International League

From BR Bullpen

The International League is a class AAA minor league. It used to trace its origins to the Eastern League, which formed in 1892 and changed its name to the International League 20 years later. In the thirties, league officials claimed origins in 1884 by a rather tortured process, going through the Eastern League (1884), New York State League (1885), International League (1886-1887), International Association (1888-1890), Eastern Association (1891), Eastern League again (1892-1911), and finally the International League again, this time to last. Since the 1890s, it has been one of the three strongest minor leagues and the longest-lasting league in the top tier of the minors. The "international" in the name was due to the league having teams in Toronto and Montréal for decades. The better-known International League reached its international peak in the 1950's when it expanded to Havana, Cuba. It also experimented briefly with a club in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1961, but this didn't last through the year. When Toronto left the league in 1967, it was no longer international, but retained the name. It has occasionally had clubs in Canada since then but the name has often rung false. In 2007 the league re-started its Hall of Fame with the elections of longtime executives Harold Cooper and George Sisler Jr.

The league has traditionally been the eastern-most of the high minor leagues, with a strong basis in upstate New York (Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse have all had long associations with the IL).

The trophy awarded to the winner of the International League's play-offs since is known as the Governors' Cup.

It should be noted that there was another, short-lived International League, a class D outfit which operated with four teams for less than one season in 1908 and was based in Ontario and New York State.

[edit] Current Teams, Managers, and Affiliations

[edit] League Champions

BOLD indicates Governors' Cup winner

[edit] League Award Winners

[edit] Record Holders

IL record holders for a single season include:

• Joe Hauser - 63 home runs, 173 runs, 443 total bases in 1930
• Dan Brouthers - .415 batting average in 1897
• Ripper Collins - 180 RBI in 1930
• Blas Monaco - 167 walks in 1944
• Tilly Walker - homers in 7 straight games in 1926
• Joe McGinnity - 422 innings pitched in 1909
• Lefty Grove - 330 strikeouts and 186 walks in 1923
• Urban Shocker - 1.31 ERA in 1916

[edit] Cities Represented

[edit] 1886-1887

[edit] New Jersey

• Jersey City, NJ: Jersey City Skeeters 1887
• Newark, NJ: Newark Little Giants 1887

[edit] New York

• Binghamton, NY: Binghamton Crickets 1886-1887
• Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Bisons 1886-1887
• Oswego, NY: Oswego Starchboxes 1886-1887
• Rochester, NY: Rochester Maroons 1886-1887
• Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Stars 1886-188
• Utica, NY: Utica Pentups 1886-1887

[edit] Ontario

• Hamilton, ON: Hamilton Clippers 1886; Hamilton Hams 1887
• Toronto, ON: Toronto Canucks 1886-1887

[edit] Pennsylvania

• Scranton, PA: Scranton Indians 1887
• Wilkes-Barre, PA: Wilkes-Barre Coal Barons 1887

Became the International Association

[edit] 1900

Successor of the Canadian League 1899

[edit] Michigan

• Grand Rapids, MI: Grand Rapids Boers
• Port Huron, MI: Port Huron Tunnelites
• Saginaw, MI: Saginaw

[edit] Ontario

• Chatham, ON: Chatham Reds
• Hamilton, ON:Hamilton Hams
• London, ON: London Tecumsehs

Grand Rapids disbanded July 3, causing Port Huron and Saginaw to disband. The league disbanded July 5.

[edit] 1908 (Class D)

with records

[edit] New York

• Niagara Falls, NY: Niagara Falls 19-24

[edit] Ontario

• Hamilton, ON: Hamilton Hams 22-18
• Guelph, ON: Guelph Maple Leafs 11-11

St. Thomas, ON: St. Thomas Saints 11-9

• London, ON: London Cockneys 20-21

Guelph moved to St. Thomas June 12, overall record 22-20. League disbanded July 31

[edit] 1912-present

[edit] Canada

• Hamilton, ON: Hamilton Tigers 1918
• Ottawa, ON:
  • Ottawa Giants 1951
  • Ottawa A's 1952-1954
  • Ottawa Lynx 1993-2007
• Toronto, ON: Toronto Maple Leafs 1912-1967
• Winnipeg, MB: Winnipeg Whips 1970-1971
• Montreal, QC: Montreal Royals 1912-1917, 1928-1960

