*Astros , an American football team in Australia*Astros Field, now renamed Minute Maid ParkAstros may also refer to:... 34–28 (16–8, 6–2, 4–5, 3–4, 3–2, 2–7) |
| 2009 2009 Major League Baseball season The 2009 Major League Baseball season began on Sunday, April 5, 2009 with the Atlanta Braves defeating the 2008 World Series champion Philadelphia Phillies 4–1. The regular season ended on October 6, extended two days for a one-game playoff between the Detroit Tigers and the Minnesota Twins to... |
Rangers 2009 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers' 2009 season was the 49th in franchise history and the team's 38th year in Arlington, Texas.2009 signified the continuation of a strategy implemented by General Manager Jon Daniels in the summer of 2007. The plan to improve the club emphasized the acquisition and development of... |
5 | 1 | |
| 2010 2010 Major League Baseball season The 2010 Major League Baseball season began Sunday, April 4, when the Boston Red Sox defeated their long-time rivals, the 2009 World Series champion New York Yankees at Fenway Park, 9–7; the regular season ended on October 3. The 2010 All-Star Game was played on July 13 at Angel Stadium of Anaheim... |
Rangers 2010 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers’ 2010 season was the 50th in franchise history. The team, managed by Ron Washington, won their first division title since 1999 and reached the World Series for the first time in only their fourth playoff appearance. Washington would become only the second manager in franchise... |
5 | 1 | |
| 2011 2011 Major League Baseball season The 2011 Major League Baseball season began on Thursday, March 31, and ended on Wednesday, September 28. This marked the first time a season began on a Thursday since , and the first time a regular season ended on a Wednesday since... |
Rangers 2011 Texas Rangers season The Texas Rangers’ 2011 season was the 51st season in the overall history of the franchise and the 40th since the team relocated to Arlington, Texas. Going into the season they were the defending American League champions.... |
4 | 2 | |
| Overall | Rangers (8–3) | 37 | 29 |
The Rivalry
- One year before their first official matchup in Interleague Play, both teams retired the number of Hall of Famer Nolan RyanNolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
who had successful runs with both teams.
- According to Mike LambMike LambMichael Robert Lamb is an American professional baseball Utility Player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He can play the infield but shortstop, corner outfield and catcher...
and Mark TeixeiraMark TeixeiraMark Charles Teixeira , nicknamed "Tex" is an American Major League Baseball player for the New York Yankees. Mostly a first baseman, he has also played third base and in the outfield...
, the Rangers-Astros "rivalry" is more for the fans of Texas than like a bitter rivalry (e.g. Windy City Series).
- On July 1, 2006, Gary Matthews Jr. made an unbelievable catch by taking away a home run from Houston Astros first baseman Mike Lamb in the top of the 8th inning.
- While with the Astros for two years, Roger ClemensRoger ClemensWilliam Roger Clemens , nicknamed "Rocket", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who broke into the league with the Boston Red Sox, whose pitching staff he would help anchor for 12 years. Clemens won seven Cy Young Awards, more than any other pitcher. He played for four different teams over...
never pitched against the Rangers in twelve Lone Star Series matchups.
- Only four players have played for both the Rangers and Astros against their in-state opponent since 2001. Those players are: Doug BrocailDoug BrocailDouglas Keith Brocail is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently the interim pitching coach for the Houston Astros.-High school years:...
, Mike LambMike LambMichael Robert Lamb is an American professional baseball Utility Player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He can play the infield but shortstop, corner outfield and catcher...
, Richard HidalgoRichard HidalgoRichard José Hidalgo [ee-DAHL-go] is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He played with the Houston Astros , New York Mets , and the Texas Rangers . He batted and threw right-handed....
, and Ivan "Pudge" RodriguezIván RodríguezIván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...
.
- Minute Maid ParkMinute Maid ParkMinute Maid Park is a ballpark in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Major League Baseball Houston Astros....
and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington both had been using Sea Isle 1 turf through the 2008 season rather than natural grass because of the aggressive Texas summer heat. Before the 2009 season, the Astros chose to replace the previous surface in their respective ballpark with a more durable sod that requires less sunlight than other natural grass turf systems.
