Arkansas Travelers

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The Arkansas Travelers are a minor league baseball team located in North Little Rock, east of the Broadway Bridge. The Travelers play in the Texas League, a minor league division that is made up eight other minor league teams. The team is ranked in the AA baseball category, which is one step above a farm club, one step below AAA, and two steps below Major League Baseball.

The Travelers played their home games at Travelers Field (renamed Ray Winder Field in 1966) in Little Rock from the ballpark's opening on April 13, 1932, until 2007 when the team moved to a new stadium in North Little Rock called Dickey-Stephens Park. The City of North Little Rock paid for Dickey-Stephens Park by a voter-approved one-cent sales tax with the help of a partnership by the Travelers and Little Rock financier Warren Stephens. Since the stadium's opening, the Tulsa Drillers' batting coach Mike Coolbaugh was killed by a stray line drive to the neck.

History of Travelers Baseball

The Travelers were inducted as a professional baseball team in 1895. The team played in the Southern Association league in the early days, winning the pennant in 1920, 1937, 1942 and 1951. Before the 1932 season the team played games at Kavanaugh Field, which is now home to Central High School's Quigley Stadium.

The Travelers were the first professional sports team to be named after a state rather than a city, as they were renamed from the Little Rock Travelers to the Arkansas Travelers in 1957. The next year the team was sold to the city of Shreveport, Louisiana, and the Travelers did not play a 1959 season in Little Rock.

The Arkansas Travelers are currently under the affiliation of the major league baseball team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim (set in 2001), and were previously under the St. Louis Cardinals (from 1966-2000) and the Philadelphia Phillies for a short period of time (1963-1965). The team has won Texas League titles in 1971, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1989, 2001, and 2005.

Season Records

Year Record Finish Playoffs
1895 25-47 team disbanded mid-season
1901 76-45 2nd
1902 77-49 3rd
1903 70-51 2nd league champions
1904 61-74 6th
1905 37-90 8th
1906 40-98 8th
1907 66-66 4th
1908 62-76 7th
1909 59-80 7th
1915 65-87 8th
1916 70-65 4th
1917 64-86 7th
1918 41-28 2nd league ended season early
1919 74-56 2nd
1920 88-59 1st league champions
1921 74-77 4th
1922 86-67 4th
1923 53-92 8th
1924 51-101 8th
1925 67-86 8th
1926 51-98 8th
1927 56-97 8th
1928 72-82 5th
1929 63-91 6th
1930 81-73 5th
1931 87-66 2nd
1932 77-75 3rd
1933 62-90 8th
1934 59-95 8th
1935 75-78 6th
1936 77-76 5th
1937 97-55 1st league champions
1938 75-76 5th
1939 68-83 6th
1940 59-90 7th
1941 71-82 6th
1942 87-59 1st lost in league finals
1943 78-62 3rd
1944 66-72 4th
1945 52-88 8th
1946 52-99 8th
1947 51-103 8th
1948 67-83 7th
1949 69-85 6th
1950 52-96 8th
1951 93-60 1st lost in league finals
1952 68-85 7th
1953 66-87 7th (tie)
1954 64-90 6th
1955 52-102 8th
1956 53-101 team moved to Montgomery, AL
1957 64-88 7th
1958 74-80 6th
1960 82-69 3rd
1961 80-73 3rd
1963 78-73 4th
1964 95-61 1st lost in league finals
1965 67-79 10th
1966 81-59 1st lost in first round
1967 63-77 5th
1968 82-58 1st lost in league finals
1969 66-69 6th
1970 67-67 4th
1971 75-64 3rd league champions
1972 65-74 6th
1973 69-71 4th (tie)
1974 75-59 2nd
1975 63-72 5th
1976 59-76 7th
1977 63-67 4th league champions
1978 77-55 2nd lost in first round
1979 76-57 1st league champions
1980 81-55 1st league champions
1981 52-80 8th
1982 68-68 5th (tie)
1983 69-67 3rd lost in first round
1984 62-74 6th
1985 64-70 5th lost in first round
1986 67-67 4th
1987 72-63 4th
1988 67-69 5th
1989 79-56 1st league champions
1990 56-80 7th (tie)
1991 49-87 8th
1992 59-73 8th
1993 67-69 5th
1994 68-67 4th
1995 70-65 3rd
1996 67-73 7th
1997 68-72 4th
1998 80-60 1st lost in first round
1999 59-81 8th
2000 68-71 5th
2001 66-70 6th league champions
2002 51-89 8th
2003 70-70 5th
2004 59-80 7th
2005 71-69 4th league champions
2006 51-87 8th
2007 65-75 7th
2008 62-78 6th league champions

References

  • Nate Hinkel, "Natural Game Evolves in Natural State," Arkansas Business, May 29, 2006.

External links