King of Baseball

King of Baseball is a ceremonial title awarded by Minor League Baseball to one person each year in recognition of longtime dedication and service to professional baseball. The title was first awarded in 1951.[1] The winner is announced at the annual Winter Meetings awards banquet and is typically presented with an inscribed bat, as well as a crown and robe symbolizing the winner's "king" status.

King of Baseball
SportBaseball
LeagueMinor League Baseball
Given forLongtime dedication and service to professional baseball
CountryUnited States, Canada, Mexico
Presented byMinor League Baseball
History
First award1951
Most recentBob Lozinak (2019)

Winners
Pants Rowland was the first King of Baseball (1951)
Donie Bush, 1963's King of Baseball
Billy Hitchcock, 1980's King of Baseball
Max Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," 1988's King of Baseball
Year Award winner[1] Winter Meetings site Ref
1951 Pants Rowland Columbus, OH
1952 J. Alvin Gardner Phoenix, AZ
1953 Frank 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 Not awarded Washington, D.C.
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, Ont., 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 Jim 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 [2]
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 [3]
2006 Paul Snyder Orlando, FL [4]
2007 Dave Walker Nashville, TN [5]
2008 Pat Gillick Las Vegas, NV
2009 Milo Hamilton Indianapolis, IN
2010 Don Mincher Orlando, FL [6]
2011 Cuauhtemoc "Chito" Rodriguez Dallas, TX [7]
2012 George McGonagle Nashville, TN [8]
2013 Charlie Eshbach Lake Buena Vista, FL [9]
2014 Bill Valentine San Diego, CA [10]
2015 Bill Gladstone Nashville, TN [11]
2016 David G. Elmore National Harbor, MD [12]
2017 Lee Landers Orlando, FL [13]
2018 Mike Tamburro Las Vegas, NV [14]
2019 Bob Lozinak San Diego, CA [15]
2020 Not awarded Cancelled

See also

Notes
  • Max Patkin, known as the "Clown Prince of Baseball," won the award in December 1988, months after appearing as himself in the popular Hollywood baseball movie, Bull Durham.
  • 1986 winner Lefty Gomez and 2008 winner Pat Gillick are members of the Baseball Hall of Fame.

References
  1. "Baseball Almanac — "King of Baseball" Award". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  2. "Baseball mourns loss of Auburn's Pinckney". MiLB.com. November 20, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  3. "Hillcats' Falwell honored as 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. December 10, 2005. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  4. "Snyder crowned 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. December 8, 2006. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  5. "Dave Walker crowned King of Baseball". MiLB.com. December 7, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  6. "Mincher named 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. December 9, 2010. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  7. "Rodriguez named King of Baseball". MiLB.com. December 8, 2011. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  8. "McGonagle crowned 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  9. "Eshbach crowned 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  10. "Valentine named 2014 King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  11. "ValleyCats' Gladstone is King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  12. "Elmore named 2016 King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 17, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  13. "Appy League's Landers named King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
  14. "Mike Tamburro Named King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 6, 2018. Retrieved November 6, 2018.
  15. "Altoona's Lozinak Named 2019 King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 4, 2019. Retrieved November 4, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.