1966
1966 saw many familiar suspects at the top of the standings, starting in the Northern Conference, where the New York Gothams won 100 games. Manhattan finished second, edging out the resurgent Philadelphia Athletics for the last playoff spot. The Midwest Association saw Milwaukee back on top, though they had to hold off Toronto, who finished one game back to take the other playoff spot.
Manhattan took down their cross-town rivals in New York, winning a six-game series. Milwaukee, meanwhile, swept Toronto, then defeated Manhattan in seven games, lifting the Black Hawks to their first Conference Championship.
The Southern Conference had Jacksonville on top of the Eastern League for the second year in a row, with Washington returning to the playoffs after a three-year absence after finishing second. The Western League was once more dominated by St. Louis, who won over 100 games for the fifth year in a row and their sixth-straight WL crown. New Orleans took second for a second year in a row.
In the playoffs, both favorites moved on, as Jacksonville took care of Washington in six games. Meanwhile, St. Louis encountered a stiff challenge from New Orleans, but the Browns outlasted the Pelicans in seven games, then took down the Tars in a clash of a titans, winning the South for the second year in a row.
The Pacific Coast League regular season was won by defending National Champion Seattle, with San Diego celebrating the opening of brand-new San Diego Stadium by returning to the playoffs after a one-year hiatus. San Francisco snapped a two-year drought with a third-place finish and Hollywood took fourth.
Seattle took care of the Hollywood Stars in five games in their semifinal matchup. Meanwhile, San Diego also disposed of San Francisco in five games. The Padres then ended the Rainiers’ two-year reign atop the PCL with a seven-game triumph to win their fourth PCL title in the last ten years.
The Texas League saw a flip of 1965 in the North Division, where Dallas finished two games ahead of Fort Worth, with the two Metroplex teams taking those playoff spots. The South, meanwhile, bizarrely saw Galveston finish 102-60 for a second year in a row—while once again no other TL team reached even 90 wins. Houston comfortably took second in an otherwise weak division to earn the second playoff spot.
Fort Worth turned the tables on Dallas, avenging the previous year’s playoff defeat by downing Dallas in seven games, while Houston and Galveston also wrangled for seven games. That series ended with Houston pulling an upset over their archrivals, then followed it up with a six-game triumph over Fort Worth for the league title.
The national tournament saw a first-time participant in Milwaukee and the Black Hawks made themselves at home by pulling off an upset, as the
Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR) defeat the St. Louis Browns (SOU). Another upset occurred in the other semifinal as the
Houston Buffaloes (TL) defeat the San Diego Padres (PCL). The Buffs then took down another heavyweight, as the
Houston Buffaloes (TL) defeat the Milwaukee Black Hawks (NOR), 4-3 to give Houston (and the Texas League as a whole) their second National Championship and first in four years.
For a third year in a row, Manhattan’s
Cory Gilmore took home Northern Conference MVP, as he claimed his fifth MVP in seven seasons. Gilmore slashed /304/.355/.513 with 186 hits, 91 runs, 26 doubles, 12 triple, 26 homers, and 92 RBI, while adding 18 steals.
Buffalo right-hander
Bill Lively had an outstanding second season in 1965, then took it to another level in his third season. The 28-year-old went 16-9 with a miniscule 1.68, leading the North in starts (36) and striking out 204 batters to win Pitcher of the Year. A heavy groundballer, he allowed just two home runs in 274.0 innings.
Jacksonville second baseman
Steve Bishop one-upped Gilmore by winning his sixth MVP award and his fourth in a row. While Gilmore could be argued to have competition, Bishop truly didn’t, slashing .308/.397/.637 with 177 hits, and leading the conference with 135 runs, 53 home runs, and 153 RBI, while adding 41 steals to notch his second 40-40 campaign. His 53 homers set a Conference record and were the second-most in a season in Eastern Baseball Federation history, plus he blasted his 300th career homer on May 20, less than 7 ½ seasons into his career.