- Beginning in 2008, the Lone Star Series saw for the first time two African-American managers go head-to-head against one another, the Astros' Cecil CooperCecil CooperCecil Celester Cooper , nicknamed "Coop," is a former first baseman in Major League Baseball and the former manager of the Houston Astros. From through , Cooper played for the Boston Red Sox and Milwaukee Brewers...
and the Rangers' Ron WashingtonRon WashingtonRonald Washington is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and the current manager of the Texas Rangers. Prior to managing the Rangers, Washington coached in the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics organizations.-Playing career:Washington was signed by the Kansas City Royals on July 17, 1970...
which lasted for two years.
- There has only been one rainout in the history of the Lone Star Series. A game scheduled for Sunday June 30, 2002 at the Rangers Ballpark in Arlington was unceremoniously postponed due to rain and rescheduled for Monday September 2. The Rangers won the last matchup of the year against the Astros, 7–2, in front of a minuscule crowd of 24,468, but the Astros won the Silver Boot regardless of the outcome of the game.
- The contrast between the Rangers and Astros in their ballpark histories, playoff histories, and uniform histories are very apparent. The Rangers, since 1972, have always played in open-air stadiums (Arlington StadiumArlington StadiumArlington Stadium was a baseball stadium located in Arlington, Texas, United States, located between Dallas and Fort Worth, Texas. It served as the home for the Texas Rangers from 1972 until 1993, when the team moved into The Ballpark in Arlington .-1960s:The stadium was built in 1965 as Turnpike...
and Rangers Ballpark in Arlington) while the Astros have mostly played in indoor stadiums (Astrodome and Minute Maid ParkMinute Maid ParkMinute Maid Park is a ballpark in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States that opened in 2000 to house the Major League Baseball Houston Astros....
). The Rangers have had a lean postseason history with four appearances (1996, 1998, 1999, and recently 2010, winning the ALDS over the Tampa Bay RaysTampa Bay RaysThe Tampa Bay Rays are a Major League Baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays are a member of the Eastern Division of MLB's American League. Since their inception in , the club has played at Tropicana Field...
in five games to advance to their first ALCS against the New York YankeesNew York YankeesThe New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
. The Rangers won their first American LeagueAmerican LeagueThe American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
pennant in their 50th season on October 22, 2010 beating New York 4 games to 2, then lost to the San Francisco GiantsSan Francisco GiantsThe San Francisco Giants are a Major League Baseball team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the National League West Division....
in the World Series 4–1. On the other side, the Astros have appeared in nine postseasons (1980, 1981, 1986, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004, 2005) as well as one World Series in . While the Rangers have traditionally worn variations of red, white, and blue to represent the Lone Star flagFlag of TexasThe Flag of the State of Texas is defined by law as follows:The Texas flag is known as the "Lone Star Flag" . This flag was introduced to the Congress of the Republic of Texas on December 28, 1838, by Senator William H. Wharton...
, the Astros have changed color schemes (e.g. Shooting Star of the late 1960s, Rainbow GutsRainbow GutsThe Rainbow Guts uniform is a nickname for a series of uniform styles worn by the Houston Astros Major League Baseball club from 1975 to 1993...
) and logos many times throughout their history.
- Other differences, not related to baseball, include the weather during the summer, population, cultural, and allegiance preferences between the different regions of Texas. Both Houston, TX and Arlington, TX have humid subtropical climates; however, the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex mostly has dry winds in the summer (and icy conditions in the winter, with some frost at night) compared to Greater HoustonGreater HoustonHouston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...
's severe relative humidity and minimal wind except near the coast (and milder winter conditions). The Metroplex is inland located in North TexasNorth TexasNorth Texas is a distinct cultural and geographic area forming the central-northeastern section of the U.S. state of Texas. North Texas is generally considered to include the area south of Oklahoma, east of Abilene, and north of Waco...
while Houston is in the face of the Gulf of MexicoGulf of MexicoThe Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
in Southeast TexasSoutheast TexasSoutheast Texas is a subregion of East Texas located in the southeast corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The subregion is geographically centered around the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown and Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan areas...
