TL1 Texas League

Texas League Elects Six to Hall of Fame

Published on June 29, 2007 under Texas League (TL1) News Release


Today, Texas League president Tom Kayser announced that six former players were elected to the league's Hall of Fame during the Board of Directors meeting held at Corpus Christi on June 26, prior to the all star game hosted that evening by the Corpus Christi Hooks.

Those receiving the honor were outfielder Joe Bonowitz, first baseman Henry "Zeke" Bonura, pitcher Earl Caldwell, outfielder Tyrone Horne, second baseman Carey Selph and pitcher/first baseman Frank "Pop" Weikert.

With the election of the six members of the class of 2007, there are now 68 members of the Texas League Hall of Fame, which began honoring players, managers, umpires and executives in 2004.

Listed below are the statistics of the new members and a short description of their accomplishments while in the Texas League.

Joe Bonowitz, Outfield

Bonowitz played six complete years in the Texas League, compiling a career batting average of .313, seventh highest in league history. He was one of the greatest defensive outfielders in league history, leading his position in fielding percentage in five consecutive seasons, centerfield in 1926 and left field, 1927-30. He also led center fielders in chances in 1925 and left fielders in 1929 and 1930. Bonowitz was also one of the toughest men to strike out in the league, whiffing just 154 times in 3,401 at-bats in six seasons.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1925 Shreveport 148 571 83 141 26 6 21 93 25 50 12 .247

1926 Shreveport 136 487 58 154 36 2 7 79 23 23 7 .316

1927 Fort Worth 152 563 61 165 43 5 8 92 28 19 15 .293

1928 Fort Worth 155 578 87 193 54 3 3 117 26 19 6 .334

1929 Fort Worth 140 571 108 205 43 7 16 104 24 15 12 .359

1930 Fort Worth 152 631 89 205 47 7 17 105 26 28 5 .325

Henry "Zeke" Bonura, First Base

Bonura had two outstanding seasons for Dallas, hitting a combined .340 with 221 RBI, 242 runs scored and 203 walks. Bonura was also an outstanding fielder, leading first baseman in fielding both years and in total chances in 1933.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1932 Dallas 144 509 101 164 39 3 21 110 81 26 9 .322

1933 Dallas 152 516 141 184 43 3 24 111 122 36 19 .357

Earl Caldwell, Pitcher

Caldwell's Texas League career had three different segments from 1926 through 1942. A very good fielding pitcher, Caldwell became better with age, going 43-20 in his final two TL seasons at the ages of 36 and 37. A four time 20 game winner, Caldwell led the league in complete games three times and pitched a seven-inning no hitter in 1942.

W L G CG SHO IP H BB K ERA

1926 Waco No Records Available

1927 Waco 7-10 34 7 0 178 179 92 46 4.30

1928 Waco 12-14 35 17 6 219 258 80 71 4.73

1929 Waco 21-15 38 28 2 291 341 79 72 4.86

1930 Wichita Falls 15-13 34 18 1 224 289 90 59 5.06

1934 San Antonio 20-14 41 26 0 294 301 114 106 3.58

1935 San Antonio 19-15 32 21 2 270 232 85 66 2.27

1941 Fort Worth 22-7 37 28 6 281 220 66 126 1.57

1942 Fort Worth 21-13 42 29 7 305 267 84 120 2.33

Tyrone Horne, Outfielder/DH

Horne had one outstanding season in the Texas League during which he led the league in home runs and RBI's. His RBI total of 139 was the highest in the league since 1956. Horne also had one historic game in 1998, hitting a home run cycle in a July contest at San Antonio. It was the first time a batter had accomplished the feat of hitting a solo, two-run, three-run and grand slam homers in the same game in professional baseball history. For his accomplishments during the 1998 season, Horne was selected the Texas League Player of the Year.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA

1998 Arkansas 123 443 94 138 13 3 37 139 70 97 18 .312

Carey Selph, Second Base

Selph hit over .300 in all five seasons in the league. His career average of .322 is second highest in league history. He was also tough to strike out, going down on strikes just 137 times in 3184 TL at-bats. Selph was also one of the outstanding second baseman in loop history, leading the league in a number of fielding categories annually. He returned to manage Houston for two seasons, leading them to first place in 1933.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB K SB BA W L

1928 Houston 153 635 108 198 33 9 6 61 30 46 11 .312

1930 Houston 152 584 97 200 39 4 6 97 25 21 12 .342

1931 Houston 156 608 116 196 36 10 3 88 42 28 28 .322

1933 Houston 149 594 104 184 40 7 6 60 55 29 8 .310 94-67

1934 Houston 126 473 67 153 31 2 2 67 28 13 5 .323 76-78

Frank "Pop" Weikert, Pitcher/First Base

Weikert was one of the most accomplished and popular players during the early decades of the league. He was an active player in the loop over the first 20 years of its existence from 1888 through 1908. Weikert was outstanding at the plate, in the field and the mound, going 27-11 for Houston in 1889, then hitting .380 and .385 for Austin in 1896 and 1897. A slick fielding first baseman, Weikert capped his TL career as the player/manager at Galveston in 1907 and 1908, leading the loop in home runs in '07.

G AB R H 2B 3B HR BB K SB BA W-L

1888 Hou/SA/Aust. 73 269 30 60 5 3 1 15 .223

1889 Houston 69 227 58 19 .256

1890 Houston 15 63 15 13 2 2 0 4 .206

1895 Austin 25 95 15 30 4 2 0 2 .316

1896 Austin 129 510 117 194 40 21 17 26 .380 ? ?

1897 Austin 104 400 87 154 13 .385 53-54

1899 Houston 30 110 24 35 6 2 4 0 .318

1907 Galveston 108 387 48 94 7 1 17 10 .246 59-81

1908 Galveston 84 286 34 70 12 5 9 36 .245 59-86

W-L G CG SHO IP H BB K ERA

1888 SA/Aust 2-1 3 3 1 27 21 4 17 0.33

1888 Houston 2-3 5 5 0 43 43 11 28 2.51

1889 Houston 27-11 38 343 47 58 2.18

1890 Houston 4-4 8 6 0 62 75 12 4 4.65

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Texas League Stories from June 29, 2007


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