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Southwest International League

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Southwest International League
ClassificationClass C
SportMinor league baseball
First season1951
Ceased1952
No. of teams12
Countries United States
 Mexico

The Southwest International League was a minor league baseball league that operated from 1951 through 1952. The league was formed through the merger of the Sunset League and Arizona–Texas League in 1951. The league hosted franchises based in Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada and Texas.

History

Formed in 1951 by a merger of the Sunset League and Arizona-Texas League, the Southwest International League played two seasons as a Class C level league. In 1951, the Tijuana players went on strike over not being paid on a regular basis. In 1952, the league fielded an all-black team, which was originally supposed to play half of its games in the US and half in Mexico, but eventually settled in Porterville, California as the Porterville Comets. Only 4 of the 6 entries survived the complete 1952 season, before the league permanently folded.

Cities represented

Standings & statistics

1951 Southwest International League
schedule
President: Les Powers

Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
El Paso Texans 88 56 .611 – 104,061 Art Lilly
Juarez Indios 87 57 .604 1.0 68,000 Victor Manuel Canajes / Red Kress
Phoenix Senators 83 61 .576 5.0 65,320 Wayne Tucker
Mexicali Eagles 81 63 .563 7.0 88,426 Virgilio Arteaga / Dee Moore
Las Vegas Wranglers 72 71 .503 15.5 48,000 Newt Kimball
Tucson Cowboys 68 75 .476 19.5 62,841 Ken Meyers / Bud Dawson
Tijuana Potros 65 79 .451 23.0 55,000 Luis Montes de Oca / Enrique Fernandez
Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings 64 80 .444 24.0 57,786 Syd Cohen
El Centro Imperials 59 85 .410 29.0 23,847 Red Kress / Bud Beringhele
Yuma Panthers 52 92 .361 36.0 50,557 Ray Viers / Don Jameson

Playoff: Mexicali 4 games, Phoenix 1.

Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Raymon Vargas Juarez/El Paso BA .377 Vince Gonzales Juarez W 32
Eduardo Cruz Juarez Runs 135 Memo Luna Tijuana SO 318
Ramon Vargas Juarez/El Paso Hits 229 Memo Luna Tijuana ERA 2.52
Ramon Vargas Juarez/El Paso RBI 149 Manuel Echeverria Mexicali PCT .824 14–3
Herman Lewis Phoenix HR 23 Tony Ponce Phoenix CG 38

1952 Southwest International League
President: Harry Ledell

Team standings W L PCT GB Attend Managers
Tijuana Potros 80 56 .588 – 45,000 Fernando Paredes
Mexicali Eagles 74 57 .565 3.5 35,239 Dolf Luque / Virgilio Arteaga
Las Vegas Wranglers 70 66 .515 10.0 53,200 William DeCarlo
Yuma Panthers 62 68 .477 15.0 52,280 Lou Bekeza
Porterville Comets 39 59 .398 NA 32,000 Chet Brewer
El Centro Imps 28 47 .373 NA 12,000 Bud Beringhele /
Frank Gabler / Henry Savin

Porterville Franchise started the season as Riverside–Ensenda, became Riverside–Porterville, moved to Porterville April 25, then disbanded August 1.; El Centro disbanded July 13.

Player statistics
Player Team Stat Tot Player Team Stat Tot
Pete Hughes Tijuana BA .366 Joe Orrell Tijuana W 21
Walter Tyler Porter/Yuma BA .366 Silverio Rodriguez Mexicali SO 209
Joe Clardy Las Vegas Runs 142 Joe Orrell Tijuana ERA 2.01
Joe Clardy Las Vegas RBI 202 Joe Orrell Tijuana Pct .875; 21–3
Pete Hughes Tijuana RBI 131
Pete Hughes Tijuana HR 28
Refugio Bernal Mexicali HR 28
Pete Hughes Tijuana BB 180

References

  1. "The story of how Tom Alston integrated Cardinals". April 14, 2014.
  2. "Municipal Ball Park, Porterville, Calif". www.charliesballparks.com.
  3. Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (Third ed.). Baseball America. ISBN 978-1932391176.


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