Fort Worth Cats

• Location: Fort Worth, TX
• League: Texas League 1932-1942, 1946-1958; American Association 1959; Texas League 1964; All-American Association 2001; Central Baseball League 2002-2005; American Association 2006-2011; North American League 2012; United League Baseball 2013-2014
• Affiliation: Indianapolis Indians 1933; Brooklyn Dodgers 1946-1956; Chicago Cubs 1957-1959, 1964; Independent 2001-2014
• Ballpark: LaGrave Field 1932-1942, 1946-1959, 1964, 2002-2014; Lon Goldstein Field 2001

Team History

Logo of the historic Fort Worth Cats

The Fort Worth Cats (also frequently known as the Fort Worth Panthers for their first seven decades) began play in 1888 as one of the first teams in the Texas League. The team derived its name from a Dallas newspaper criticizing crime in the region and saying that the main drag was "the noonday lair of the panther." The team from Fort Worth, TX won titles in 1895, 1905, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1930, 1937, 1939 and 1948 for 12 titles in 64 years (the league did not operate in 1898, 1900-1901 or 1943-45). The early 1920s edition was one of the strongest mid-level minor-league teams ever as the team won both the first and second half of the schedules six years in a row. The Cats played home games at LaGrave Field.

In 1956, the Brooklyn Dodgers traded the Ft. Worth franchise to the Chicago Cubs for the Los Angeles Angels, effectively giving the Dodgers territorial rights to L.A., which they obviously used in 1958.

In 1959 the team joined the expanding American Association and went 81-81, 5th in the 10-team league. In 1960 they merged with the Dallas Rangers to form the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers.

After a few years as a combined entity, the clubs were separated again for one year in 1964. With Dallas remaining in the PCL, the Fort Worth Cats were the worst team in the Texas League with a record of 51-89. The club did have a future solid major leaguer in Fred Norman, but he was a wretched 1-8 with a 6.95 ERA that season. In 1965 they merged again with Dallas and became the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs.

The Cats were revived in 2001 as part of the short-lived All-American Association and went 37-35 to finish fourth of six teams. The club then switched over to the Central Baseball League. They moved back into a re-built LaGrave Field, located exactly where the previous ballpark had stood. In 2002, they finished dead last, going 36-60. The team improved over time and in 2005 they won the first-half flag, the second-half title (30-17 each half) and then won the post-season as well under manager Wayne Terwilliger. The Cats switched leagues again in 2006, joining the new American Association, where they captured the circuit's inaugural championship and repeated as champions in 2007. They played at LaGrave Field, but did not return after the 2011 season. The Cats joined the North American League in 2012, playing in the Southern Division with other teams from the state of Texas. In 2013, they changed leagues again, playing two seasons in the United League until that circuit folded.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs
1932	68-81	4th	Dick McCabe (49-67) / Art Phelan (19-24)
1933	63-88	7th	Walter Holke (14-22) / Jake Atz (49-66)
1934	59-92	7th	Del Pratt
1935	64-95	8th	Johnnie Heving (45-55) / "Pid" McCurdy (19-40)
1936	76-78	5th	"Pid" McCurdy (11-38) / Homer Peel (65-40)
1937	85-74	3rd	Homer Peel	League Champs
1938	61-99	8th	Homer Peel (40-53) / Cecil Coombs (1-3) / Jackie Reid (20-43)
1939	87-74	4th	Bob Linton	League Champs
1940	52-108	8th	Bob Linton
1941	78-76	5th	Bob Linton
1942	84-68	3rd	Rogers Hornsby	Lost in 1st round
1946	101-53	1st	Ray Hayworth	Lost League Finals
1947	95-58	2nd	Les Burge	Lost in 1st round
1948	92-61	1st	Les Burge (37-30) / George Dockins (8-1) / Bobby Bragan (47-30)	League Champs
1949	100-54	1st	Bobby Bragan	Lost League Finals
1950	88-64	2nd	Bobby Bragan	Lost in 1st round
1951	84-77	4th (t)	Bobby Bragan
1952	86-75	2nd	Bobby Bragan	Lost in 1st round
1953	82-72	3rd	Max Macon	Lost in 1st round
1954	81-80	4th	Al Vincent	Lost League Finals
1955	77-84	6th	Tommy Holmes
1956	84-70	3rd	Clay Bryant	Lost in 1st round
1957	70-84	6th	Lee Handley
1958	89-64	1st	Lou Klein	Lost in 1st round
1959	81-81	5th (t)	Lou Klein	Lost League Finals
1964	51-89	6th	Alex Grammas
2001	37-35	4th	Jim Gentile	Lost in 1st Round
2002	36-60	4th	Jim Gentile (23-41) / Marty Scott (13-19)
2003	51-43		Wayne Terwilliger	Lost in 1st round
2004	51-43		Wayne Terwilliger
2005	60-34		Wayne Terwilliger	League Champs
2006	56-39	2nd	Stan Hough	League Champs
2007	53-40	4th	Stan Hough	League Champs
2008	60-36	1st (t)	Chad Tredaway	Lost in 1st round
2009	53-43	2nd (t)	Chad Tredaway	Lost in 1st round
2010	37-56	9th	Chad Tredaway
2011	48-52	8th (t)	Chad Tredaway
2012	52-44	2nd	Curtis Wilkerson	Lost League Finals
2013	49-30	1st	Jim Essian	Lost League Finals
2014	42-35	2nd	Barrett Weaver	Lost League Finals