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King of Baseball Award by Minor League Baseball
The "King of Baseball Award" is a long-standing tradition (started in 1951) in which Minor League Baseball honors a veteran from the world of professional baseball for their long-time dedication and service to the game of baseball.
For the previous half-century plus, Minor League Baseball has honored the "King of Baseball" at the annual banquet at the Baseball Winter Meetings. Baseball Almanac is pleased to present each recipient of the King of Baseball Award along with the location of the Baseball Winter Meetings and if the receipient was a former Major League ballplayer, a link to his playing career is presented as well. |
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"(Shag) Shaughnessy invented a playoff system that bears his name in 1933 to improve minor league attendance by giving teams that were out of the pennant race a postseason opportunity." - Normal L. Macht |
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| Year |
King of Baseball |
Baseball Winter Meetings |
| 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 |
No Award Given
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Washington D.C. |
| 1959 |
Bonneau Peters |
St. Petersburg, FL |
| 1960 |
Joe Engel |
Louisville, KY
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| 1961 |
Rosy Ryan |
Tampa, FL |
| 1962 |
Phil Howser |
Rochester, NY |
| 1963 |
Donnie 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
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| 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 |
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1978
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Zinn Beck |
Orlando, FL |
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1979
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Harry Simmons |
Toronto, Canada |
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1980
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Billy Hitchcock |
Dallas, TX
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1981
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Jack Schwarz |
Hollywood, FL |
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1982
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Sy Berger |
Honolulu, HI
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1983
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Oscar Roettger |
Nashville, TN |
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1984
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Donald Davidson |
Houston, TX |
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1985
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Stan Wasiak |
San Diego, CA |
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1986
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Lefty Gomez |
Hollywood, FL
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1987
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Bill Schweppe |
Dallas, TX |
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1988
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Max Patkin |
Atlanta, GA |
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1989
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George Sisler, Jr. |
Nashville, TN
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1990
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John Moss |
Los Angeles, CA
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1991
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George Pfister |
Miami Beach, FL
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1992
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Johnny Lipon |
Louisville, KY
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1993
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George Kissell |
Atlanta, GA
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1994
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Jimmy Bragan |
Dallas, TX
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1995
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Gene DaCosse |
Los Angeles, CA |
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1996
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Sheldon “Chief” Bender |
Boston, MA |
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1997
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Max Schumacher |
New Orleans, LA
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1998
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Leo Pinckney |
Nashville, TN |
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1999
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Tom Saffell |
Anaheim, CA
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2000
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Pat McKernan |
Dallas, TX |
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2001
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Roland Hemond |
Boston, MA |
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2002
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George Zuraw |
Nashville, TN |
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2003
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Bob Wilson |
New Orleans, LA
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| Year |
King of Baseball |
Baseball Winter Meetings |
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King of Baseball Award
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