Classic Baseball Union

Galveston (AP) – January 1, 1993 Galveston has had a long history of intrigue in major league baseball.  After close to a century of efforts to get a professional team on the island, it seems that the hard work of many is beginning to pay off.  Sources close to CBU officials have informed this reporter that the city will soon be home to a CBU franchise.

The struggle began in 1899.  Prominent entrepreneur and philanthropist Willie Pfisterbottom is approached by Major League Baseball concerning the league’s desire to expand to the Gulf Coast.  Galveston was a booming town of over 100,000 at the time, and many felt that MLB would flourish in the region.  Just days before the expansion was formalized, a major hurricane destroyed the island.  In the aftermath, Pfisterbottom desperately tried to rebuid the island, and the MLB franchise was instrumental to his plans.  Unfortunately, the league was no longer interested in such a dangerous area.  Plans were scrapped for the time.

In 1938, the island had rebuilt and Pfisterbottom’s illegitimate son Dick Hunt began the efforts to lure a professional team to the island.  At first, Major League Baseball was interested, but with a major war looming, Hunt’s efforts never took hold.  The island again felt the spurn of MLB, and many vowed to start a regional league to compete with MLB.  Hunt worked tirelessly to find eight owners to begin a Texas Baseball League.  Owners were found, but many potential players were away at war.  The league was little more than a long-distance beer league.  After two seasons of heavy financial losses, the owners decided to cut their losses.  Many of those same owners would go on to own minor league teams in the Texas League.

In 1960, as Major League Baseball again sought the untapped Gulf Coast, Galveston and Hunt’s son Mike worked hard to gain the interest of the league, but an ownership group in a much larger Houston market won the franchise.  For most of Galveston, this was not a complete loss.  Houston was located 45 minutes away, and many Galveston residents were fans of the Colt 45′s.  Support of the Houston team grew, and in 1980, the island was full of Astros fever.

The fanbase would grow until Houston, after a highly successful 1986 season, began offering special business-tax breaks to keep MLB money in Houston and away from the island.  Galveston residents, longtime supporters of the Astros, felt betrayed.  In addition, Houston ownership began making poor baseball moves in an effort to increase the profit margin.  Many of the moves alienated the fanbase, and Galveston, under the leadership of an aging Mike Hunt, began to campaign for a second professional team in the area.  Major League Baseball refused to listen to the group, causing Hunt to seek out other options. 

In 1992, Hunt, after a long battle with syphillis, passed away in the arms of his long-time love, Anna Nicole-Smith.   Most of the business, and Anna Nicole, changed hands to Mike Litoris and Morris Esovia, Hunt’s business partners.  Esovia, amidst numerous charges of pedophilia, sold his interest to Litoris.  The time was ripe for Galveston to finally get a professional team.  Lafitte Park was refurbished, and the hospitality industry started preparing for big business.  The Bayhawks have moved to town, and the island and the franchise are predicting great success.  On an island loaded with history, hotels, and strip clubs, the CBU will definitely infect the hearts of the Gulf Coast.