Editing Marlin, Texas (section)

== Marlin sports ==

=== Marlin spring training (1904–1918) ===

Marlin's mild climate, hot mineral water baths, and proximity by train to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio made it an appealing [[spring training]] location for [[Major League Baseball]] teams. Four different teams trained in Marlin from 1904 to 1918: Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants. Players stayed at the Arlington Hotel, which is no longer standing.

In the same era, Marlin was home to [[minor league baseball]]. The [[Marlin Marlins]] (1916–1917) and [[Marlin Bathers]] (1923–1925) played as members of the [[Class D (baseball)|Class D]] level [[Central Texas League]] and [[Texas Association]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}}

=== Chicago White Sox (1904) ===

The [[Chicago White Sox]] baseball team visited "Marlin Springs" from March 7 to March 17, 1904, as part of their spring training tour of the South.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/323092529/|title=White Sox to Train in South|date=25 January 1904|work=Topeka State Journal|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref>  The team's selection of Marlin can be credited to [[Ted Sullivan (baseball)|Ted Sullivan]]. The ''Chicago Tribune'' quoted Sullivan in an article published on February 7, 1904: "If I had looked the United States over for a spring training ground for a ball club, I do not believe I could have found a spot I would pick ahead of Marlin Springs ... [Charles] [[Charles Comiskey|Comiskey]] asked me last December when I was coming to Texas to pick him out a place to train. I met a man in Dallas, who told me he left his crutches at Marlin; that he went there suffering with rheumatism. I took a run down to Marlin ... and I found the ideal spot for training grounds. The place has a magnificent hotel. Adjoining this place is a beautiful natatorium equipped with hot sulphur and all kinds of baths... The ball grounds here are on even surface and are only four blocks from the hotel. This is the spot I selected for the Chicago American league club..."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/350238009/|title=Praises White Stocking Camp|date=7 February 1904|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref>  The White Sox left Marlin on March 17 "with expressions of regret and of hope that its individuals will be with the White Sox next spring when they return here for a similar stay."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/350224895|title=White Sox Break Camp|date=20 March 1904|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref> Among those on the White Sox who trained in Marlin was [[George Davis (baseball)|George Davis]]. On the last full day (March 16), Manager [[Nixey Callahan]] had the team make a ten-mile round trip walk to the Brazos River after dinner.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/350224641|title=Last Day at Marlin Springs|date=17 March 1904|work=Chicago Tribune|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref>

=== St. Louis Cardinals (1905) ===

The St. Louis Cardinals chose "Marlin Springs" as their 1905 spring training site after delays in preparations of a site in Houston. As a result, the Chicago White Sox chose to train in New Orleans.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/323080941|title=White Sox to New Orleans|date=2 January 1905|work=Topeka (Kansas) State Journal|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref>  The Cardinals arrived in Marlin on March 6, 1905 and "a large gathering of local fans [were] on hand to welcome the big leaguers."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/138867024|title=Cardinals Ready to Begin Practice|date=6 March 1905|work=St. Louis Post-Dispatch|access-date=12 August 2019}}</ref> Visits to the hot mineral water baths were a part of the team's daily routine.  A St. Louis newspaper reported that "[practice] ends at 4 o'clock and the players get to the bath about 15 minutes later. The baths are hot, and it takes until 5 before the players are cooled off enough to go to the hotel, which is but a couple of steps distant. The baths not only put the players in first-class condition and remove any surplus weight, but they also tend to prevent soreness."<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/571321054|title=Severe Effects of Training Makes Baseball Veterans Quit|date=12 March 1905|work=St. Louis Globe-Democrat}}</ref> The Cardinals broke camp at Marlin on March 17, 1905.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/141918542|title=Baseball Notes|date=18 March 1905|work=The Pittsburgh Press|access-date=13 August 2019}}</ref>

=== Cincinnati Reds (1906–1907) ===

The [[Cincinnati Reds]] baseball team held spring training in Marlin in 1906 and 1907.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.springtrainingonline.com/teams/cincinnati-reds.htm|title=Cincinnati Reds Spring Training|access-date=Aug 18, 2019}}</ref>

=== New York Giants (1908–1918) ===

The [[New York Giants (baseball)|New York Giants]] baseball team held spring training in Marlin from 1908 to 1918.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.springtrainingonline.com/teams/san-francisco-giants.htm|title=San Francisco Giants Spring Training|access-date=Aug 18, 2019}}</ref><ref>
{{Cite book
| author=Alexander, Charles C.
| title=John McGraw
| publisher=Bison Books, reprint from Viking
| isbn= 0-8032-5925-5
| year=1995| pages=48}}</ref>