Baseball in the Cross Timbers; The Story of the Sooner State League

308 pages with glossary, maps, ballpark diagrams, statistical tables, an extensive index and over 300 illustrations and photographs, many appearing for the first time. Different than most books about the minor leagues, Baseball in the Cross Timbers: The Story of the Sooner State League relates a regional history and study of society in post-World War II Oklahoma and north Texas through the prism of the last Class D league west of the Mississippi. The Sooner State League operated for eleven seasons between 1947 and 1957. More than 3,100 players mounted the bottom rung of baseball's ladder leading to the dream-come-true of playing in the Show. More than just a sports book, in fourteen chapters Baseball in the Cross Timbers reintroduces us to the Oklahoma and north Texas of the 1940s and 1950s. The heroes and the goats, the civic pillars and the criminals, the raconteurs, wheelers and dealers, rogues and rascals are all there along with the players and fans as well as the owners, managers, umpires, and officials, the people who made the Sooner State League live. The story of the League continued beyond its last season in 1957 in the form of the short 1961 season of Ardmore Rosebuds, the last small-town minor league team in Oklahoma. Each minor league has its own story worth telling and Pete Pierce has through his meticulous research told the story of the Sooner State League with the care and depth it deserves. . . .Pete tells behind the scenes stories of the League and its franchises, most run on a shoestring by men dedicated to bringing something worthwhile to their communities. I know a labor of love when I see one and Baseball in the Cross Timbers is certainly that. . . . Cross Timbers records and celebrates a simpler time when the U.S. was emerging from World War II and young men were able to turn from the battlefield to the ball field. It pays homage to the grassroots tradition of baseball and to the impact of minor leagues in our communities and on youngsters like the Pete Pierces of the 1950s. The unique collection of photos that Pete has been able to gather further returns one to those halcyon days. From the Foreword by C. Paul Rogers, III, Professor of Law and past Dean Dedman School of Law Southern Methodist University

Peter G. Pierce is a fourth generation Oklahoman. After studying Classical Languages at the University of Oklahoma and law at the Dedman School of Law at Southern Methodist University, he practiced commercial law and litigation for 16 years and has authored a number of articles. He was actively involved in a family-owned bank through 2000 and, following a sabbatical, moved to the bank holding company where he serves as its president and chairman. He teaches a popular course for graduating seniors at the University of Oklahoma titled "Life After O.U.--A Survival Guide"and an annual course on the history of baseball. He is a lifelong baseball fan and member of SABR.