.The city of Dallas has the 8th largest population in the United States and 3rd largest population in TexasPopulation of Texas cities in 2000The following is the list of Texas' most populous incorporated cities, towns and unincorporated Census Designated Places. The population is at the 2000 census.-References:* Census-designated places in TexasCities in Texas...
; the city of Houston has the 4th largest population in the United States and largest population in Texas.
- Since their inductions into Major League Baseball, there have been only 59 players to play for the Houston Astros and the Texas Rangers. Some notable names are Ken CaminitiKen CaminitiKenneth Gene Caminiti was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball and the 1996 National League Most Valuable Player. He was born in Hanford, California, and attended San Jose State University...
, Richard HidalgoRichard HidalgoRichard José Hidalgo [ee-DAHL-go] is a former Major League Baseball right fielder. He played with the Houston Astros , New York Mets , and the Texas Rangers . He batted and threw right-handed....
, Mike LambMike LambMichael Robert Lamb is an American professional baseball Utility Player for the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball. He can play the infield but shortstop, corner outfield and catcher...
and Carlos LeeCarlos LeeCarlos Noriel Lee is a first basemen in Major League Baseball who plays for the Houston Astros. He bats and throws right-handed....
. But out of those 59, only 3 have played their entire careers for both teams, Chuck Jackson, Mike RichardtMike RichardtMichael Anthony Richardt is a former Major League Baseball second baseman. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, between and , mostly for the Texas Rangers. He also played in 16 games for the Houston Astros at the end of the 1984 season....
& Mike SimmsMike SimmsMichael Howard Simms is a former Major League Baseball outfielder. He played all or part of nine seasons in the majors between and . Six of those seasons were spent with the Houston Astros, and three with the Texas Rangers....
.
- On February 6, 2008, Nolan RyanNolan RyanLynn Nolan Ryan, Jr. , nicknamed "The Ryan Express", is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is currently principal owner, president and CEO of the Texas Rangers....
became the Rangers' team president after being the special assistant to general manager, scouting players, and holding pitching camps with the Astros for the past three seasons. (Nolan Ryan was also the only person to be named DHL Hometown Hero by two organizations, the Rangers and Astros, respectively.)
- On August 18, 2009, the RangersTexas Rangers (baseball)The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
acquired Ivan RodriguezIván RodríguezIván Rodríguez Torres , nicknamed "Pudge" and "I-Rod", is a Major League Baseball catcher...
in a trade from the Houston AstrosHouston AstrosThe Houston Astros are a Major League Baseball team located in Houston, Texas. They are a member of the National League Central division. The Astros are expected to join the American League West division in 2013. Since , they have played their home games at Minute Maid Park, known as Enron Field...
to help them down the stretch for the purpose of achieving their first playoff appearance in ten years. It will be Rodriguez's second stint with Texas.
- On September 14, 2010, the Houston Astros Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock ExpressRound Rock ExpressThe Round Rock Express is a class Triple-A Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team in Round Rock, Texas, owned by RSR Sports and founded by Reid Ryan, son of Baseball Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan. The team is affiliated with the Texas Rangers, for whom Nolan Ryan serves as the president and...
, announced that they would become the Texas Rangers new minor league affiliate. This left the Houston Astros without a Triple-A team and the Texas Rangers old Triple-A team, the Oklahoma City RedHawks without a parent club. On September 20, 2010, the Houston Astros made the Oklahoma City RedHawks their own affiliate. These changes went in to effect immediately due to neither team making the play-offs but changes won't be seen until the 2011 Season.
- One David Meyer (of Dallas) and James Grubb (of Houston) have an annual wager on the Silver Boot, which began in 2006. The conditions of the deal will auto renew for a term of 50 years.
- One Eliberto Quinonez (of Fort Worth) and Augustus "Gus" Presas (of Houston) ALSO have an annual wager on the Silver Boot, which began in 2005. Their conditions of the deal will auto renew for a term of 51 years. The conditions of this deal constitute that the loser deliver one beef taco to the winner via the back of a 1987 Ford pick-up truck.