Fort Bend Jaybirds Baseball Team (cont.)

I've posted a couple of items from Lou Payton's scrapbook covering his playing days for the Fort Bend Jaybird baseball team back in the early 1950s.  You may recall from an earlier post that the Fort Bend Jaybirds were formed in 1950 and named after Fort Bend County's Jaybird Democratic Party, which was declared unconstitutional in a case tried before the US Supreme Court.  

This first clipping is an undated preseason item.  I assume it came from the Herald Coaster.  It covers the Jaybird's signing Lou and pitcher Bobby Hollmann.  They were teammates at the University of Houston in their collegiate days.  My reading of the article suggests Hollmann (and possibly Lou) played for the Jaybirds before they actually signed contracts.

This next clipping is a '52 preseason article also from the Herald Coaster.  It has an interesting run down on the team roster.  Several players had come from collegiate teams.  Some were under contract with major league teams.  Notice local boy, Gus Hrncir, was the leading hitter on UT's 1950 national championship team.