King of Baseball is an honorary title bestowed upon one person each year by Minor League Baseball in recognition of longtime dedication and service to professional baseball.
Honorees[edit]
The following men have been awarded the title "King of Baseball":
| Year |
Award winner |
Winter Meetings site
|
| 1951 |
Clarence "Pants" Rowland |
Columbus, OH
|
| 1952 |
Alvin Gardner |
Phoenix, AZ
|
| 1953 |
Frank "Shag" Shaughnessy |
Atlanta, GA
|
| 1954 |
Shelby Pease |
Houston, TX
|
| 1955 |
Herman White |
Columbus, OH
|
| 1956 |
Tommy Richardson |
Jacksonville, FL
|
| 1957 |
Charles Hurth |
Colorado Springs, CO
|
| 1958 |
(None) |
Washington, DC
|
| 1959 |
Bonneau Peters |
St. Petersburg, FL
|
| 1960 |
Joe Engel |
Louisville, KY
|
| 1961 |
Rosy Ryan |
Tampa, FL
|
| 1962 |
Phil Howser |
Rochester, NY
|
| 1963 |
Donie Bush |
San Diego, CA
|
| 1964 |
Eddie Mulligan |
Houston, TX
|
| 1965 |
Ray Winder |
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
|
| 1966 |
Eddie Leishman |
Columbus, OH
|
| 1967 |
Alejo Peralta |
Mexico City, Mexico
|
| 1968 |
Dewey Soriano |
San Francisco, CA
|
| 1969 |
Chauncey DeVault |
Ft. Lauderdale, FL
|
| 1970 |
George MacDonald, Sr. |
Los Angeles, CA
|
| 1971 |
Phil Piton |
Phoenix, AZ
|
| 1972 |
Vince McNamara |
Honolulu, HI
|
| 1973 |
Ray Johnston |
Houston, TX
|
| 1974 |
Fred Haney |
New Orleans, LA
|
| 1975 |
Joe Buzas |
Hollywood, FL
|
| 1976 |
Don Avery |
Los Angeles, CA
|
| 1977 |
Bill Weiss |
Honolulu, HI
|
| 1978 |
Zinn Beck |
Orlando, FL
|
| 1979 |
Harry Simmons |
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
|
| 1980 |
Billy Hitchcock |
Dallas, TX
|
| 1981 |
Jack Schwarz |
Hollywood, FL
|
| 1982 |
Sy Berger |
Honolulu, HI
|
| 1983 |
Oscar Roettger |
Nashville, TN
|
| 1984 |
Donald Davidson |
Houston, TX
|
| 1985 |
Stan Wasiak |
San Diego, CA
|
| 1986 |
Lefty Gomez |
Hollywood, FL
|
| 1987 |
Bill Schweppe |
Dallas, TX
|
| 1988 |
Max Patkin |
Atlanta, GA
|
| 1989 |
George Sisler, Jr. |
Nashville, TN
|
| 1990 |
John Moss |
Los Angeles, CA
|
| 1991 |
George Pfister |
Miami Beach, FL
|
| 1992 |
Johnny Lipon |
Louisville, KY
|
| 1993 |
George Kissell |
Atlanta, GA
|
| 1994 |
Jimmy Bragan |
Dallas, TX
|
| 1995 |
Gene DaCosse |
Los Angeles, CA
|
| 1996 |
Sheldon "Chief" Bender |
Boston, MA
|
| 1997 |
Max Schumacher |
New Orleans, LA
|
| 1998 |
Leo Pinckney |
Nashville, TN
|
| 1999 |
Tom Saffell |
Anaheim, CA
|
| 2000 |
P. Patrick McKernan |
Dallas, TX
|
| 2001 |
Roland Hemond |
Boston, MA
|
| 2002 |
George Zuraw |
Nashville, TN
|
| 2003 |
Bob Wilson |
New Orleans, LA
|
| 2004 |
Dave Rosenfield |
Anaheim, CA
|
| 2005 |
Calvin Falwell |
Dallas, TX
|
| 2006 |
Paul Snyder |
Orlando, FL
|
| 2007 |
Dave Walker |
Nashville, TN
|
| 2008 |
Pat Gillick |
Las Vegas, NV
|
| 2009 |
Milo Hamilton |
Indianapolis, IN
|
| 2010 |
Don Mincher |
Orlando, FL
|
| 2011 |
Cuauhtemoc "Chito" Rodriguez |
Dallas, TX
|
| 2012 |
George McGonagle |
Nashville, TN
|
| 2013 |
Charlie Eshbach |
Lake Buena Vista, FL
|
| 2014 |
Bill Valentine |
San Diego, CA
|
| 2015 |
Bill Gladstone |
Nashville, TN
|
| 2016 |
Dave Elmore |
National Harbor, MD
|
| 2017 |
Lee Landers |
Lake Buena Vista, FL
|
| 2018 |
Mike Tamburro |
Las Vegas, NV
|
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