Albuquerque Dons

The Albuquerque Dons played one remarkable, unfinished season in 1932 as members of the Class D Arizona-Texas League. The name is generally traced to the Spanish dons who governed the Southwest for some three centuries before it became part of the United States.

Their opening day is one of the strangest in minor league history. On April 6, 1932, with cold winds gusting to 60 miles an hour, the Dons beat El Paso 43-15. Albuquerque piled up 31 hits, 11 of them triples, and the two clubs combined for 58 runs. It was also the 24th birthday of Dons third baseman Dick Gyselman.

Gyselman went on to lead the league with a .392 batting average, 165 hits, 104 runs, and 12 triples, and the Dons were in first place at 57-42 when the financially troubled league shut down on July 24. That December the Boston Braves bought Gyselman's contract, and he played parts of 1933 and 1934 in the majors before a long career out west. He finished with 2,520 games at third base, the most by anyone in minor league history.

The Arizona-Texas League was a Class D circuit formed in 1931 out of the old Arizona State League, fielding teams in Arizona, New Mexico, and West Texas. It returned in 1937, and so did Albuquerque, this time as a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate.