Durant Choctaws

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The Durant Choctaws were the local minor league baseball teams from Durant, Oklahoma. They played in the Class D Texas–Oklahoma League from 1911 to 1914, with three team names over the years: Durant Educators (1911), Durant Choctaws (1912–1913), and Durant Gladiators (1914). Home games were at Durant Base Ball Park.

In 1911, Durant was a charter member of the eight-team league. The Educators finished second with a strong 65–46 record, while Wichita Falls led the league. Several other teams folded during the season. In the playoffs, Wichita Falls refused to play a game, and Cleburne was declared champion.

The 1912 season saw Durant playing as the Choctaws (also called Hustlers) and finishing last, with a 26–64 record. Managers included Hetty Green, Allie Mitchell, Charlie Dierdoff, and Bill Harper.

In 1913 the Durant Choctaws again finished last, posting a 41–84 record. Kid Speer and Stoney Jewell were the managers as Denison Blue Sox won the league.

In 1914, now the Durant Gladiators, the team finished last as the league shrank to four teams. Durant went 46–73, 32.5 games behind the first-place Paris Snappers.

The Texas–Oklahoma League folded after the 1914 season as World War I began. One Durant player, Calvin Bryant, fought in the war and was killed in France in 1918.

Durant has not hosted another minor league team since. The Durant base ball park hosted the home games, helping give the city its early baseball history. The name Choctaws reflects Durant’s local Choctaw heritage, a key part of the city’s identity.