Governors' Cup

Governors' Cup
Replica Governors' Cup
Sport	Baseball
Given for	Winning the International League championship
History
First award	1933
Editions	84
First winner	Buffalo Bisons
Most wins	Columbus Clippers & Rochester Red Wings (10)
Most recent	Durham Bulls (2018)

The Governors' Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champion of the International League, one of the two current Triple-A level minor leagues of Major League Baseball.

History

In 1933, Frank Shaughnessy, General Manager of the League's Montreal Royals, introduced a new playoff system to International League President Charles H. Knappe and the Governors' Cup was born. Shaughnessy, who would ultimately serve as International League President from 1936 until 1960, was interested in developing a way for more than two clubs to share in the excitement of postseason play. His playoff format, devised to maintain the interest of fans and players alike during the Depression era, provided an opportunity for four teams to participate rather than only two. Several other leagues, including the Pacific Coast League, noticed the success of the "Shaughnessy Plan" and followed suit.^[1]

In response to the new playoff format, the Governors of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York and the Lieutenant Governors of the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario sponsored a trophy to be awarded annually to the winner of the International League playoffs. The trophy, designed by the Supervisor of International League Umpires and silversmith W. B. Carpenter, was created out of solid silver and has been appraised at over $3,000.^[1]

In 1988, International League President Harold Cooper donated the trophy to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where it is on permanent display. A new trophy of the same name was minted in its place and is presented annually to the winner of the Governors' Cup Championship Series.^[1]

The replica trophy was smashed while in possession of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees by an attendee of a game from northeastern Pennsylvania on August 27, 2009.^[2]

Championship wins by team

Active International League teams appear in bold.

Champions

Playoff format

The Governors' Cup Playoffs are separated into two best-of-five series. With the three division format, all three division winners, and a Wild Card team (the team with the best second-place record in the league) will enter into the "Division Series".^[3]

The North Division Champion will play the Wild Card team, while the South Division Champion plays the West Division Champion. The winners of these series will move on to the Governors' Cup Championship Series. The team who wins the best-of-five Championship Series will be named International League Champion for the season.^[3]

See also

• Triple-A Baseball Awards
• Thruway Cup

Notes

• ^a After competing with a two-division format for 10 years from 1988 to 1997, the International League switched to a three division alignment in 1998. The practice of recognizing the League Champion as not only the Pennant Winner, but also the Governors' Cup Winner continued.^[4]
• ^b The playoffs were cancelled in the wake the September 11 terrorist attacks. Louisville, which had won the first game of the series, 2–1, before its cancellation, was declared the winner.

References

Specific

General

• "International League Governors' Cup Championship". Triple-A Baseball. Retrieved July 21, 2017.