King of Baseball

King of Baseball
Awarded for Longtime dedication and service to professional baseball
Country United States
Presented by Minor League Baseball
First awarded 1951
Currently held by Lee Landers

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.

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
YearAward winner[1]Winter Meetings site
1951 Clarence "Pants" Rowland Columbus, OH
1952 J. Alvin Gardner Phoenix, AZ
1953 Frank "Shag" 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 (None) 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 Leishmann 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
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
2006 Paul Snyder Orlando, FL
2007 Dave Walker Nashville, TN
2008 Pat Gillick Las Vegas, NV
2009 Milo Hamilton Indianapolis, IN
2010 Don Mincher Orlando, FL
2011 Cuauhtemoc "Chito" Rodriguez Dallas, TX
2012 George McGonagle[2] Nashville, TN
2013 Charlie Eshbach[3] Lake Buena Vista, FL
2014 Bill Valentine[4] San Diego, CA
2015 William "Bill" Gladstone[5] Nashville, TN
2016 David G. Elmore[6] National Harbor, MD
2017 Lee Landers[7] Orlando, FL

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. 1 2 "Baseball Almanac — "King of Baseball" Award". Baseball-Almanac.com. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  2. ↑ "McGonagle crowned 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. Retrieved December 6, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Eshbach crowned 'King of Baseball'". MiLB.com. Retrieved March 15, 2014.
  4. ↑ "Valentine named 2014 King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  5. ↑ "ValleyCats' Gladstone is King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 23, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Elmore named 2016 King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 17, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Appy League's Landers named King of Baseball". MiLB.com. November 8, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2017.
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