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My college pal Scott Kirk brings baseball revival to Abilene

Scott Kirk Bison intro — Scott Kirk, president of the Abilene Flying Bison, introduces the new development league team on Dec. 14.

It’s funny how your memory can distort the facts over the years. When I first met Scott Kirk on the campus of Abilene Christian University in the fall of 1976, I was impressed because he had actually worked for a minor league baseball team in his hometown of Harlingen, Texas.

At least, that’s what I remembered from a distance of almost 50 years.

Scott recently corrected the historical record for me.

In reality, he actually worked as a sportswriter for the Valley Morning Star, covering the Rio Grande Valley WhiteWings baseball team that was based in Harlingen. He even took a year off from college to focus on the job as WhiteWings beat writer.

But I’m not letting the facts get in the way of my warm memory.

I remember Scott Kirk as a fellow student who was committed to sports journalism and loved the sport of baseball above all sports. He was and is one of my favorite writers both in college at the Optimist student newspaper and through a long career with the Abilene Reporter News after graduation. He closed out his career as a high school journalism teacher in Abilene.

By comparison, I was far behind Scott in my writing and reporting abilities when I landed on campus in 1976. But I loved baseball, and that sort of bonded us as members of the Optimist staff. We watched baseball on TV, talked baseball and drove to Arlington to watch the Texas Rangers play.

Scott and I have stayed in touch through the years, each of us playing a role in the other’s wedding, meeting in Dallas or Houston to watch baseball, and once playing a round of golf in 100+degree weather during a scorching Abilene summer.

Although he’s retired from roles as reporter and teacher, Scott continues to pursue his passion for baseball not only as a fan, but as someone working hard to bring a professional or semi-pro revival to Abilene. The west Texas city has been home to professional and independent baseball teams in both the distant and recent past.

Back in the 1940s and ’50s, it was home to a minor league team named the Abilene Blue Sox. There were two versions of the Abilene Prairie Dogs, one that played on the ACU campus from 1995-’99 and again for a one-year reprise in 2012.. Scott served as official scorer for the 1990s version of the Prairie Dogs.

Fast forward to Dec. 14, 2023. Scott’s vision for another Abilene baseball team became reality with the announcement that the Abilene Flying Bison developmental league team would begin play in May on the home field of McMurry University.

Turns out the person who made the announcement before about 150 people at a downtown Abilene events center was, wait for it, Scott Kirk, who is now President of the Abilene Flying Bison.

Scott’s wife, Nancy, posted a photo on Facebook of her husband making the announcement, so I called him to get the story of how it happened.

It begins with Scott connecting with George Lessmeister, a Kansas City resident who was scouting for a city to locate a team in a proposed developmental league, which would be unaffiliated with Major League Baseball.

“George Lessmeister’s involvement came through National Sports Services, which owns and operates several collegiate teams and also matches prospective owners with franchises,” Scott told me. “NSS and Ventura Sports Group are the co-founders of the Mid America League.”

It was a natural connection because of Scott’s long presence in the city of roughly 125,000 residents, and his past roles with previous teams.

AN ASIDE TO THE STORY: There’s an Oklahoma connection to all of this. Lessmeister previously considered locating the team in Edmond, where it would play on the UCO baseball field. But a deal could never be consummated.

So, now it’s the Abilene Flying Bison, instead.

I asked Scott how the team was named. The Bison part is easy because of the city’s location in an area where the buffalo once roamed. The team added “Flying” as an homage to Dyess Air Force Base, Scott said. Dyess has a big local presence from its location on the west side of Abilene.

So, what about the league the Flying Bison will play in and where are the other teams located?

“We’re going to be playing in what is known as the Mid America League,” Scott told me. “It’s a developmental league with no Major League affiliation. The players are going to primarily be collegiate players. We can have guys who might have played pro ball for a couple years, and they can play for us. We just can’t pay them.”

