Toronto Maple Leafs (International League)
Toronto Maple Leafs | |
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Minor league affiliations | |
Previous classes |
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League | International League (1896–1967) |
Major league affiliations | |
Previous teams |
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Minor league titles | |
League titles | 1897, 1902, 1912, 1917, 1918, 1926, 1934, 1960, 1965, 1966 |
Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks |
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The Toronto Maple Leafs were a high-level
, Canada, which played from 1896 to 1967.While the Maple Leafs had working agreements with numerous
Toronto was without professional baseball from 1968 to 1976, when the American League added the Toronto Blue Jays via the 1977 Major League Baseball expansion.
History
The first club
The first Toronto baseball organization, the Toronto Baseball Club, played in the
The Maple Leafs return
In 1895, Toronto resurfaced in the original Eastern League (which in 1902 was designated Class A, at that time one level below Major League Baseball), where it played through 1911. The club relocated to Albany, New York for part of the 1896 season, but started and finished the year in Toronto. In 1897, the team began playing its home games on the Toronto Islands at Hanlan's Point Stadium. The stadium and the team were owned by the Toronto Ferry Company.
In 1900, a group of 52 Toronto businessmen, spearheaded by Ed Barrow and Ed Mack, a tailor and former ballplayer, bought the team for CA$6,000.[3] The club constructed a new stadium at Liberty Street and Fraser Avenue, called Diamond Park. Led by Barrow, the Leafs won the International League pennant in 1902 with a record of 85–42.
The team faltered after its championship season, falling to eighth place by 1905. Debt holders called in their loans and the team was purchased by James J. McCaffery, who served as team president from 1908 until his death in 1922, and
Hanlan's Point Stadium burned down in August 1909, so the team had to finish its season back at Diamond Park. In time for the 1910 season, a new and larger stadium was ready at Hanlan's Point. It would serve as their home until 1926.
In 1912,
The Eastern League moved up to Double-A and changed its name to become the International League. The Maple Leafs continued as members of the International League for the next 55 years, with the league being reclassified as Triple-A in 1946.
42 year old Nap Lajoie and his .380 batting average helped lead the Maple Leafs to another championship in 1917. Manager Dan Howley first joined the team in 1918, leading the Leafs to the pennant that year. Canadian Mooney Gibson became manager in 1919, and was called to the major leagues after one season. The 1920 Leafs won 108 games, and had what would be the highest single season winning percentage in the history of the franchise at .701, but finished second to the powerhouse Baltimore Orioles. Through the 1920s, the team averaged 93 wins a season, but won only one pennant.
In 1926, the Maple Leafs moved to the new Maple Leaf Stadium, which would be their home for the next 42 seasons, and capped off the season with the championship, with Howley back as manager. The following year, the National Hockey League team, the Toronto St. Patricks, changed its own nickname to Maple Leafs.
The Maple Leafs struggled through the 1930s, both on and off the field. In 1931, ownership of Maple Leaf Stadium passed to the Toronto Harbour Commission after the club was unable to pay taxes and other debts. Shortly after, club president Solman died, with
Gardiner and Ross keep the Leafs in Toronto
After George Oakley's death, his son Cliff Oakley succeeded him as team president. Following the 1936 season, Oakley publicly commented that baseball was in trouble in Toronto and that something would have to change. A few months later, he and general manager Leman were approached by
A group of local investors, headed by stockbroker Percy Gardiner and former
The team lost a lot of money, and wasn't very successful on the field, drawing about 60,000 paying fans a year during a three-year stretch from 1939 to 1941 when the Leafs finished in eighth place each season. Control of the team passed to Peter Campbell, who would be president until his death in 1949. The Leafs' .305 winning percentage in 1941 was the lowest in franchise history. Campbell negotiated a working agreement with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1942, and a year later the team won the International League pennant—its first in 16 years. By 1947, the team was back to eighth place. Joe Ziegler then became general manager and is credited with turning the team's fortunes around, with such promotional innovations as 20-cent hot dogs and Sunday games. Under Ziegler, the Leafs set a new franchise attendance record with 353,247 customers in 1949—double what it had been two years earlier, despite a fifth-place finish. Ziegler resigned at the end of the 1951 season, soon after the team came under new ownership.
Jack Kent Cooke era
In July 1951,
Nine days after Cooke became owner, the team announced it had signed its first
Cooke negotiated an affiliation with the St. Louis Browns for the 1952 season. With his focus on entertainment, Cooke had often been compared to Browns' owner Bill Veeck. The arrangement with the Browns lasted only one season.
However, despite their strong start, attendance never again came close to matching the 1952 numbers, even with pennant-winning seasons under managers
Final years
In 1961, Cooke left Canada to become a U.S. citizen, naming Harry Kimber club president. Cooke sold the team in January 1964 to a syndicate led by Robert L. Hunter and Sam Starr for a reported $50,000. Former co-owner Gardiner returned to the Leafs as a director. Hunter and Starr launched a drive for community ownership, selling shares in Toronto (Community) Baseball Ltd., although there was little interest.
In 1965 the
During their last season, Hunter was in discussions to sell the club, hoping to find an owner to keep the team in Toronto.
After the season, the team was sold to Walter Dilbeck, a real estate developer from
The team's baseball stadium was demolished in 1968.
In 1969, the year after the demise of the Triple-A Leafs, a new Toronto Maple Leafs began play as an amateur team belonging to the Ontario-only Intercounty Baseball League at another diamond located in Christie Pits Park.
