DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Mineola Black Spiders. Now, Wood County don't always get credit for the baseball history it's carrying around, but let me tell you about a team that started small and spread itself all the way from South Mineola to the Midwest, and left a record behind that still deserves to be spoken out loud. In the 1800s and on into the first half of the twentieth century, African-American baseball teams played separately from white teams.
That was the world as it was. Mineola was a small town — and it had both. The Black Spiders were composed of African-American men and youth right there from the community.
They wore solid gray uniforms and took the field at Epperson Park in South Mineola. And when they played at home, they drew. Around two hundred spectators would show up to watch.
For a small town, that's not nothing. That's a community showing up for its own. They didn't just play at home, either.
The Spiders traveled to Dallas, to Commerce, to Shreveport over in Louisiana, and other places besides. They were movin', is what they were doin'. Then came Vernon Klingaman.
He'd moved to Texas in the late 1920s and settled in Mineola, and before long he got himself involved with the team. He expanded the roster, opening it to non-residents, and changed the name to the Texas Black Spiders. That right there tells you something — the ambition was growing bigger than the city limits.
In 1932, the players departed Mineola for the Midwest, becoming a barnstorming team, staging exhibition games in various locations. That same year, they underwent a name change — becoming the Mason City Black Bats, headquartered in Iowa. Some members would eventually return to the Spiders' squad.
Others moved back to Texas. But the journey had been made. Now here's where the story gets downright impressive.
The Black Spiders gained a reputation as one of the fastest teams from the South. And fast, it turns out, also meant winning. In 1936, the Spiders put up a record of thirty-four wins and one loss.
Thirty-four and one. Let that sit with you for a moment. But by 1937, there was substantial turnover in team personnel.
The Black Spiders fielded a team in 1938 — and then disbanded afterward. Today, the marker tells us, the team is mostly forgotten in Mineola. Mostly forgotten.
Not entirely. Because someone thought it was worth putting the story in stone, and here we are on a Texas road, saying their name out loud — the Mineola Black Spiders, who wore solid gray and went thirty-four and one, and who deserve to be remembered as exactly what they were: a success, locally and in the Midwestern United States. Some legacies just need a little help findin' their way back.
What the marker says
IN THE 1800s AND INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, AFRICAN-AMERICAN BASEBALL TEAMS PLAYED SEPARATELY FROM WHITE TEAMS. THE COMMUNITY OF MINEOLA, THOUGH SMALL IN POPULATION, HAD BOTH WHITE AND BLACK BASEBALL TEAMS. THE MINEOLA BLACK SPIDERS WAS COMPOSED OF AFRICAN-AMERICAN MEN AND YOUTH FROM THE TOWN. THE BALLPLAYERS WORE SOLID GRAY UNIFORMS AND PLAYED AT EPPERSON PARK IN SOUTH MINEOLA, IN ADDITION TO TRAVELING TO GAMES IN DALLAS, COMMERCE, SHREVEPORT (LOUISIANA), AND OTHER PLACES. HOME GAMES SOMETIMES ATTRACTED AROUND 200 SPECTATORS. VERNON KLINGAMAN, WHO MOVED TO TEXAS IN THE LATE 1920s, SETTLING IN MINEOLA, SOON BECAME INVOLVED WITH THE TEAM. HE EXPANDED THE ROSTER, OPENING IT TO NON-RESIDENTS, AND CHANGED THE NAME TO THE TEXAS BLACK SPIDERS. IN 1932, THE PLAYERS DEPARTED MINEOLA FOR THE MIDWEST, BECOMING A BARNSTORMING TEAM, STAGING EXHIBITION GAMES IN VARIOUS LOCATIONS. THAT YEAR, THE TEAM UNDERWENT A NAME CHANGE, BECOMING THE MASON CITY BLACK BATS. THEY HEADQUARTERED IN IOWA, THOUGH MOST MEMBERS WOULD RETURN TO THE SPIDERS’ SQUAD, WHILE OTHERS MOVED BACK TO TEXAS. THE BLACK SPIDERS GAINED A REPUTATION AS BEING ONE OF THE FASTEST TEAMS FROM THE SOUTH. THEY WERE ALSO VERY SUCCESSFUL; IN 1936, THE SPIDERS’ RECORD WAS 34-1. HOWEVER, BY 1937, THERE WAS A SUBSTANTIAL TURNOVER IN TEAM PERSONNEL. THE BLACK SPIDERS FIELDED A TEAM IN 1938, BUT DISBANDED AFTERWARD. TODAY, THE TEAM IS MOSTLY FORGOTTEN IN MINEOLA. HOWEVER, THE BLACK SPIDERS REMAIN A SIGNIFICANT PART OF THE COMMUNITY’S HISTORY AS A BLACK BASEBALL TEAM THAT BECAME A SUCCESS LOCALLY AND IN THE MIDWESTERN UNITED STATES.