Five cities have been identified for the six-team league, Scott said. In addition to Abilene, there are Sherman, Texarkana and White Oak, all in Texas, with the fifth team located in my home town of Fort Smith, Ark. Scott said the league is close to announcing the sixth location.

mid america citiers

Here’s what I found out about the league on the Mid America League website:

“The League will play a 68-game schedule to start in late May and run through early August, concluding with playoffs to determine the League champion. The League will also be contracting with Opendorse to implement a program offering Name, Image and Likeness opportunities for players.”

Wait. NIL for an independent baseball league?

“I know it sounds like pay for play, but those are the rules we live by,” Scott said. “There are literally dozens of collegiate baseball leagues across the country. I would say there are probably 200 collegiate teams. One league, the Northwoods League, has almost 40 teams.”

I looked up the Northwoods League, which plays in the upper Midwest, and its website showed 25 teams in two divisions.

OK, Mr. President, what’s the next step for the Flying Bison and the Mid America League?

“Get a season completed,” Scott said. “If you complete your first season, your chances of success are better.”

So, Scott Kirk’s baseball story has come full circle. He DID have an unofficial affiliation with the Rio Grande WhiteWings. And now he’s leading a long-sought baseball revival in Abilene.

“The motivation for bringing a team to Abilene has always been about doing something that contributes to a sense of community in the city,” Scott said. “The overarching goal has been to build a venue that could serve as the home for a sports team in the future, whether it’s the MAL team or another team. If there’s a place for the team to play, it increases the likelihood of baseball or another sport to continue to play in Abilene.”

Maybe my memory from long ago wasn’t so faulty after all. Facts is facts.

mid america screen

Gaylord Perry and a Texas Rangers first impression

Editor’s note: Major League Baseball and its fans lost Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry on Thursday, Dec. 1. Perry pitched in the first Texas Rangers game I ever witnessed in Arlington, so I wrote this post to commemorate that event and what I remembered from seeing the Hall of Famer pitch in the game.

Let me tell you the story of my introduction to the Texas Rangers.

In the spring of 1976, I moved to Abilene, Texas, to go to college at Abilene Christian University. I was transferring my credits from a community college and started at ACU in the second summer semester while working at a small retail store in Abilene..

Anyway, I drove back to Fort Smith to visit my folks the week of Independence Day, and then drove back to Abilene on Monday, July 5.

I had grown up a St. Louis Cardinals fan, but became acquainted with the Rangers through their radio broadcasts after moving to Abilene.

So, as I was driving down from Fort Smith that Monday, I tuned the radio to WBAP 820, the Rangers flagship station. I learned they would be playing a home game that evening.

Perfect timing.

I detoured into Arlington and got to the ballpark about an hour before game time. I had read about how sparsely attended Rangers games were at that time, so I was surprised to find the parking lots surrounding Arlington Stadium almost completely full.

I parked and walked to a ticket window, where I was told that the only tickets remaining for sale were general admission in the outfield. It was a July 4 sellout.

Good enough for me.

I bought a ticket and found a spot deep in left field bleachers next to a man and his son, who was approximately 6 years old. The guy had a transistor radio with him that was shaped like Mickey Mouse and had the volume and tuning dials in the ears.

perry line The Mickey Mouse radio was tuned to WBAP, so we had radio play-by-play throughout the game while sitting in the stands. I guess that’s how we rolled in 1976.

Don’t remember much about the game except for the fact that the Rangers won and I got to see all-time great Gaylord Perry pitch for Texas (I was saddened to learn on Monday that Perry had passed away.)

The Hall of Famer and spitball legend started that 1976 game, although I wasn’t certain until I looked up the boxscore.

My real adventure started after the game as I left the stadium. I did not know my way around Arlington and had no map to consult. So, as I left the ballpark I found myself on Randall Mill Road, which I thought would take me back to I-30 and then west to Abilene.

