International League

The International League (IL) is a minor league baseball league which operates in the eastern United States and Canada. Like the Pacific Coast League, it plays at the AAA (Triple-A) level, which is one step below Major League Baseball. The league was created from the mergers of member teams from three precursor leagues, the Eastern League, founded in 1884 (which brought Richmond, Virginia), the New York State League, formed in 1885 (which brought Rochester, New York and Syracuse, New York), and the Ontario League, also organized in 1885.

1980-1989

Columbus again made history in 1980 by becoming the first team since 1938 to win back-to-back Pennants and playoff titles. The Newark Bears were the last to do that, in 1937 and 1938. The Clippers dropped the first two games to Richmond in the semifinals before taking three straight. Columbus then won four of five from Toledo, which finished second to the Clippers during the 140-game Pennant race. Toledo beat Rochester in four games in the other semifinal series.

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Two records of note were established in 1981, Columbus became the first International League team to win three consecutive Pennants and playoff titles, earning the latter in a rain-shortened 2-1 series with Richmond.

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The other was a record for all professional baseball as Rochester and Pawtucket battled 32 innings to a 2-2 tie on April 18. The marathon was completed June 23 at Pawtucket with the PawSox winning 3-2 in 33 innings. The time of the game was 8 hours and 25 minutes, and it was the longest game in professional baseball history,

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The League had a new look in 1982, as Columbus' three-year reign as Pennant and playoff champions ended. Richmond edged Columbus out of the Pennant by 3-1/2 games and Tidewater took the Governors' Cup playoffs by sweeping the series at the expense of Columbus and Richmond following a third place finish. There was a mix of old and new in the International League in 1983. Columbus, after a one year absence, won its fourth Pennant in five seasons.

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But Tidewater, after finishing behind Columbus, Richmond and Charleston, not only won the Governors' Cup but closed out the season by claiming the Triple-A Championship in Louisville. By winning three of four games against Denver, Colorado of the American Association and Portland, Oregon of the Pacific Coast League, the Tides captured the first AAA World Series. Gary Rajsich led the Tides with a .583 batting average and was voted the MVP.

Related Topics:
Denver, Colorado - Portland, Oregon

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The International League All-Stars lost to the Cleveland Indians in 11 innings, 8-6, before 11,032 fans in Columbus to highlight the League's 100th Anniversary. Columbus won its fifth Pennant in six years in 1984, a year that saw the Maine Guides replace Charleston in the League. The Guides finished second to the Clippers. After the PawSox and Guides eliminated Columbus and Toledo in the Governors' Cup playoffs, Pawtucket took the Cup by beating Maine three games to two.

Related Topics:
Cleveland Indians - Maine Guides

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Syracuse won its first Pennant since 1970 under first-year Manager Doug Ault, the International League's "Manager of the Year." Pitching-rich Tidewater needed only seven games to dispose of Syracuse (3-0) and Columbus (3-1) to win its third Governors' Cup playoff title in four years. The Chiefs played two marathon games, losing 3-1 in 27 innings to Pawtucket and 8-7 in 21 innings to Columbus. An early August 5-team Pennant race boiled down to a Rochester vs. Richmond battle which didn't conclude until the final round of the playoffs. With a League best 23-10 August record, Richmond won the League Championship by 4 games over the Red Wings. As Richmond eliminated Tidewater and Rochester eliminated Pawtucket in the opening round of the playoffs the stage was set for the rematch. 23,579 fans witnessed the exciting Governors' Cup Finals and saw Richmond again come out on top, this time 3 games to 2.

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1987 was another banner year at the box office as the League reached a total attendance of over 2 million for the third consecutive year. Both Pawtucket (227,722) and Tidewater (181,260) set new franchise records and half of the remaining six clubs showed an increase over 1986. Two new affiliates joined the League as Toledo again hooked-up with the Detroit Tigers and the Philadelphia Phillies sent their top farmhands into Maine. On the field it was the Randy Milligan show as the Tidewater first baseman led his teammates to the Pennant and along the way missed winning the Triple Crown by only 3 home runs. He was recognized as the League's MVP, Rookie of the Year and All-Star first baseman.

Related Topics:
Detroit Tigers - Philadelphia Phillies - Randy Milligan - Triple Crown

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Columbus became the final club to win the "old" Governors' Cup Trophy by defeating Rochester and Tidewater, both 3 games to 0. The Cup was retired to Cooperstown, New York at the conclusion of the 1987 season.

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The formation of the Triple-A Alliance (International League and American Association) brought a new look to the League structure as division play returned for the first time in fifteen years. The 42 interleague games played between the two leagues were not kind to the International League as only division winners Rochester and Tidewater showed winning records against the American Association. Club and fan reaction to the Alliance was such that League Directors agreed to continue this concept for an additional three years (1989-91).

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After an eleven year absence from the League Champion's perch, the Rochester club returned to that peak in 1988. At or near the top of their division during the first half of the season, the Red Wings never looked back after mid-June and finished 7 games ahead of division runner-up Syracuse. Eastern division winner Tidewater could only salvage 1 of 4 games against Rochester during the Governors' Cup Series to determine the League Champion.

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The Wings advanced on to the first ever Triple-A Classic but their dream season ended abruptly as after winning the first 2 games at Silver Stadium the Indianapolis Indians won the final game in Rochester and swept the next 3 at Bush Stadium. The operations in Pawtucket and Tidewater continued to flourish as for the second consecutive year both set new attendance marks of 246,940 and 194,089 respectively.

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Despite over 50 weather related postponements, attendance continued to soar in 1989 as the League drew 2,613,247 fans to shatter the old League mark of 2,358,279 which stood since 1946. For the first time since 1898 the cities of Scranton and Wilkes-Barre appeared on the IL schedule, this time as a single franchise. In the League's early years each city had fielded a club.

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With the newly built Lackawanna County Stadium the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons recorded an attendance of 444,400. Pawtucket (278,129), Richmond (455,686), and Tidewater (216,429) set new franchise attendance records while Syracuse (226,244) established a new regular season attendance mark. The IL evened the score in 1989 as it topped the American Association 178-170 in the second year of interleague play. Columbus, Richmond, Rochester, Syracuse and Tidewater posted a .500 or better mark against their AA foes, recovering from the 1988 season when only two IL clubs recorded winning records against the Association.

Related Topics:
Lackawanna County Stadium - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons

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Richmond held off Columbus and Tidewater to capture the Western Division crown while Eastern Division winner Syracuse opened the season with a five-game winning streak and stayed atop their division throughout the season. The Braves prevailed three games to one over Syracuse in the Governors' Cup Series to win their second League Championship in the last four years. Advancing to the Triple-A Classic, Richmond's next opponent was the defending champion Indianapolis Indians. Indianapolis proved to be too much as they swept Richmond in four straight.

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Following the season, two veteran IL executives moved into different roles as League President, Harold Cooper and Columbus General Manager, George Sisler, Jr. retired. Both were retained as consultants, Cooper by the Triple-Alliance and Sisler by the Columbus club. Unruly weather plagued the League again in 1990, but despite this the League continued its run of recent success at the box office by eclipsing the previous attendance record for the second straight season. The new mark, which was established at 2,832,518 was due in part to franchise record setting years by the Pawtucket and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre clubs. With an official attendance of 298,050, Pawtucket set their record for the fourth consecutive year while Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, a second year League member who played an abbreviated home schedule in 1989, set their mark at 545,844 behind their first full slate of home games. Syracuse (250,048) established a new regular season attendance mark and Columbus (591,340) and Richmond (427,552) again finished in the top ten among National Association clubs.

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