The Texas Rangers & Houston Astros are battling for a World Series berth this week. As an Austin guy, I don’t have a big dog in this hunt. But I do know it is an opportunity for a Roo Tale. This tale is about an Austin College Kangaroo pitcher who played professional ball for an Astros predecessor against a Rangers predecessor, before ending up in the World Series.
The Texas Rangers & Houston Astros trace their history to two minor league franchises in the Texas League. The Rangers (b. 1972) trace their name to the Texas League’s Dallas Rangers (b. 1902). The Astros (b. 1962) were established with the assets of the Texas League’s Houston Buffaloes (b. 1888). Contests between Dallas and Houston were commonplace in 1920s and helped to propel Kangaroo pitcher Carlisle Littlejohn to Major League Baseball’s grandest stage.
Carlisle Littlejohn was born in Irene, TX. He enrolled at Austin College in 1920 in part because of the school’s outstanding baseball team. Littlejohn made his mark as a freshman in 1921; the AC Chromascope noted that “turning to the baseball field, our gaze falls upon four ‘fish’ clad in the Kangaroo uniform, among them is Littlejohn, a star pitcher.” A photo of Littlejohn with his Kangaroo teammates in from of Luckett Hall can be found in the comments.
1922 and 1923 brought more stardom, with Littlejohn earning wins over Trinity, TCU & SMU. He faced the Texas Longhorns in Austin; the Statesman noted that the “Kangaroos do not have a world beating nine, but in Carlisle Littlejohn, the Sherman team has one of the best pitchers in the state.” After being elected captain in 1923, Littlejohn left before his senior year of 1924 after signing a contract with the Texas League’s Houston Buffaloes.
From 1925 through 1926, Carlisle Littlejohn tallied 28 wins for Houston. As the press made clear, he was a bright spot for the struggling Buffaloes squad:
“Houston [has] been the big disappointment of the Texas league this year. It is not difficult to solve the trouble at Houston, for the Buff infield is shot, the team has no punch, and the pitching has not been what was expected, though several of the Buff mound men have done well. Carlisle Littlejohn being second to none in the league as a hurler just at this time. The Irene product is pitching baseball of sensational variety.”
As Houston faltered, Dallas was the toast of the Texas League. The Dallas Rangers (then Steers) won the Texas League in 1926. But they struggled with Littlejohn. On July 17, 1926, Littlejohn pitched Houston to a 4-3 victory over Dallas on the road. “The game was a hurling duel between Mike Collins and Carlisle Littlejohn, with the Buff pitcher having a slight edge, holding the Steers to five hits.” Littlejohn’s efforts for Houston against Dallas were so impressive, the Majors came calling in September of 1926.
“Austin College Man Signs with Cardinals,” screamed the San Francisco Bulletin. The St. Louis Cardinals, champions of the National League, acquired Littlejohn for their World Series against Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the American League Champion New York Yankees. Although Littlejohn would not see any action in the 1926 World Series, the Cardinals defeated the Yankees in 7 games. A photograph of Littlejohn wearing his 1926 World Champion Cardinals jersey graces the cover of this story.
Carlisle Littlejohn pitched for St. Louis over the next two seasons in a relief role, appearing in 26 games from his 1927 debut and earning a respectable 3.66 ERA in 1928. The highlight of his major league career may have taken place on September 14, 1927, when he contributed to a Cardinals victory alongside two of baseball’s all-time greats.
Cardinals Hall of Fame pitcher Grover Cleveland Alexander had thrown 8 solid innings against John McGraw’s New York Giants. But Alexander left the game with the score tied 2-2. Littlejohn took his place, pitching 2 innings of relief while preventing all Giants batters from reaching base. Littlejohn struck out Hall of Famer Roger Hornsby to end the top of the 10th. The Kangaroo got the win after a Cardinals walk off homerun in the bottom of the 10th.
St. Louis’s run to return to the World Series in 1927 came up just short. But Littlejohn returned to St. Louis in 1928 and the Cardinal winning ways continued. By that summer, however, the Kangaroo pitcher’s production had fallen slightly. Cardinals General Manager Branch Rickey (who as Brooklyn GM would sign Jackie Robinson in 1947 to break baseball’s color barrier) sent Littlejohn back down to the Houston Buffaloes.
“Back to Houston,” shouted the Texas newspapers, alongside a picture of Littlejohn in a Houston Buffaloes jersey (see comments). The Roo’s arrival back in Houston would help the Buffaloes overtake Dallas in the Texas League. The Houston Buffaloes won the Texas League crown in 1928, ending the Dallas dominance from years earlier. Littlejohn faced the Dallas Rangers (then Steers) multiple times that summer as Houston cruised to the title in September.
Back in St. Louis, however, Branch Rickey was regretting his decision to let go of the Roo. The Cardinals held on to win the 1928 National League pennant, but would again face Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, and the Yankees in the World Series. Ricky reversed course on September 22, 1928, and brought Littlejohn back up to the Majors for the New York Yankees / St. Louis Cardinals World Series.
The Yankees got their revenge for 1926, sweeping the Cardinals in four games and winning the 1928 World Series. Like 1926, Littlejohn again did not see any action against the Yankees during the Series. However, like 1926, he got paid for his contributions to the National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. Alongside all of his Cardinal teammates, Littlejohn received a check for $4,181.30 from Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis.
Carlisle Littlejohn is yet another long-since-departed Kangaroo athlete whose story sounds like something out of an American sports fairy tale. Yet despite Austin College’s small fish in a big pond status, he is remembered. Carlisle Littlejohn was inducted as a member of the Austin College Hall of Honor in 2009, alongside Mark Cunningham, Aaron Kernek, Jack Manes, Amy Meschke Porter, Gayno Shelton, Ann Mason (spouse of Bob Mason), and Kate McCord (mother of Martha Kate McCord).
The relatively young Houston Astros (61 years) & Texas Rangers (51 years) are battling for a 2023 World Series berth. But professional baseball in Houston & Dallas has existed in the Texas League since 1888 (135 years). And Austin College? That institution celebrates 175 years this fall. So, it is no surprise that Houston & Dallas professional baseball stretches back much further than the Astros & Rangers, with a relief appearance by an Austin College pitcher with a World Series title.
