Editing Central Baseball League

{{Short description|Independent baseball league}}
{{Other uses|Central League (disambiguation)}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Texas–Louisiana League|Texas–Louisiana League (Negro league)}}

{{Infobox Sports league
| title         = Central Baseball League
| sport         = [[Baseball]]
| founded       = 1994
| folded        = 2005
| teams         = 25
| publisher.    = 
| country       = United States
| champion      =
| footnotes     = 
}}

The '''Central Baseball League''', formerly the '''Texas–Louisiana League''', was an [[independent baseball league]] whose member teams were not affiliated with any [[Major League Baseball]] (MLB) franchises.<ref>{{cite web|title=Central League (Independent)|publisher=Encyclopedia and History – Baseball-Reference.com|url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?code=CENL&class=Ind|access-date=2015-03-13}}</ref>

In 1991, potential owners, Dallas businessman Byron Pierce and U. S. Congressman [[John Wiley Bryant|John Bryant]], became frustrated that the [[Texas League]] had no plans to expand into other [[Texas]] locations, and formed The Texas–Louisiana League. The league began play in 1994. After further expansion into [[Missouri]] and [[Mississippi]], the Texas–Louisiana League changed its name to the Central Baseball League. In 12 seasons, the league produced 10 different champions; Alexandria and Edinburg were the only teams to win a title twice.

After the 2005 season, the eight-team Central Baseball League disbanded.  Five teams joined the [[American Association of Independent Professional Baseball|American Association]]: [[Pensacola Pelicans|Pensacola]], [[Shreveport-Bossier Captains|Shreveport]], [[Fort Worth Cats|Fort Worth]], [[Coastal Bend Aviators|Coastal Bend]] and [[El Paso Diablos|El Paso]]; and one joined the [[United League Baseball|United League]], [[San Angelo Colts|San Angelo]]. [[Edinburg Coyotes|Edinburg]] also received a franchise in the [[United League Baseball|United League]], unrelated to the now-defunct [[Edinburg Roadrunners|Roadrunners]] of the Central League.

==Teams==
The following teams were, at one time, either a member of the Central Baseball League or the Texas–Louisiana League.

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}}
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{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: left;"
|-
! scope="col" | Team Name {{ns|50}}
! scope="col" | City 
! scope="col" | State 
! scope="col" | Joined 
! scope="col" | Left 
! scope="col" | Reason 
|-
| [[Abilene Prairie Dogs]]
| Abilene 
| Texas 
| 1995 
| 1999 
| Folded
|-
| [[Alexandria Aces]]
| Alexandria 
| Louisiana
| 1994 
| 2003 
| Folded, returned to the [[United League Baseball | United League]] in 2006
|-
| [[Amarillo Dillas]]
| Amarillo 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 2004 
| Folded, returned to the [[United League Baseball | United League]] in 2006
|-
| [[Bayou Bullfrogs|Beaumont Bullfrogs]]
| Beaumont 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 1994 
| Folded
|-
| [[Coastal Bend Aviators]]
| Robstown 
| Texas 
| 2003 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[American Association of Professional Baseball | American Association]]
|-
| [[Corpus Christi Barracudas]]
| Corpus Christi 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 1995 
| Folded
|-
| [[Edinburg Coyotes#History|Edinburg Roadrunners]] 
| Edinburg 
| Texas 
| 2001 
| 2005 
| Folded
|-
| [[El Paso Diablos]]
| El Paso 
| Texas 
| 2005 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[American Association of Professional Baseball | American Association]]
|-
| [[Fort Worth Cats]]
| Fort Worth 
| Texas 
| 2002 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[American Association of Professional Baseball | American Association]]
|-
| [[Greenville Bluesmen]]
| Greenville 
| Mississippi 
| 1998 
| 2001 
| Folded
|-
| [[Jackson Senators|Jackson DiamondKats/Senators]] 
| Jackson 
| Mississippi 
| 2000 
| 2005 
| Folded
|-
| [[Bayou Bullfrogs|Lafayette/Bayou Bullfrogs]]
| Lafayette 
| Louisiana 
| 1998 
| 2000 
| Folded
|-
| [[Laredo Apaches]]
| Laredo 
| Texas 
| 1995 
| 1995 
| Folded
|-
| [[Lubbock Crickets]]
| Lubbock 
| Texas 
| 1995 
| 1998 
| Folded
|-
| [[Mobile BaySharks]]
| Mobile 
| Alabama 
| 1994 
| 1995 
| Folded
|-
| [[Pensacola Pelicans]]
| Pensacola 
| Florida 
| 2004 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[American Association of Professional Baseball | American Association]]
|-
| [[Pueblo Bighorns]]
| Pueblo 
| Colorado 
| 1995 
| 1995 
| Folded
|-
| [[Harlingen WhiteWings|Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings]] 
| Harlington 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 2003 
| Folded, returned to the [[United League Baseball | United League]] in 2006
|-
| [[San Antonio Tejanos]]
| San Antonio 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 1994
| Transferred to Laredo
|-
| [[San Angelo Colts]]
| San Angelo 
| Texas 
| 2000 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[United League Baseball | United League]]
|-
| [[Shreveport-Bossier Captains|Shreveport-Bossier Sports]] 
| Shreveport 
| Louisiana
| 2003 
| 2005 
| Joined the [[American Association of Professional Baseball | American Association]]
|-
| [[Springfield/Ozark Mountain Ducks|Springfield-Ozark Mountain Ducks]]
| Ozark 
| Missouri 
| 1999 
| 2003 
| Joined the [[Frontier League]]
|-
| [[Tyler Wildcatters]]
| Tyler 
| Texas 
| 1994 
| 1997
| Folded
|}

==Texas–Louisiana League champions==
*1994 Corpus Christi
*1995 Lubbock
*1996 Abilene
*1997 Alexandria
*1998 Alexandria
*1999 Amarillo
*2000 Rio Grande Valley
*2001 Edinburg

==Central Baseball League champions==
*2002 San Angelo
*2003 Jackson
*2004 Edinburg
*2005 Fort Worth

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Professional Baseball}}

[[Category:Central Baseball League| ]]
[[Category:Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct independent baseball leagues in the United States]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Alabama]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Arkansas]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Colorado]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Florida]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Kansas]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Louisiana]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Mississippi]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Missouri]]
[[Category:Baseball leagues in Texas]]