Editing Waco, Texas (section)

==Sports==
[[File:Heart O' Texas Coliseum-cropped.jpg|thumb|[[Extraco Events Center]] in Waco (formerly [[Heart O' Texas Coliseum]])]]

The [[Baylor Bears]] athletics teams compete in Waco. The [[Baylor Bears football|football team]] has won or tied for nine conference titles, and have played in 24 bowl games, garnering a record of 13–11. The [[Baylor Lady Bears basketball|women's basketball team]] won the [[NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament]] in 2005, 2012 and 2019. The [[Baylor Bears basketball|men's basketball team]] won the [[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament]] in [[2021 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|2021]].

The Waco BlueCats, an independent minor league baseball team, planned to play in the inaugural season of the [[Southwest League of Professional Baseball]] in 2019. A new ballpark was planned for the suburb of [[Bellmead, Texas|Bellmead]].<ref>{{cite news |title=New for 2018: Waco BlueCats |url=https://ballparkdigest.com/2016/11/30/new-for-2018-waco-bluecats/ |access-date=April 10, 2022 |date=November 30, 2016 |work=Ballpark Digest |publisher=August Publications }}</ref>

The [[American Basketball Association (2000–present)|American Basketball Association]] had a franchise for part of the 2006 season, the Waco Wranglers. The team played at [[Reicher Catholic High School]] and practiced at Texas State Technical College.

Previous professional sports franchises in Waco have proven unsuccessful. The [[Waco Marshals]] of the [[National Indoor Football League]] lasted less than two months amidst a midseason ownership change in 2004. (The team became the beleaguered [[Cincinnati Marshals]] the following year.) The Waco Wizards of the now-defunct [[Western Professional Hockey League]] fared better, lasting into a fourth season before folding in 2000. Both teams played at the [[Heart O' Texas Coliseum]], one of Waco's largest entertainment and sports venues.

The [[Southern Indoor Football League]] announced that Waco was an expansion market for the 2010 season. It was rumored they would play in the Heart O' Texas Coliseum. However, the league broke up into three separate leagues, and subsequently, a team did not come to Waco in any of the new leagues.

Professional baseball first came to Waco in 1889 with the formation of the [[Waco Tigers]], a member of the [[Texas League]]. The Tigers were renamed the [[Waco Navigators|Navigators]] in 1905, and later the [[Waco Steers|Steers]]. In 1920, the team was sold to [[Wichita Falls, Texas|Wichita Falls]]. In 1923, a new franchise called the [[Waco Indians|Indians]] was formed and became a member of the [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] level [[Texas Association]]. In 1925, Waco rejoined the Texas League with the formation of the [[Waco Cubs]].

On June 20, 1930, the first night game in Texas League history was played at [[Katy Park]] in Waco. The lights were donated by Waco resident Charles Redding Turner, who owned a local farm team for recruits to the Chicago Cubs.

On the night of August 6, 1930, baseball history was made at Katy Park: in the eighth inning of a night game against [[Beaumont, Texas|Beaumont]], Waco left fielder Gene Rye became the only player in the history of professional baseball to hit three home runs in one inning.

The last year Waco had a team in the Texas League was 1930, but fielded some strong semipro teams in the 1930s and early 1940s. During the World War II years of 1943–1945, the powerful Waco Army Air Field team was probably the best in the state; many major leaguers played for the team, and it was managed by big-league catcher [[Birdie Tebbetts]].

In 1947, the [[Class B (baseball)|Class B]] level [[Big State League]] was organized with Waco as a member called the [[Waco Dons]].

In 1948, A.H. Kirksey, owner of Katy Park, persuaded the [[Pittsburgh Pirates]] club to take over the Waco operation, and the nickname was changed to Pirates. The [[Waco Pirates|Pirates]] vaulted into third place in 1948. They dropped a notch to fourth in 1949, but prevailed in the playoffs to win the league championship. The Pirates then tumbled into the second division, bottoming out with a dreadful 29–118, 0.197 club in 1952. This mark ranks as one of the 10 worst marks of any 20th-century full-season team. When the tornado struck in 1953, it destroyed the park. The team relocated to [[Longview, Texas|Longview]] to finish the season and finished a respectable third with a 77–68 record.

Waco has many golf clubs and courses, including Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.waco-texas.com/cms-cottonwoodcountryclub/ |title=Cottonwood Creek Golf Course |publisher=waco-texas.com |access-date=September 11, 2018 |archive-date=September 11, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180911191622/https://www.waco-texas.com/cms-cottonwoodcountryclub/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2018, Bicycle World Texas IronMan 70.3 Waco held its inaugural event in the city on October 26.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/waco.aspx#axzz5dv0GblhC |title=IronMan 70.3 Waco |publisher=ironman.co |access-date=January 30, 2019 |archive-date=January 31, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190131041240/http://www.ironman.com/triathlon/events/americas/ironman-70.3/waco.aspx#axzz5dv0GblhC |url-status=dead }}</ref>