At the 1962 trade deadline, Sacramento dealt solid-but-unspectacular right-hander
Chris Tuck to St. Louis. With the Browns, he blossomed into an ace, culminating in a 24-4 season in which he logged a 2.71 ERA, led the conference in wins and inning (272.2), struck out 258 batters, and tossed a no-hitter to lead the conference for the third of four years in a row. In doing so, he became the 10th Brown in 12 years to take home Pitcher of the Year honors.
The Pacific Coast League also saw their usual suspect atop the MVP voting, as Seattle’s
Joseph Miller won his third in a row. Miller became the second PCL player with three 50+ home-run seasons, slashing .271/.345/.550 with 193 hits, 121 runs, and a league-high 55 homers and 155 RBI, as he won his fourth straight home run crown and third RBI title in a row.
For a second year in a row, Hollywood right-hander
Kevin Corbett won a rather surprising Pitcher of the Year award, his second in a row. Corbett was just 14-14, but did lead the PCL with a 2.25 ERA over 307.2 innings with 178 strikeouts.
After five years riding the pine, Oklahoma City first baseman
Jimmy Casas finally got a shot at 27 years old in 1964 and hit 32 homers and led the Texas League in RBI. Two years later, he slashed .273/.357/.545 with 156 hits and led the TL in runs (99), home runs (42), and RBI (112) to take home MVP honors.
For the fourth year in a row, right-hander
Roy Hendricks was atop the Pitcher of the Year ballot, going 20-12 with a 1.92 ERA, leading the league in ERA, innings (281.1), and shutouts (8), while striking out 193 and throwing 17 complete games.
Dallas outfielder
Guy Werner was known for hitting a decent amount of homers, but not much else over his 12-year career. However, on June 4, he slugged four longballs against Fort Worth, becoming the first Texas Leaguer to do so.
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The American Baseball League saw a rather straightforward playoff race, with New Haven winning the East and Pittsburgh comfortably in second. In the West, Austin won 109 games, well outpacing Spokane, who at 97 victories took second without much problem. In the playoffs, New Haven swept Pitsburgh and Austin downed Spokane in six games, then the Wranglers wrestled down the Weavers in six more games to win Austin’s first ABL title.
It was nearly impossible for Austin’s
Chris Wallace to top his Triple-Crown season from the year before, but the Wrangler’s ace spearheaded his team’s first title run by going a whopping 28-3 with a 1.69 ERA, striking out 383 batters in 276.1 innings. He did not lead the league in ERA, amazingly enough, but paced the field in punchouts and set a still-standing league record for wins, taking home both Pitcher of the Year and MVP in the pitching-heavy circuit (Austin posted a 2.43 ERA as a team).
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Minor League Champions
Southeastern League: Mobile Marines, 91-63, defeats Jackson
Colonial League: Binghamton Smokers, 87-54, defeats Pittsfield
River Valley League: Evansville Bees, 86-54, defeats Peoria
Rocky Mountain League: Pueblo Miners, 73-53, defeats Cheyenne
Coastal League: Augusta Rebels, 92-62, defeats Columbia
Northern League: Fargo-Moorhead Indians, 86-54, defeats Sioux City
Great Lakes League: Youngstown Steelers, 82-58, defeats Harrisburg
Southwest League: Long Beach Earthquakes, 93-61, defeats Santa Barbara
Southern Association: Beaumont Exporters, 80-60, defeats Little Rock
Northwest League: Tacoma Mountaineers, 97-43, defeats Reno
Can-Am League: Waterbury Pipers, 73-53, defeats Springfield
Mid-Atlantic League: Charleston (WV) Coal Sox, 76-64, defeats Atlantic City
Lone Star League: Laredo Vaqueros, 76-64, defeats Abilene
Great Plains League: St. Paul Saints, 86-54, defeats Salina (4th straight)
Florida Coast League: Daytona Islanders, 79-61, defeats St. Petersburg
Big Sky League: Edmonton Elks, 68-64, defeats Saskatoon