Wichita Falls citizens of the early 1900s enjoyed local games of baseball. In 1914, Bob Carruth formed a team for African Americans, later named the Black Spudders, in the Texas Colored League. As the city experienced an influx of funds due to an oil boom, local businessmen William Harvey and W. Newton Maer purchased the Waco Navigators in 1919 and hired Walter Salm to manage the team. The newly formed Wichita Falls Baseball Association purchased a 20-acre tract of land on 7th Street and built the Athletic Park Complex with a 5,000 person grandstand. The Spudders, named by resident Grace Morse in a public contest, joined the Texas League from 1920-1932. Both the Spudders and the Black Spudders shared the Athletic Park facilities. Baseball greats such as Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig and Jerome “Dizzy” Dean played in exhibition games. The Spudders enjoyed success in the Texas League, finishing with a winning record ten times and winning the league championship in 1927. However, the Depression and slowing local oil production took a toll on both teams’ profitability. In 1930, the Black Spudders were sold to Galveston. The next year, the Spudders were relocated to Longview. In 1941, the Wichita Falls Baseball Association purchased the Midland Cowboys of the West Texas-New Mexico League and moved them to what locals affectionately referred to as “Spudder Park.” The team later moved to the Big State League, winning the league championship in 1953. Their league closed in 1957, and baseball did not return to Wichita Falls. The city later removed Spudder Park’s grandstands and reworked the site for community recreation and events, including city baseball games on the original baseball diamond. (2023)