By RENE TORRES
Early 20th century visitors to Brownsville would find a city with profound differences in social classes and no different than the Wild West. The town was violent and corrupt with political bosses waving the colors as a Democrat or Independent.
On the eve and throughout the Mexican Revolution, one of the major entertainments of the period was baseball — especially for the Mexican citizens of the city. In 1909, the Brownsville Baseball Club was one of the best amateur nine in South Texas with a roster of all Caucasian players.
The other team in town, which got less attention from the press, was known as “Texas Lunch” (later named the Texas Café). The team carried the name of the popular restaurant owned by the Marques family which was located in the Market Square area of the city.
The ’09 season read like a chapter of a murder mystery — it was full of intrigue with guns, flames, politics and eventually murder.
The Daily Herald thought enough of baseball that it reported on national and local baseball stories with detail and frequency—with the “Diamond Gossip” column providing the intangibles of the game. Baseball in Brownsville was a good proposition and the newspaper was doing its part to promote it.
Regardless of the make-up of the team, the “Mexican fans,” as the Herald described them, supported the city team. The season gave the fans a lot to cheer about; and, at times, became riotous in their support.
So was the case when guns were waved and fists started to fly due to an argument at the ball park—and it was not because of a bad call on the diamond.
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