With minor league baseball cancelled this season leaving the Round Rock Express team unable to play for local fans, the Dell Diamond is temporarily hosting the Texas Collegiate League, the state’s first major collegiate summer wood bat league. The team has been dubbed the Round Rock Hairy Men in a nod to the area’s local urban legend.
For those not in the know about either the local legend OR the Texas Collegiate League, we’re here to help.
First of all, who is the Round Rock Hairy Man?
The legend of the Hairy Man goes back to the 1800’s when Round Rock’s Hairy Man Road was a simple dirt path. According to the story, as early settlers headed west through Round Rock, a young boy was separated from his parents, grew up living a hermit lifestyle and became an angry, territorial man who was covered from head to toe in hair. He would frequently chase away strangers and hide in trees to scare anyone passing by, sometimes sitting in a tree canopy that grew over the road while dragging his feet on the top of the stagecoaches. Per the legend, the Hairy Man met his demise in a stagecoach accident and still haunts the road to this day. The City of Round Rock actually honors this local legend annually with a Hairy Man Festival, and thus, is why the baseball team has this unique name.
What is the Texas Collegiate League?
The TCL is made up of active collegiate players competing in a 30-game regular season that runs from June 30 until August 2. The league allows players to showcase and improve their skills in a minor league-type atmosphere using wooden bats.
The TCL includes 10 teams from across Texas and neighboring states. The league is divided into two divisions, North and South. The North Division includes Amarillo’s two teams, Frisco, Texarkana and Tulsa while the South Division includes Acadiana, Brazos Valley, Round Rock, San Antonio and Victoria. The 30-game schedule features a three-game home and away series against each divisional opponent as well as a three-game home and away series against one cross-divisional opponent for a total of 15 home games and 15 away games. The postseason consists of a three-game divisional series played by the top two teams in each division, followed by a one-game, winner-take-all championship for the Gerald Haddock Trophy.
“We are excited to give our fans the opportunity to come back out to Dell Diamond and cheer on some of the best collegiate players from Central Texas and beyond this summer.” – Express President Chris Almendarez
Game Schedule and Safety Procedures: For the full game schedule, please click here. Of course the safety and well-being of staff, guests and the community is of the upmost importance. The ballpark will operate at 25% capacity or less and has created a socially distant seating map to allow for proper spacing between groups. To review all the guidelines regarding mask wearing, a one-way pedestrian traffic flow, and limited touchpoints in the ballpark, please click here.
Tickets & More Info: To purchase tickets, please click here. For much more info, visit www.rrhairymen.com. You can also follow the Round Rock Hairy Men on Twitter to stay up to date with the latest news and information.
