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20-555: The Zephyrs won the American Association championship on seven occasions: 1957, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1991. They also won the 1957 Junior World Series and the 1991 Triple-A Classic . Denver, Colorado , had been the home of numerous minor league baseball teams dating back to 1885 with an unnamed team of the Colorado State League . Off and on from 1901 to 1954, the city was represented by

40-666: A game against the Omaha Royals , breaking their own record of 59,691 set on July 4 of the previous year. The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the New York Yankees at the outset, with Ralph Houk managing many players who would reach the majors and play in the World Series . The team had some early success, winning the American Association championship in 1957. League MVPs in this period included Marv Throneberry in 1956 and Steve Boros in 1960. Although

60-566: A routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on Independence Day fireworks nights, and the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game every year. It was on these nights that the Bears drew the largest crowds in minor league baseball history. On July 4, 1982, the Bears drew an all-time minor league record of 65,666 for

80-779: The Denver Bears of the Western League . In 1955, the Class A Bears were replaced by a Triple-A team of the American Association . This came about when the Kansas City Blues were forced to relocate after the American League 's Philadelphia Athletics moved to Kansas City, Missouri , to become the Kansas City Athletics . Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in

100-1043: The Indianapolis Indians (12); the Columbus Red Birds (10); the Minneapolis Millers (9); the St. Paul Saints (8); the Denver Zephyrs (7); the Kansas City Blues (6); the Milwaukee Brewers (5); the Omaha Royals (4); the Evansville Triplets and Louisville Redbirds (3); the Oklahoma City 89ers and Tulsa Oilers (2); and the Buffalo Bisons , Iowa Cubs , Springfield Redbirds , and Toledo Mud Hens (1). The American Association , which

120-482: The 1962 season, but it was reorganized in 1969. After crowning that year's pennant winner as champion, it divided its teams into two divisions, and the division champions played for the league title from 1970 to 1980. A variety of postseason playoff formats were used over the next 17 seasons before the league disbanded for a final time following the 1997 campaign. The Louisville Colonels won 15 American Association championships, more than any other team, followed by

140-474: The 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in the Rockies , the team became known as Bears. The new Denver team played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium , but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This ballpark was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on

160-690: The Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983. The 1980 Bears were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time . In 1984, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs, after the famous passenger train . Barry Larkin (1986) was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as were Greg Vaughn (1989), Jim Olander (1991), and Jim Tatum (1992). ESPN broadcaster Orestes Destrade also played for

180-527: The Zephyrs. On June 3, 1987, Zephyrs player Joey Meyer hit the longest verified home run in American professional baseball history at 582 feet. The Zephyrs' only championship under the new nickname was the 1991 American Association title. They went on to win the 1991 Triple-A Classic against the International League 's Columbus Clippers , 4–1. Major League Baseball came to Denver with

200-726: The arrival of the Colorado Rockies expansion team of the National League in 1993. After 39 seasons of play, the Zephyrs relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana , after the 1992 season where they continued as the New Orleans Zephyrs . List of American Association (1902%E2%80%931997) champions The American Association was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the United States from 1902 to 1962 and from 1969 to 1997. A champion

220-654: The best-of-seven. The circuit permanently disbanded after the 1997 season. The final American Association championship was won by the Buffalo Bisons , who defeated the Iowa Cubs , 3–0. Specific General Frank Ortenzio Frank Joseph Ortenzio Jr. (born February 24, 1951) is an American former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nine games for the Kansas City Royals in 1973 . He also played two seasons ( 1979 and 1980 ) in Japan for

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240-469: The championship in a best-of-seven series. The first playoff championship was won by the Columbus Red Birds , who defeated the Minneapolis Millers , 4–2, in 1933. Similar playoffs were held in 1934, but the league returned to recognizing the regular-season pennant winner as champion in 1935. The American Association adopted the Shaughnessy playoff system in 1936. Under this expanded playoff format,

260-534: The division champions and a series between the wild card teams, the winners would play for the league championship. Still in others, the league played without divisions, and the top four teams qualified for the playoffs. In these scenarios, the first round consisted of a series between the first and fourth-place teams and between the second and third-place teams, with the winners competing for the league title. Most rounds during this period were best-of-five series, though some final rounds and fewer semifinals were sometimes

280-420: The four teams with the highest winning percentage competed for the championship. From 1936 to 1962, the first round typically consisted of a series between the first and third-place teams and a series between the second and fourth-place teams, though other seedings were occasionally used. The winners of these semifinals then faced one another for the championship. With few exceptions, each series during this period

300-548: The team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, so for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the Pacific Coast League . The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as César Tovar and Ted Uhlaender , but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual Pacific Coast , Denver

320-450: The winners of each division met in a best-of-seven series (sometimes five) to determine a champion. Across the league's last 17 seasons, 1981 to 1997, three different postseason formats were utilized. Some seasons ended with the East and West Division champions facing off in a single round. Some saw wild card berths awarded to the second-place team from each division. After a series between

340-467: Was determined at the end of each season. From 1902 to 1932 and in 1935, champions were the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best win–loss record at the conclusion of the regular season. In 1933 and 1934, the top two teams competed in a postseason series to determine a champion. The Shaughnessy playoff system , in which the top four teams qualified for postseason play, was adopted from 1936 to 1962. The American Association dissolved after

360-558: Was founded in 1902, determined a league champion at the end of each season. Champions from 1902 to 1932 were simply the regular-season pennant winners—the team with the best win–loss record at the conclusion of the regular championship season. The first league champions were the Indianapolis Indians , who won by two games over the Louisville Colonels in 1902. The first championship playoffs were held in 1933. The top two teams, based on winning percentage , competed for

380-589: Was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association. The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as Andre Dawson , Tim Wallach , Warren Cromartie , Tim Raines , Graig Nettles , Terry Francona , Wallace Johnson , Danny Morris , Pat Rooney , and Bill Gullickson . Denver players Richie Scheinblum (1971), Cliff Johnson (1973), Roger Freed (1976), Frank Ortenzio (1977), and Randy Bass (1980) were league MVPs. The managing careers of both Billy Martin and Felipe Alou began with

400-556: Was the best-of-seven games. The first four-team playoff was won in 1936 by the Milwaukee Brewers , who defeated Indianapolis, 4–1. The circuit disbanded after the 1962 season, but was reorganized for 1969. The first champions in this second iteration of the league were the regular-season pennant winners. The Omaha Royals won by virtue of a six-game lead over the Tulsa Oilers . The American Association divided its teams into two divisions, East and West, in 1970. From 1970 to 1980,

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