Red Snapp
Encyclopedia
Earl Elmer "Red" Snapp was a longtime minor league baseball
player and manager notable for leading seven teams to pennants in their respective leagues.
but left the school in 1908 to play professional baseball. He began playing professional ball in 1909 for the Fort Worth Panthers in the Texas League
. He was an infielder
for Forth Worth until the middle of the 1912 season. After leaving Fort Worth, he played for the Houston Buffaloes
. He then served as a player-manager
for teams in Topeka, Kansas
, Manhattan, Kansas
, and York, Nebraska
during the 1913 season.
In 1914, he joined the Paris, Texas
team in the Texas-Oklahoma League
. In 1915, he served as a player-manager for the Paris team, which was renamed the "Snappers" in his honor. During the 1916 season, he served as the player-manager of the Oklahoma City Senators in the same league.
An infielder, Snapp played from 1909 to 1916, appearing in more than 600 games. His best season was perhaps 1911, when he hit .255 with two home runs and 157 total bases for Fort Worth.
, working as a shoe salesman. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Snapp was still living in Paris and working as a salesman in a shoe store. He was living with his wife, Maude H. Snapp, and two daughters, ages six and two years. In November 1920, the Oklahoma City team tried to lure Snapp back to baseball. At the time, The Sporting News noted that, while coaching in the Western Association
, Snapp had developed a reputation as "a smart manager, a strict disciplinarian," and someone who could also "give a good account of himself on the playing field."
In December 1922, Snapp signed a contract to manage the Ardmore, Oklahoma
team in the Texas-Oklahoma League during the 1923 season. In March 1923, The Galveston Daily News reported, "Earl Snapp seems to be carrying nearly the entire Paris personnel with him to Ardmore." In his first and only season at Ardmore, he led the team to the Western Association pennant, solidifying Snapp's reputation as one of the best baseball managers in Texas. The Sporting News profiled Snapp in April 1923 and noted:
In 1924, he moved to the Okmulgee Drillers
in Oklahoma. While at Okmulgee, Snapp earned a reputation as one of the leading developers of baseball talent. In February 1925, The Sporting News
published a profile on Snapp, noting that he had "the knack of digging up live, young fellows and then developing them."
In 1927, Snapp returned to Paris in the East Texas League and began acquiring new talent for his team. Snapp succeeded in leading his teams in Ardmore, Okmulgee and Paris to pennants in their Class D leagues.
In 1928, Snapp founded the West Texas League
and became the manager, president, and co-owner of the team in San Angelo, Texas
. Interviewed in January 1928, Snapp described the prospects for the new league: "Cities out there are in much better condition than they were in the days of the old West Texas League, and I believer the new West Texas League not only will be organized but also will be a big success." The San Angelo team, called the Snappers, won the 1928 West Texas League pennant. In September 1928, The Sporting News wrote:
In 1929, Snapp concluded his managerial career at Sherman, Texas
.
He managed for ten seasons, skippering the Paris Red Snappers (1915), Oklahoma City Senators (1916), Paris Snappers (1921-1922, 1927), Ardmore Snappers (1923), Okmulgee Drillers
(1925), Marshall Snappers (1926), Paris Bearcats (1926), San Angelo Red Snappers
(1928) and Sherman Snappers (1929).
He led the Paris Snappers to a de facto Texas-Oklahoma League
championship in 1922 (the team finished in first, there was no league championship series), the Ardmore Snappers to a Western Association
championship in 1923 and the San Angelo Red Snappers to a West Texas League
championship in 1928.
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
player and manager notable for leading seven teams to pennants in their respective leagues.
Early years
Snapp attended Texas Christian UniversityTexas Christian University
Texas Christian University is a private, coeducational university located in Fort Worth, Texas, United States and founded in 1873. TCU is affiliated with, but not governed by, the Disciples of Christ...
but left the school in 1908 to play professional baseball. He began playing professional ball in 1909 for the Fort Worth Panthers in 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...
. He was an infielder
Infielder
An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field.-Standard arrangement of positions:In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles...
for Forth Worth until the middle of the 1912 season. After leaving Fort Worth, he played for the Houston Buffaloes
Houston Buffaloes
The Houston Buffaloes or Buffs were an American minor league baseball team that was founded in 1888, played in the Texas League in the years 1888-90, 1892, 1895-99, and 1907-1958 ; in the South Texas League in the years 1903-06; and in the American Association from 1959-61...
. He then served as a player-manager
Player-coach
A player-coach, in sports, is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. The term can be used to refer to both players who serve as head coaches, or as assistant coaches....
for teams in Topeka, Kansas
Topeka, Kansas
Topeka |Kansa]]: Tó Pee Kuh) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is situated along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, located in northeast Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was...
, Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan, Kansas
Manhattan is a city located in the northeastern part of the state of Kansas in the United States, at the junction of the Kansas River and Big Blue River. It is the county seat of Riley County and the city extends into Pottawatomie County. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 52,281...
, and York, Nebraska
York, Nebraska
York is a city in York County, Nebraska, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,766. It is the county seat of York County. It is the home of York College and the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women.-Geography:...
during the 1913 season.
In 1914, he joined the Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
team in the Texas-Oklahoma League
Texas-Oklahoma League
The Texas-Oklahoma League refers the name of two Minor league baseball Class-D circuits that operated between and . The first began in 1911 and finished in 1914, while the second did not even last that long, being active only in 1921 and 1922....
. In 1915, he served as a player-manager for the Paris team, which was renamed the "Snappers" in his honor. During the 1916 season, he served as the player-manager of the Oklahoma City Senators in the same league.
