Mineola in Wood County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Mineola Black Spiders
By Tillman Cooke
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 1, 2019
1. Mineola Black Spiders Marker
Inscription.
Mineola Black Spiders. By Tillman Cooke. The Mineola Black Spiders were minor league baseball players who played in league where only the ball was "white". Consisting of 27 players clad in solid gray uniforms, figuratively speaking, could thump the cover of a baseball. All home games were played at Epperson Park (south Mineola). It was a "patch" fenced area equipped with a grandstand manned with excitable, screaming fans. Although the Spiders were no publicized baseball players as Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson of the Negro League, their arsenal was explosive. Joshua Epperson (catcher), Joe Epperson (shortstop), Isaiah Carpenter (catcher), Henry Thomas (outfield), Clarence "brush back" Wheeler (1st base, pitcher), "Little Snoop" Parker (infield), Eldridge Arthur (outfield), and J.B. Griffin (pitcher) were a few of these "swatters". Frankly speaking, all of the spiders could inflict pain upon a baseball. "Little Snoop" Parker was a tremendous hitter, so were Joe and Joshua Epperson. The Spiders were not used to playing for large crowds in excess of 200 people. A couple of local Mineola businessmen owned the Spiders and sought to entice them into becoming an integral part of an established minor league franchise in Iowa, but they refused to accept the challenge. It is estimated Mineola's Black Spiders played approximately fifteen to twenty games in a season. Their debut began somewhere in the middle 1930s.
Contributors: Billy Mc Calla, Sr., Haywood Epperson and Kevin Sherrington
The Mineola Black Spiders were minor league baseball players who played in league where only the ball was "white". Consisting of 27 players clad in solid gray uniforms, figuratively speaking, could thump the cover of a baseball. All home games were played at Epperson Park (south Mineola). It was a "patch" fenced area equipped with a grandstand manned with excitable, screaming fans. Although the Spiders were no publicized baseball players as Satchel Paige or Josh Gibson of the Negro League, their arsenal was explosive. Joshua Epperson (catcher), Joe Epperson (shortstop), Isaiah Carpenter (catcher), Henry Thomas (outfield), Clarence "brush back" Wheeler (1st base, pitcher), "Little Snoop" Parker (infield), Eldridge Arthur (outfield), and J.B. Griffin (pitcher) were a few of these "swatters". Frankly speaking, all of the spiders could inflict pain upon a baseball. "Little Snoop" Parker was a tremendous hitter, so were Joe and Joshua Epperson. The Spiders were not used to playing for large crowds in excess of 200 people. A couple of local Mineola businessmen owned the Spiders and sought to entice them into becoming an integral part of an established minor league franchise in Iowa, but they refused to accept the challenge. It is estimated Mineola's Black Spiders played approximately fifteen to twenty games in a season. Their debut began somewhere
Click or scan to see this page online
in the middle 1930s.
Contributors: Billy Mc Calla, Sr., Haywood Epperson and Kevin Sherrington
Erected by Mineola Historic Preservation Foundation.
Location. 32° 39.411′ N, 95° 29.418′ W. Marker is in Mineola, Texas, in Wood County. Marker is at the intersection of South Pacific Street (U.S. 69) and South Johnson Street, on the left when traveling north on South Pacific Street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: South Pacific Street, Mineola TX 75773, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. This marker to left of Texas Historical Commission marker about Mineola Spiders.
Photographed By Mark Hilton, September 1, 2019
3. Another nearby Mineola Black Spiders marker
Credits. This page was last revised on September 13, 2019. It was originally submitted on September 12, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 320 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on September 12, 2019, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
