Blackwell Broncos


The Blackwell Broncos was the final moniker of the minor league baseball franchise based in Blackwell, Oklahoma. Blackwell played as members of the Class D Oklahoma State League, Southwestern League, Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League and Western Association, winning the Western Association championship in 1954.
The Blackwell Broncos were an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs in 1952 and 1954.

History

Minor league baseball began in Blackwell, Oklahoma with two separate teams in the 1924 season.
First, the Blackwell Gassers began play as members of the Class D 1924 Oklahoma State League, before the league folded during the season. Blackwell was 20–53 and in 7th place when the Oklahoma State League permanently disbanded on July 8, 1924. Blackwell played under managers J. Rustenhaven and Hal Grun. Their home field in Blackwell was Fairgrounds Park.
Blackwell gained a second team in 1924. On July 26, 1924, the Newton Railroaders of the Class D Southwestern League briefly moved to Blackwell after a windstorm damaged their stadium in Newton. The team played 11 total games for Blackwell before the team moved to Ottawa, Kansas on August 5, 1924. The team was 13–11 in Ottawa before being able to move back to Newton on August 28, 1916. On the field, Newton/Blackwell/Ottawa finished 79–50 overall in the regular season, placing 1st overall in the Southwestern League to capture the league pennant. In the Southwestern League Finals, the Arkansas City Osages defeated Newton/Blackwell/Ottawa 4 games to 3.
The Blackwell Gassers returned to play in the 1925 Southwestern League. In the six–team Class D Southwestern League, Blackwell had a record of 61–66. The Gassers finished
5th in the Southwestern League under Manager Ralph Heatley.
Playing in the 1926 Class D Southwestern League, the Blackwell Gassers played their final season. Blackwell finished 45–71 overall, 6th in the Southwestern League. The
managers were Stormy Kromer and Mike Balenti. The Southwestern League permanently folded after the 1926 season.
Minor league returned to Blackwell, when the franchise joined the 1952 Class D Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, after the Carthage Cubs franchise relocated to Blackwell. The Blackwell Broncos were also known as the Blackwell Cubs. With a regular season record of 57–69, Blackwell was 5th in the Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League. The Manager was Al Reitz. The team began play at Blackwell's Morgan Field, drawing a total season attendance of 51,000. The Kansas-Oklahoma-Missouri League permanently folded after the 1952 season.
In 1954, the Blackwell Broncos won the league championship. Blackwell joined as members of the Class C Western Association as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. Blackwell finished with a 1954 regular season record of 79–61, 4th in the Western Association. Managed by Joe Consoli and Al Kubski, Blackwell qualified for the playoffs. In the first round playoffs, Blackwell swept the Topeka Owls in three games. In the Western Association Finals, the Blackwell Broncos defeated the St. Joseph Saints 4 games to 1 to win the championship. Season attendance at Morgan Field was 39,637. Blackwell was unable to defend their title, as the Western Association permanently folded after the 1954 season.

The ballparks

The Blackwell Gassers of 1924–1926 played at Fairgrounds Park. Fairgrounds Park was located at South Main & East Lawrence Avenue, Blackwell Oklahoma.
The Blackwell Broncos played at Morgan Field in 1952 and 1954. The ballpark was on the same lot as Farigrounds Park and had a capacity of 2,500 and 3,500. Morgan Field was located at 900 South Main & Adams, Blackwell, Oklahoma. Today, the site is still in use as home to the B Street Baseball Complex, named for the other street connecting to Adams. The present address is 915 S B Street, Blackwell, Oklahoma 74631.

Notable alumni

YearRecordManagerFinishPlayoffs/Notes
1924 20–53J. Rustenhaven / Hal Grun7thLeague Disbanded July 8
1924 7–4John McCloskey1stTemporary move from Newton
192561–66Ralph Heatley5th-
192645–71J.G. Kromer / Mike Balenti6th-
195257–69Al Reitz5th-
195479–61Joe Consoli / Al Kubski4thLeague Champions

External references