Cats claw way back into Panther City baseball scene
by Paul Matson, reporter

    If your senses are attuned to the smell of fresh cut grass, the national anthem, peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jacks, then you know the boys of summer are coming home.

   As soon as construction is finished, the revived Fort Worth Cats will be playing on Fort Worth’s near north side at LaGrave Field.

   The Cats will hold open tryouts Saturday, May 4, at Lon Goldstein Field (I 20 & Wichita Street).

   A fee of $30 will be charged. Each participant receives a Fort Worth Cats t-shirt.

   Prospective players must be registered, warmed up and ready to play by 8 a.m.

   Hopefuls will be timed on a 60-yard dash and be required to make three pitches from right field to third base.

   After these events, the first cuts will be made.

   The remaining players will then participate in batting practice.

   Additional instructions will be given to those trying out as pitchers. If needed, a game will be Sunday, May 5, to determine final cuts.

   Old-time Fort Worth residents may remember the Cats from days gone by.

   In 1888, the Fort Worth Panthers Baseball Club, coined after Fort Worth’s nickname, “Panther City,” was founded.

   Long-time Fort Worth residents might remember the Cats team, as those nearing 60 may have attending games on the historic North Side of Fort Worth.

   The Panthers, a founding member of the Texas League, won seven straight regular season titles from 1919-1925.

   In the 1940s, the team was renamed the Fort Worth Cats.

   The Cats were a farm team for the Brooklyn Dodgers.

   In 1957 the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles, and the Cats moved from the Texas League to the AAA American Association.

   Built in 1926, LaGrave Field was home to the Cats until their demise in 1964. The stadium was torn down in 1967.

   Last year the original location of the field was bought from the Cytec chemical company by the City of Fort Worth for $620,000 and will be leased to the Cats’ owner, Carl Bell.

   “We’re rebuilding this stadium for the love of the game and the hopes and dreams of the kid in each of us,” he said.

   Carl Bell gives credit for his love of baseball to his father who took the younger Bell to Cats games in the ’50s.

   “We wanted to bring the affordable and fun Fort Worth Cats back,” he said.

   The Cats were resurrected last year, playing at Fort Worth’s Lon Goldstein Field as part of the All-American Association League, which concentrated of teams in the Southeast.

   The team finished the season with a 37-35 record and lost in the opening round of the playoffs to Baton Rouge.

   This year the Cats switched to the Central Baseball League consisting of six Texas teams, one Louisiana team and one Missouri team.

   The Cats’ first game of the season will be Friday, May 17, at the San Angelo Colts.

   Later, the Cats will return to a new ballpark.

   The new park is built on the original location they played in the past, just north of the Tarrant County Court House between Northwest 7th and 8th streets, east of Calhoun Street.

   The new stadium will seat approximately 4,500.

   In the future, a larger park will be built next to this one, seating 7,400, and the original field may be used by little league teams or for practice.

   The smaller stadium may also host some Texas Wesleyan and Texas Christian University baseball games.

   Groundbreaking ceremonies for the new LaGrave Field took place in December and the new ballpark should be ready soon.

   During excavation, the two original player’s dugouts were uncovered and construction is underway to add two additional dugouts for the players.

   The original dugouts will be outfitted for spectators and reserved as dugout suites, available for a one-of-a-kind experience.

   Prices for dugout suites are $500 per night. Cost for suites include seating for 10, Cats baseball caps and authentic player’s contracts. A portion of the cost of each suite sale will go to benefit the Bobby Bragan Youth Foundation.

   Regular and box seats are priced $3-$9.

   Pro baseball has more than one connection to the Fort Worth Cats.

   Bobby Bragan was a player-manager for the Fort Worth Cats from 1948-1952 and has been public relations special assistant for the Texas Rangers since 1980.

   Baseball Hall-of-Famer Rogers Hornsby, Maury Wills. Dick Williams, Norm Sherry and George “Sparky” Anderson also played for the Cats.

   Applications for employment are being accepted for most positions, either online at www.fwcats. com or 817-226-CATS (2287).