Are you ready for some football? If so, the Fort Worth Braves are back.
The city’s minor-league professional football team only lasted from 1968 to 1970 before folding mid-season in 1971 with their league’s finances being called out of bounds.
Now nearly six decades later, the team’s resurrection is part of the Continental Football League, itself a revival of a league from the 1960s.
The league is set to kick off in May, but the Braves don’t have a stadium lined up yet. They have a coach: Ruben “Duck” Contreras.
Contreras held assistant strength and conditioning coaching positions at the University of Texas and University of Oregon, the latter being where he acquired his aquatic nickname. He founded Duck4 Performance in Austin, an athletic training business.
The Braves’ managing partner Justin Golson is eager to get to Fort Worth, build a team and engage with the community.
“Fan service,” he said. “We want the fans to get to know the team, know the players. That’s a big part of this.”
As part of the new Continental Football League’s structure, fans will have an ownership stake in the team. The league is raising funds from fans though an app, Wefunder.
“We want fans to own the team, take ownership and feel like they’re part of the team,” Golson said. “It’s more of a model used in Europe for soccer clubs, though really the Green Bay Packers do something similar.”
Youth football programs, fan events and local partnerships will play a major role in the team’s mission. The Braves plan to host community events and outreach programs leading up to the inaugural season.
“It takes the fans, the players and the league working together,” Golson said.
As entertainment director, the team is turning to Lee Espinosa, better known as DJ Lee of LA Productions.
“We want our fans to be able to hang out, have a beer and be entertained. And I think we’re putting that together,” Golson said.
John Fletcher, owner of Fletcher Consulting, recalled doing just that at the Fort Worth Braves games back in 1969-70, while he was a student at TCU. He said he’s excited to see the team return to the city.
“There’s a certain charm to minor-league sports and getting to know the players,” he said. “They become part of the town.”
Fletcher recalled sitting close to the field and interacting with the players before and after a game.
“Concessions were cheap, so it was very affordable, which was important as a student,” he said.
Golson wants to keep it local with the players as well. He has experience in player development. That combined with the new coach’s experience should be enticing for someone who wants to develop their skills playing football, he said.
Golson’s journey began with a passion for the game at a young age, playing in high school. He then got involved in coaching and player evaluation, working with high school athletes and small college prospects.
That experience eventually led to becoming a sports entrepreneur, working with developmental football programs to identify talent and create pathways for players to advance to higher levels of competition.
“I love doing that, and I want to do that here,” he said.
With the Braves announcement on March 10, the Continental Football League now features eight teams, half of those in Texas. That’s by design, Golson said.
“We know Texans love their football,” he said.
The other Texas teams, all part of the league’s southern division, are the
San Antonio Toros, the Tall City Black Gold (in Midland) and the Texas Syndicate (in the Austin area). The other teams in the league are the Jersey Jays, the Cincinnati Dukes, the Michigan Arrows and the Indianapolis Capitals.
The 2026 season begins in May and concludes with the Continental Cup Championship in July.
The original Fort Worth Braves brand dates to 1967, when the team was founded as the Fort Worth Texans as a member of the Texas Football League.
Johnny Hatley was the coach when the team changed its name and joined the Continental Football League for the 1969 season. The owner was Tommy Mercer, a beer distributor who also had his hand in the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, a semipro baseball team that played in Arlington and predated the Texas Rangers. The Fort Worth football team made headlines in 1969 when they recruited University of Texas star running back Chris Gilbert. Gilbert had been drafted by the New York Jets but eventually went to the Braves where he played for one year. Most of the games were played at Farrington Field.
Golson knows a semipro football league is not necessarily the first choice for fans of the game.
But with the Arlington-based United Football League as the second-tier behind the NFL, the Continental league has a chance to be a solid third-tier league with hopes of moving up if it builds a solid player pipeline.
League commissioner is Mike Kelly, who has 45 years of football experience that includes stints at the NCAA, Canadian Football League, National Football League and the XFL, as well as in player representation.
The original Continental Football League in the 1960s was the first to utilize the sudden-death playoff system. The new incarnation will also introduce something called the Continental Shift.
For the first three quarters, games follow traditional professional football rules.
However, the fourth quarter introduces a faster-paced format inspired by elements of Canadian football, including three-down football and accelerated play.
“We think that this will really create an exciting game,” Golson said. “If you’ve watched Canadian football, it creates a lot of excitement in the fourth quarter and keeps gains competitive in the final moments.”
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org.
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