Instead, Randall Mill Road seemed to go on forever with no sign of the Interstate. Finally, after seemed what was about an hour on the road to nowhere, I pulled into a 7-11 to ask for directions.

“How do I get to I-30,” I asked the clerk behind the counter.

He pointed to the west. “It’s right there.”

Sure enough, I had come within a few yards of the Interstate without realizing it, although I was actually now in Fort Worth.

So, about 11:30 pm on Monday, July 5, 1976, I pulled onto I-30 West and headed for Abilene and the rest of my life.

But I drove into Abilene now a Texas Rangers fan and a memory of watching Gaylord Perry pitch in a Major League game.

I remain a Rangers fan to this day. RIP Gaylord.

February: 28 days of yuck

winter weather — This is cruel month of February, 28 forgettable days of cold and dark.

It was dark when I went out to get my paper off the driveway this morning — yes, I still get newsprint delivered to me every day — and noticed there was ice on the windshield of the car.

So, I decided I should pull the windshield wipers up so that they won’t be stuck in place in should I need to drive later in the day.

Big mistake.

The wipers clung to the windshield like the kid’s tongue to the flagpole in A Christmas Story. So the rubber squeegee part ripped into shreds. Arrgh!

All of which made me hate the month of February even more than normal.

In fact, as I brooded later, I decided to figure out which months of the year I dislike the most and why. Here’s what I came up with:

Most hated months from worst to first

No. 12: February — No explanation needed. See February 2021 for guidance.

No. 11: January — Other than a New Year’s Day holiday that gives us time to assess the damage Christmas spending caused us, January doesn’t offer much. Mostly cold and darkness with few redeeming values.

No. 10: November — We’re losing daylight and warmth, plus we’re plunging headfirst into the Christmas buying season. And Daylight Savings ends, throwing our internal clocks out of whack. Thanksgiving and the wonderful weekend of college football it brings is the only redemption.

No. 9: December: — I’ve told my wife for years that my favorite day of the year is December 26. Too much stress and pressure to enjoy Christmas properly. Redeeming value: days DO start inching longer with later sunsets after December 21.

No. 8: August: — Oppressive heat. Little rainfall. Only saved by baseball and the kickoff to the college football season late in the month. Redemption comes only with rare temperature break or thundershower.

No. 7: July — See August. Oppressive heat. Little rainfall. Plus, Fourth of July fireworks drive our Chihuahua up a wall. And KD dumped us on July 4th. Rarely do we get a break on temperatures or rainfall. A bright side: Big vacation month, plus NFL training camp begins and MLB All-Star game.

No. 6: June — June brought so much promise as a kid. Weeks at my Grandparents’ house. Church camp. Lying in the grass and making images out of clouds. Now it means anticipating two full months of oppressive heat. See July and August. However, June baseball holds my interest.

No. 5: May — Oppressive heat still not in full effect. Vacation season coming. Baseball season in full throttle. School ending. The lake beckons. Downside: Tornado season is in full bloom.

No. 4: March — Spring! We’re starting to see some warmth and daylight here. Baseball Spring Training fully under way. March Madness. We’re making the turn to a happier time. The bad news is the resumption of Daylight Savings, which throws our sense of time into disarray once again.

No. 3 September — NFL season kicks off, which means we have weekend days and nights covered by football. The oppressive heat breaks about the third week. Perfect outdoor walking weather. On the downside, days are noticeably shorter. And the State Fair, but I won’t hold that against the month.

No. 2: October — A glorious month, all in all. Football races shaping up. The World Series. NBA season tips off. Weather is cool but not cold. Leaves morph into beautiful colors, even here in central Oklahoma. Downside: winter’s coming.

No. 1: April — The absolute best month of the year. Opening Day. The Masters. Daily walks through the neighborhood. More daylight each day. The smell of a fresh mowed lawn. April showers. Warm weather with oppressive heat still a couple months away. Tell me what’s not to like