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Two-time defending WAB Western League champ Abidjan dominated the standings in 1994 at 107-55, taking first by 16 games. This gave the Athletes three straight first place finishes and nine first places over WAB’s first 20 seasons. Dakar finished second at 91-71 for a fifth consecutive playoff berth. In the battle for the third place spot, Nouakchott (85-77) edged Freetown by one game and Cape Verde by four. The Night Riders picked up their first playoff berth since their 1984 championship season.

Western League MVP went to Abidjan’s Germain Tchouga, who set a single-season WAB record with 136 runs scored. The 30-year old Cameroonian left fielder also led the league in home runs (60), RBI (139), total bases (437), and WAR (8.9) while adding a .329/.376/.688 slash. Dakar’s Ousseynou Darboe won Pitcher of the Year, becoming the third WAB pitcher to win the award four times. The 28-year old Gambian lefty led in ERA (2.07), strikeouts (317), WHIP (0.87), quality starts (26), FIP- (68), and WAR (7.2). He added an 18-4 record over 238.2 innings.

Dakar topped Nouakchott 2-1 in the wild card, sending the Dukes to the Western League Championship Series for the fifth consecutive year. For the fifth straight time, Dakar was defeated in the WLCS. Abidjan swept them in the best-of-five series to earn a third WL pennant in a row.



Lagos took the top spot in the Eastern League convincingly at 106-56. The Lizards earned a fourth successive playoff berth with their eight playoff berth in the last decade. Defending WAB champ Ibadan and Port Harcourt both finished 93-69 to get the wild card spots with the Hillcats taking second on the tiebreaker. Both extended impressive playoff streaks with PH getting a sixth straight and the Iguanas making it five in-a-row. Kano (88-74) and Ouagadougou (85-77) were both in the mix, but came up short.

Eastern League MVP went to budding star Darwin Morris of Kano. The 22-year old shortstop from Liberia got the first major award in what would become maybe the most decorated career in WAB history. In 1994, Morris led the league in runs (120), stolen bases (66), OBP (.408), OPS (1.043), wRC+ (191), and WAR (11.5). Morris added 38 home runs and a .318 average. Lagos pitcher Messan Atte earned a second Pitcher of the Year with the Togolese 31-year old leading in wins (16-4), ERA (2.51), WHIP (0.92), and FIP- (59). Atte added 282 strikeouts in 190 innings with 6.3 WAR.

Ibadan rolled in two games over Port Harcourt in the wild card round, giving the Iguanas a third consecutive Eastern League Championship Series appearance. For Lagos, it was their third in four years, setting up a rematch of the 1992 final which the Lizards won. In the 1994 edition, Ibadan earned an impressive 3-2 road upset over Lagos, securing repeat pennants.



The 20^th West African Championship was a rematch of the prior season, which had Ibadan prevail over Abidjan in 1993. In 1994, the Athletes got their revenge by taking the title in six games. Abidjan is now 2-5 all-time in the championship with their other championship back in 1982. League MVP Germain Tchouga was also finals MVP, posting 14 hits, 7 runs, 3 home runs, and 9 RBI over 9 playoff starts.



Other notes: Tchouga and Tim Ngwenya both hit 60 home runs, falling two short of WAB’s single-season record. Ibadan’s Matias Flores struck out 21 in a game against Benin City, tied for the second-most in a WAB game. Lagos’ Howard Pearman had a 30-game hit streak, two shy of WAB’s longest streak to date. Daouda Kadri and Abel Alemu became the fourth and fifth batters to 1000 RBI.