Florida East Coast League

From BR Bullpen

The first Florida East Coast League was a class D league in operation from 1940 through 1942. It shut down on May 14 due to World War II and did not return. Earlier in the 1942 season the Cocoa and Fort Lauderdale teams folded on April 21 and April 25, respectivly.

Another Florida East Coast League was a Rookie-level league that was around only in 1972. A 4-team alternative to the Gulf Coast League, the total attendance for the 114 games played was 966. The top player was Randy Bass, who won the first of 6 home run crowns in his pro baseball career.

Contents 1 Cities Represented 1.1 1940-1942 2 Teams and Statistics 2.1 1940-1942 3 Cities Represented 3.1 1972 4 Teams and Statistics 4.1 1972 5 Source

[edit] Cities Represented

[edit] 1940-1942

• Cocoa, FL: Cocoa Fliers 1941-1942
• DeLand, FL: DeLand Red Hats 1942
• Fort Lauderdale, FL: Fort Lauderdale Tarpons 1940-1942
• Fort Pierce, FL: Fort Pierce Bombers 1940-1942
• Hollywood, FL: Hollywood Chiefs 1940
• Miami Beach, FL: Miami Beach Tigers 1940; Miami Beach Flamingos 1941-1942
• Miami, FL: Miami Wahoos 1940-1941; Miami Seminoles 1942
• Orlando, FL: Orlando Nationals 1942
• West Palm Beach, FL: West Palm Beach Indians 1940-1942

[edit] Teams and Statistics

[edit] 1940-1942

1940 Florida East Coast League
President: Judge Gordon Lynn

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Ft. Lauderdale Tarpons	69	40	.623	0	Herb Thomas
Hollywood Chiefs	62	47	.569	7	E.A. "Jiggs" Donahue
Miami Beach Tigers	60	51	.541	10	Fred Heimach
West Palm Beach Indians	52	60	.464	18.5	Cecil Downs / Joe Murff
Ft. Pierce Bombers	49	65	.430	22.5	Lance Richbourg / Ray Phelps
Miami Wahoos	42	71	.372	29	Max Carey

Playoffs: Ft. Lauderdale 3 games, West Palm Beach 1;
Miami Beach 3 games, Hollywood 0.
Finals: Ft. Lauderdale 4 games, Miami Beach 1. Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Jack Westley	Ft. Laud/Hollywood	BA	.377		Chet Covington	Hollywood	W	21
Jack Westley	Ft. Laud/Hollywood	Runs	96		Chet Covington	Hollywood	SO	212
Pecky Engel	West Palm/Ft.Pierce	Hits	158		Gene Bearden	Miami Beach	ERA	1.63
Jack Westley	Ft. Laud/Hollywood	RBI	98		Oliver Kelly	Miami	HR	11
Jack Westley	Ft. Laud/Hollywood	HR	11		Dale Lynch	Miami Beach	HR	11

1941 Florida East Coast League
President: J. B. Lemon

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
West Palm Beach Indians	84	55	.604	0	Harry Hughes
Miami Beach Flamingos	81	58	.583	3	Max Rosenfeld
Ft. Pierce Bombers	75	64	.540	9	Jim Poole
Ft. Lauderdale Tarpons	66	73	.475	18	Herb Thomas / Buster Kinard
Miami Wahoos	63	76	.453	21	Archie Martin
Cocoa Fliers	48	91	.345	36	Jesse Cleveland / Bill Doak

Playoffs: Miami Beach 3 games, Fort Pierce 1;
West Palm Beach 3 games, Ft. Lauderdale 2.
Finals: Miami Beach 4 games, West Palm Beach 2. Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
John Douglas	Miami	BA	.385		Gibbs Miller	Ft. Lauderdale	W	23
John Douglas	Miami	Runs	111		Milt Rosenstein	Miami Beach	SO	238
Buster Kinard	Ft. Lauderdale	Hits	210		Chet Covington	Ft. Pierce	ERA	1.90
Buster Kinard	Ft. Lauderdale	RBI	123		Joe Murff	Ft.Pierce	HR	21

1942 Florida East Coast League
President: J. B. Lemon

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Orlando Nationals	19	9	.679	0	Robert Overstreet
Miami Beach Flamingos	17	10	.630	1.5	Max Rosenfeld
DeLand Red Hats	13	13	.500	5	Bill Cates
Ft. Pierce Bombers	12	14	.462	6	Russ Maxcy
Miami Seminoles	12	15	.444	6.5	Harry Hughes
West Palm Beach Indians	9	18	.333	9.5	Al Reitz
Ft. Lauderdale Tarpons##	4	3	.571	NA	Herb Thomas
Cocoa Fliers #	0	4	.000	NA	Burl Munsell

Playoffs: None Scheduled.
#Cocoa disbanded April 21.
##Ft. Lauderdale disbanded May 14.
The league disbanded May 14. Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Bill Hansen	Ft. Pierce	BA	.370		Larry Baldwin	Miami	W	6
John Morris	Orlando	Runs	27		Scott Carey	Orlando	SO	45
Jim Milner	Miami Beach	Hits	38		Williard Eckenroth	DeLand	ERA	1.65
William Tracy	DeLand	RBI	23		Fred Leonhardt	DeLand	HR	2
Pete Burnette	West Palm Beach	HR	2		Armando Dominguez	Orlando	HR	2

[edit] Cities Represented

[edit] 1972

• Cocoa, FL: Cocoa Astros and Cocoa Expos
• Melbourne, FL: Melbourne Reds and Melbourne Twins

[edit] Teams and Statistics

[edit] 1972

1972 Florida East Coast League
President: NA

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Melbourne Reds	44	15	.746	0	Dave Pavlesic
Melbourne Twins	35	22	.614	8	Fred Waters
Cocoa Astros	26	30	.464	16.5	Leo Posada
Cocoa Expos	9	47	.161	33.5	Pat Daugherty

Total Attendance, 966; No playoffs Scheduled. Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Dave Edwards	Twins	BA	.313		Kevin Cooney	Twins	W	8
Randy Bass	Twins	Runs	47		Paul Howlend	Reds	W	8
Dave Covert	Reds	Hits	62		Gary Myers	Reds	SO	58
Randy Bass	Twins	RBI	41		Forrest Clemmons	Reds	ERA	1.86
Randy Bass	Twins	HR	10

[edit] Source

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second Edition.
Image is user created not original.