An infielder, Snapp played from 1909 to 1916, appearing in more than 600 games. His best season was perhaps 1911, when he hit .255 with two home runs and 157 total bases for Fort Worth.
First retirement from baseball
After the 1916 season, Snapp retired from baseball for five years. In June 1917, Snapp was living in Paris, TexasParis, Texas
Paris, Texas is a city located northeast of the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex in Lamar County, Texas, in the United States. It is situated in Northeast Texas at the western edge of the Piney Woods. Physiographically, these regions are part of the West Gulf Coastal Plain. In 1900, 9,358 people lived...
, working as a shoe salesman. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Snapp was still living in Paris and working as a salesman in a shoe store. He was living with his wife, Maude H. Snapp, and two daughters, ages six and two years. In November 1920, the Oklahoma City team tried to lure Snapp back to baseball. At the time, The Sporting News noted that, while coaching in the 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...
, Snapp had developed a reputation as "a smart manager, a strict disciplinarian," and someone who could also "give a good account of himself on the playing field."
"King of the minors" in Texas
In 1921, Snapp rejoined the Paris Snappers and served as the team's president and manager for two years. He also played at second base for the Paris Snappers in 1921, but he was hit in the arm by a pitch early in the 1921 season, and a broken arm prevented him from playing for the remainder of the season. He led the team to two league titles in 1921 and 1922.In December 1922, Snapp signed a contract to manage the Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore, Oklahoma
Ardmore is a business, cultural and tourism city in and the county seat of Carter County, Oklahoma, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a population of 24,283, while a 2007 estimate has the Ardmore micropolitan statistical area totaling 56,694 residents...
team in the Texas-Oklahoma League during the 1923 season. In March 1923, The Galveston Daily News reported, "Earl Snapp seems to be carrying nearly the entire Paris personnel with him to Ardmore." In his first and only season at Ardmore, he led the team to the Western Association pennant, solidifying Snapp's reputation as one of the best baseball managers in Texas. The Sporting News profiled Snapp in April 1923 and noted:
"[H]is engagement is almost assurance of a pennant for the club that employs him. ... Whenever Snapp manages a team the nickname of that team immediately and invariably becomes the 'Snappers,' which is itself a tribute to the personality of the leader, for they don't name a ball club after a manager unless he has outstanding qualities."
In 1924, he moved to the Okmulgee Drillers
Okmulgee Drillers
The Okmulgee Drillers were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western Association from 1920 to 1927. They were based in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. In 1922, they played at Athletic Park, and from 1923 to 1927, they played at Petrolia Park....
in Oklahoma. While at Okmulgee, Snapp earned a reputation as one of the leading developers of baseball talent. In February 1925, The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
published a profile on Snapp, noting that he had "the knack of digging up live, young fellows and then developing them."
In 1927, Snapp returned to Paris in the East Texas League and began acquiring new talent for his team. Snapp succeeded in leading his teams in Ardmore, Okmulgee and Paris to pennants in their Class D leagues.
In 1928, Snapp founded the 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...
and became the manager, president, and co-owner of the team in San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo, Texas
San Angelo is a city in the state of Texas. Located in West Central Texas it is the county seat of Tom Green County. As of 2010 according to the United States Census Bureau, the city had a total population of 93,200...
. Interviewed in January 1928, Snapp described the prospects for the new league: "Cities out there are in much better condition than they were in the days of the old West Texas League, and I believer the new West Texas League not only will be organized but also will be a big success." The San Angelo team, called the Snappers, won the 1928 West Texas League pennant. In September 1928, The Sporting News wrote:
"They call him the king of the minors down in certain sections of Texas, and he has done a great deal to earn the title. ... Red Snapp might be called a one-man board of directors. He has often served as club president, secretary of whatnot while also acting in the role of manager, and the secrets of the bushes are known to him from start to finish. ... 'Where I go, pennants go,' is one of Red's expressions, and it isn't said in a boastful manner. He can back it up."
In 1929, Snapp concluded his managerial career at Sherman, Texas
Sherman, Texas
Sherman is a city in and the county seat of Grayson County, Texas, United States. The city's estimated population as of 2009 was 38,407. It is also one of two principal cities in the Sherman-Denison Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
.
He managed for ten seasons, skippering the Paris Red Snappers (1915), Oklahoma City Senators (1916), Paris Snappers (1921-1922, 1927), Ardmore Snappers (1923), Okmulgee Drillers
Okmulgee Drillers
The Okmulgee Drillers were a minor league baseball team that played in the Western Association from 1920 to 1927. They were based in Okmulgee, Oklahoma. In 1922, they played at Athletic Park, and from 1923 to 1927, they played at Petrolia Park....
(1925), Marshall Snappers (1926), Paris Bearcats (1926), San Angelo Red Snappers
San Angelo Red Snappers
The San Angelo Red Snappers were a West Texas League baseball team based in San Angelo, Texas, USA that played in 1928, winning the league championship that year under manager Red Snapp. They became the San Angelo Sheep Herders in 1929....
(1928) and Sherman Snappers (1929).
He led the Paris Snappers to a de facto Texas-Oklahoma League
Texas-Oklahoma League
The Texas-Oklahoma League refers the name of two Minor league baseball Class-D circuits that operated between and . The first began in 1911 and finished in 1914, while the second did not even last that long, being active only in 1921 and 1922....
championship in 1922 (the team finished in first, there was no league championship series), the Ardmore Snappers to a 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...
championship in 1923 and the San Angelo Red Snappers to a 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...
championship in 1928.