[edit] Cuba

• Havana, Cuba: Havana Sugar Kings 1954-1960

[edit] Arkansas

• Little Rock, AR: Arkansas Travelers 1963

[edit] Florida

• Jacksonville, FL: Jacksonville Suns 1962-1968
• Miami, FL: Miami Marlins 1956-1960

[edit] Georgia

• Atlanta, GA: Atlanta Crackers 1962-1965

[edit] Indiana

• Indianapolis, IN: Indianapolis Indians 1963, 1998-present

[edit] Kentucky

• Louisville, KY:
  • Louisville Colonels 1968-1972
  • Louisville Redbirds 1998
  • Louisville RiverBats 1999-2001
  • Louisville Bats 2002-present

[edit] Maine

• Old Orchard Beach, ME:
  • Maine Guides 1984-1987
  • Maine Phillies 1988

[edit] Massachusetts

• Springfield, MA: Springfield Cubs 1950-1953

[edit] Maryland

• Baltimore, MD: Baltimore Orioles 1912-1914, 1916-1953

[edit] New Jersey

• Jersey City, NJ:
  • Jersey City Skeeters 1912-1915, 1918-1933
  • Jersey City Giants 1937-1950
  • Jersey City Jerseys 1960-1961
• Newark, NJ:
  • Newark Indians 1912-1916
  • Newark Bears 1917-1919, 1921-1949

[edit] New York

• Albany, NY: Albany Senators 1932-1936
• Binghamton, NY: Binghamton Bingoes 1918-1919
• Buffalo, NY: Buffalo Bisons 1912-1970, 1998-present
• Rochester, NY:
  • Rochester Hustlers 1912-1920
  • Rochester Colts 1921
  • Rochester Tribe 1922-1927
  • Rochester Red Wings 1928-present
• Syracuse, NY:
  • Syracuse Stars 1918, 1920-1927
  • Syracuse Chiefs 1934-1955, 1961-1996, 2007-Present
  • Syracuse Sky Chiefs 1997-2006

[edit] North Carolina

• Charlotte, NC: Charlotte Knights 1993-present
• Durham, NC: Durham Bulls 1998-present

[edit] Ohio

• Akron, OH: Akron Buckeyes 1920
• Columbus, OH:
  • Columbus Jets 1955-1970
  • Columbus Clippers 1977-present
• Toledo, OH: Toledo Mud Hens 1965-present

[edit] Pennsylvania

• Allentown, PA: Lehigh Valley IronPigs 2008-Present
• Harrisburg, PA: Harrisburg Senators 1915
• Reading, PA:
  • Reading Coal Barons 1919
  • Reading Marines 1920
  • Reading Aces 1921-1922
  • Reading Keystones 1923-1932
• Scranton, PA and Wilkes-Barre, PA:
  • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons 1989-2006
  • Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees 2007-present

[edit] Puerto Rico

• San Juan, Puerto Rico: San Juan Marlins 1961

[edit] Rhode Island

• Pawtucket, RI:
  • Pawtucket Red Sox 1973-1975, 1977-present
  • Rhode Island Red Sox 1976
• Providence, RI: Providence Grays 1912-1917, 1925

[edit] Tennessee

• Memphis, TN: Memphis Blues 1974-1976

[edit] Virginia

• Hampton, VA: Peninsula Whips 1972-1973
• Norfolk, VA: Norfolk Tides 1993-present
• Portsmouth, VA: Tidewater Tides 1969-1992
• Richmond, VA:
  • Richmond Climbers 1915-1916
  • Richmond Virginians 1917, 1954-1964
  • Richmond Braves 1966-2008

[edit] West Virginia

• Charleston, WV:
  • Charleston Marlins 1961
  • Charleston (WV) Charlies 1971-1983

[edit] Hall of Fame Alumni

[edit] Further Reading

• Bill O'Neal: The International League, Eakin Press, Austin, TX, 1992
• Marshall D. Wright: The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics 1884-1953, McFarland, Jefferson, NC, 2005 (originally published in 1998).

[edit] External Link

• International League Home Page
• minorleaguebaseball.com