The Texas League's first baseball season in 1888 took place during a turbulent political, economic, and cultural time in Texas. Amid the millions of acres of wild and rural Texas frontier boomed the cities of Galveston, Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Austin, where the new state capitol building had just opened. The Texas economy was transitioning from its legendary cattle drives as those cities competed for diverse business. In this cauldron Texas cities used whatever means they had to compete for population and business from other parts of the country, welcoming urban activities and entertainment typically reserved for cosmopolitan Eastern cities, such as professional baseball. The Land of Sand and Cotton uncovers key elements in the come-up of baseball in the state, such as important games in the newly formed Texas League, racial tensions and the semipro Colored League, the pivotal Major League barnstorming tour, financial struggles during the season, and outside political influences. The Land of Sand and Cotton tells the origin story of Texas baseball, which culminated in Major League franchises and World Series championships in both Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth. A much different game was played in 1888, when there really might have been cowboys, gunfighters, long horns, and horses around every corner.
William H. Brewster is a writer, a former financial services executive, and a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as a cryptologic linguist. He is the author of The Workingman's Game: Waverly, New York, the Twin Tiers and the Making of Modern Baseball, 1887-1898, finalist for the 2020 SABR Seymour Medal, and That Lively Railroad Town: Waverly, New York, and the Making of Modern Baseball, 1899-1901.
"William Brewster captures a notable year in Texas history through colorful characters, from baseball pioneer John McCloskey to Texas Ranger-turned-governor Sul Ross. His story of the Lone Star State in 1888 is remarkable for both its research and writing."--David King, author of Ross Youngs: In Search of a San Antonio Baseball Legend and San Antonio at Bat: Professional Baseball in the Alamo City "William Brewster, already an established expert on nineteenth-century baseball, has combined exhaustive research and storytelling skills to capture the early game in Texas. His new book illuminates an important yet previously overlooked part of the culture of the growing state."--Chris Holaday, author of Cracks in the Outfield Wall: The History of Baseball Integration in the Carolinas "William Brewster's fine work touches all the bases--it's impeccably reported, achingly poignant, and filled with cautionary lessons. He expertly shows how the Grand Old Game both mirrored and shaped the most profound issues of the day."--Bill Minutaglio, former contributing writer for the Sporting News and author of A Single Star and Bloody Knuckles: A History of Politics and Race in Texas