Major League Baseball arrived in the city of Toronto during the next wave of expansion, in 1977, with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Championships
Toronto won the Eastern League/International League pennant 12 times: 1887, 1902, 1907, 1912, 1917, 1918, 1926, 1943, 1954, 1956, 1957, and 1960. The team won the
International League MVPs
Most valuable player
- 1934 – Ike Boone
- 1954 – Elston Howard
- 1956 – Mike Goliat
- 1958 – Rocky Nelson
- 1960 – Jim King
- 1965 – Joe Foy (also rookie of the year)
Most valuable pitcher
- 1955 – Jack Crimian
- 1956 – Lynn Lovenguth
- 1957 – Don Johnson
- 1960 – Al Cicotte
- 1966 – Gary Waslewski
Batting titles
Members of the Maple Leafs won the league batting title 16 times:
- 1886 – Jon Morrison, .346
- 1887 – Cannonball Crane, .428 †
- 1895 – Judson Smith, .373
- 1898 – Buck Freeman, .347
- 1899 – Jim Bannon, .341
- 1906 – Jack Thoney, .294
- 1907 – Jack Thoney, .329
- 1909 – Myron Grimshaw, .309
- 1910 – Jack Slattery, .310
- 1915 – Morrie Rath, .332
- 1917 – Nap Lajoie, .380
- 1928 – Dale Alexander, .380
- 1934 – Ike Boone, .372
- 1958 – Rocky Nelson, .326
- 1965 – Joe Foy, .302
- 1966 – Reggie Smith, .320
†
Hall of fame
Fifteen members of the Maple Leafs have been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame:
Fourteen team members have been inducted into the International League Hall of Fame: John Berly, Bruno Betzel, Ike Boone, Jack Dunn, Luke Hamlin, Dan Howley, Rocky Nelson, Steve O'Neill, Eddie Onslow, Dick Porter, Dick Rudolph, George Selkirk, George Stallings, and Dixie Walker.
Team records
- Maple Leafs Owner Jack Kent Cooke was named the Sporting News Minor League Executive of the Year, 1952[9]
- Games, career (player): 1,077, Mike Goliat
- Games, career (manager): 1,159, Dan Howley
- Winning streak: 19 (1925)
- Losing streak: 14 (1932)
Hitting
- Hits, season: 236, Dale Alexander (1928)
- Hits, career: 1,111, Eddie Onslow
- Runs, season: 134, Mike Slattery (1887)
- Runs, career: 582, Lew Morton
- Home runs, season: 43, Rocky Nelson (1958)
- Home runs, career: 138, Mike Goliat
- Runs batted in, season: 144, Dale Alexander (1928)
- Runs batted in, career: 556, Mike Goliat
- Batting average, season: .380 † (tie) Nap Lajoie (1917), Dale Alexander (1928)
- Batting average, career (min 1,000 at-bats): .360, Dale Alexander
† Excludes 1887 season when
Pitching
- Wins, season: 33 (tie), Cannonball Crane (1887), Albert Atkisson (1888)
- Wins, career: 120, Dick Rudolph
- ERA, season: 1.16, Urban Shocker (1916)
- Strikeouts, season: 307, Albert Atkisson (1888)
- Strikeouts, game: 15, Ernie Broglio (1958)
Source: Baseball's Back in Town by Louis Cauz, Controlled Media Corporation Inc., 1977
Notable players
- Goody Rosen – Major League Baseball All-Star outfielder
- Dick Conger (1921–1970) - major league baseball pitcher
- Benny Kauff – star of the Federal League 1914–1915
- Bob Elliott – National League MVP 1947
- Hank Biasatti aka Hank Biasetti – played basketball with Toronto Huskies of B.A.A. 1946/47
- Jim Konstanty – National League MVP 1950
- Sam Jethroe – National League Rookie of the Year 1950
- Bobo Holloman – threw no-hitter in first MLB start 1953
- Elston Howard – American League MVP 1963
- Rico Carty – National League batting champion 1970
- Sparky Lyle – American League Cy Young Award winner 1977
- Phil Roof – played for Toronto Blue Jays 1977
- Reggie Smith – 7 time MLB All-Star
Affiliations
The Maple Leafs were affiliated with the following
Year | Affiliation(s) |
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1932–33 | Detroit Tigers |
1934–35 | Cincinnati Reds |
1940–41; 1945–46 | Philadelphia Athletics |
1942–44 | Pittsburgh Pirates |
1947; 1965–67 | Boston Red Sox |
1948–50 | Philadelphia Phillies |
1951–52 | St. Louis Browns |
1960 | Cleveland Indians
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1962–63 | Milwaukee Braves
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1964 | Braves/ Washington Senators
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1965-67 | Boston Red Sox |
See also
References
Notes
- ^ "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ "Stage 1 Archaeological Assessment" (PDF). City of Toronto, Ontario. pp. 21–22. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 June 2011. Retrieved June 1, 2010.
- ^ Levitt, Daniel R. (2010). Ed Barrow: The Bulldog Who Built the Yankees' First Dynasty. U of Nebraska Press. p. 49.
- ^ "The original Maple Leafs: Pro-baseball in Toronto before the Blue Jays | CBC News".
- ^ a b c d e "Ballard lays Leafs' doom to apathy". The Globe and Mail. 1967-10-18.
- ^ a b Dechman, Phillip (1967-08-28). "Hockey Leafs offer helping hand to struggling baseball namesakes". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b c d Dechman, Phillip (1967-09-07). "Game's not over yet for ball Leafs, support grows to keep team here". The Globe and Mail.
- ^ a b Dechman, Phillip (1967-11-02). "Baseball club gives assurance stadium bill will be paid". The Globe and Mail.
- ISBN 1-55041-855-6
Sources
- Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball, 1997 edition. Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America.
- Louis Cauz. Baseball's Back in Town Controlled Media Corporation Inc., 1977