“Play ball!”
For the first time since 2012, Abilenians can hear that command at a summer baseball league game, thanks to the new Mid-America League that opened play on May 23. The Abilene Flying Bison, one of six teams in the league, soared into action that night at McMurry University’s Walt Driggers Field against the Piney Woods TimberHogs from White Oak. With its rich baseball history, Abilene wasn’t just a logical city to place a team, but a must, said John Stark, general manager who grew up in Abilene and now lives in Clyde.
The team takes its name from the iconic flying bison that help visitors locate Frontier Texas!, Abilene’s Old West museum. The team logo also pays homage to another Abilene legacy–Dyess Air Force Base. The logo features a bison with a bat on his shoulder, ready to hit. He’s wearing an old-fashioned aviator’s scarf and blue leather helmet with long earflaps and bison horns. The look is
topped off by aviator sunglasses with lightning bolts.
It’s all part of the fun that the new baseball team promises, with its emphasis on attracting young families. Traditional ballpark food will be available, provided by Matera Grill and Catering. And families can get set for a different in-game experience each night such as races against the team’s mascot, giveaways, and Styrofoam airplane competitions.
“Our big plan is to engage kids as much as possible,” said Cat Duguay, director of marketing.
Single game tickets are $9 for general admission and $12 for a box seat. A lap child will be admitted free. Season tickets and group sales are available, too. (For schedule and ticket purchases, go to https://abileneflyingbison.com/)
There will be plenty of entertainment for the kids, but the major attraction will be on the field. The regular season runs through Aug. 10, with 34 home games and 34 road games. Playoffs begin Aug. 12. Most games will begin at 7:15 p.m. Other teams in the league are the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Marshals, Joplin (Missouri) Outlaws, Sherman Shadowcats, and Texarkana Rhinos.
All players in the Mid-America League are either in college or are select baseball players who have exhausted their college eligibility but want to maintain their amateur status. Abilenians will recognize some local and area college names. None of the players can get paid but will have the opportunity to earn money through a league-wide Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) program. Players will live in the campus apartments at McMurry and will travel on a VIP charter bus.
“We’re committed to building an estate here,” he said, “not just flipping a house.”
One reason the team wants its own stadium is the absence of beer sales at McMurry and other university sites in Abilene. Alcohol sales are a large revenue driver, Stark said. For now, the team will rely on its income from sponsorships and ticket and merchandise sales.
Scott Kirk, team president, is well known in Abilene for his years as a sportswriter for the Abilene Reporter-News and journalism teacher at Cooper High School. For Kirk, being a part of the Abilene Flying Bison is more than a position or a title. It’s a dream come true. Kirk was a game-day employee of the Prairie Dogs team, which played in Abilene from 1995 to 1999 and again for part of a season in 2012. Prior to that, the Abilene Blue Sox played from 1946 to 1957.
“That, to me, is like the ultimate goal,” he said.
Cat Duguay, director of marketing, already has noticed how passionate Abilenians are about getting–and keeping–a summer league team. The Blue Sox and Prairie Dogs were popular when they were here, but eventually faded. The folks behind the Abilene Flying Bison are just as passionate as Abilenians about making this a long-term affair.
“We take that responsibility very seriously,” Duguay said.
By Loretta Fulton
