New Orleans Zephyrs
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| New Orleans Zephyrs | ||
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| League | Pacific Coast League | |
| Division | American Conference | |
| Year founded | 1993 | |
| Major League affiliation | New York Mets | |
| Home ballpark | Zephyr Field | |
| Previous home ballparks | Mile High Stadium | |
| City | Metairie, Louisiana | |
| Current uniform colors | navy, green | |
| Previous uniform colors | ||
| Logo design | The wordmark "Zephyrs" in navy blue outlined in white and green. A Louisiana nutria is centered above the wordmark. | |
| Division titles | ||
| League titles | 1998 | |
| Manager | Ken Oberkfell | |
| Owner | Donald Beaver | |
The New Orleans Zephyrs are a minor league baseball team based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Zephyrs play in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League and were most recently affiliated with the Washington Nationals, from 2005-2006; the other parent clubs since the franchise arrived in New Orleans were the Astros and the Brewers. Starting with the 2007 season the Zephyrs will be the AAA affiliate for the New York Mets. The Zephyrs play in Zephyr Field, located in the New Orleans suburb of Metairie.
The Zephyrs arrived in New Orleans in 1993, having been forced out of their previous home, Denver, by the expansion Colorado Rockies of the National League. This was the second time the team had been pushed out by a major league team. When the Philadelphia A's moved to Kansas City in 1955, the Yankees' AAA club, the Kansas City Blues, became the Denver Bears. The Bears later changed their nickname to the Zephyrs. The New Orleans lawyer/business promoter Robert E. Couhig, Jr., led the effort to relocate the team to the Crescent City.
The Zephyrs joined the PCL after the 1997 season when the American Association was disbanded. The Zephyrs were one of five clubs from the AA to join the PCL, with three joining the International League. Triple-A (AAA) baseball was also expanded at that time, concurrent with the expansion of Major League Baseball.
The Zephyrs won the 1998 Pacific Coast League championship and were slated to participate in the 2001 championship series with Tacoma before the season was cancelled in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and both teams were named co-champions. In 1998, the Zephyrs defeated the Buffalo Bisons 3-1 to capture the AAA World Series. The series, held from from 1998-2000, matched champions of the International League and the Pacific Coast League in a best-of-five series to determine the true Triple-A Champion. To date, the Zephyrs are the only professional sports franchise in Louisiana to win a championship.
The Zephyrs finished the 2005 season three days before Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, and though Zephyr Field sustained moderate damage [1], the team was able to open 2006 at home, becoming the first New Orleans professional team to do so since the hurricane [2].
After the 2006 season, the Washington Nationals chose not to renew their affiliation with the Zephyrs, instead opting to make the Columbus Clippers of the International League their top minor league team.[3] Starting with the 2007 season, New Orleans Zephyrs are an affiliate of the New York Mets.
[edit] History
The Denver Bears, founded by the Howsam family, began as a Class A Western League franchise from 1947-54. The AAA Bears played in the American Association (1955-62; 1969-84) and the Pacific Coast League (1963-68) until the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs in 1985. The AAA 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 played at what became known later as Mile High Stadium, but was originally known as Bears Stadium after this team. This stadium was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis. For many years the biggest crowds were on July 4th fireworks night, and every year the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game; crowds of 45,000 and more watched the fireworks game, easily the biggest crowds most of the minor leaguers had ever played before. The Bears name has been used for other sports teams in Denver in the past several years as well.
In the late 50s and throughout the 60s, the Bears' repeat opponents were the Wichita Arrows, the Iowa Cubs (Chicago affiliate), the Oklahoma 89ers, the Omaha Royal (Kansas City affiliate), and the Tulsa Oilers.
In the mid-60s, the Bears included notables such as Cesar Tovar (who played all 9 positions in one game for the Twins) and Ted Ullander. The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 70s to mid 80s, producing such players as Tim Wallach, Warren Cromarte, Tim Raines, Graig Nettles, Terry Francona, Pat Rooney and pitcher Bill Gullickson. Billy Martin and Felipe Alou both began their managing careers by managing the Denver Bears. In 1980 they finished with the 37th best record of all time (92-44) and won the American Association pennant.
In 1985, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs. The team was well-known in part for being the only baseball team with a "Z" on their caps.[citation needed] The team relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana after the 1992 season to make way for the Colorado Rockies, who began play in the National League the following year.
[edit] Previous Major League Affiliations and Minor League Membership
| 1949-1951 | Boston Braves | Western League |
| 1952-1954 | Pittsburgh Pirates | Western League |
| 1955-1958 | New York Yankees | American Association |
| 1959 | None | American Association |
| 1960-1962 | Detroit Tigers | American Association |
| 1963-1964 | Milwaukee Braves | Pacific Coast League |
| 1965-1968 | Minnesota Twins | Pacific Coast League |
| 1969 | Minnesota Twins | American Association |
| 1970-1971 | Washington Senators | American Association |
| 1972 | Texas Rangers | American Association |
| 1973-1974 | Houston Astros | American Association |
| 1975 | Chicago White Sox | American Association |
| 1976-1981 | Montreal Expos | American Association |
| 1982 | Texas Rangers | American Association |
| 1983-1984 | Chicago White Sox | American Association |
| 1985-1986 | Cincinnati Reds | American Association (Named change to Denver Zephyrs, often referred to as the "Z-Bears") |
| 1986-1992 | Milwaukee Brewers | American Association |
[edit] External links
| New York Mets Franchise | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | AA | A | Rookie |
| New Orleans Zephyrs | Binghamton Mets |
St. Lucie Mets Savannah Sand Gnats Brooklyn Cyclones |
Kingsport Mets Gulf Coast Mets DSL Mets VSL Mets |
| Pacific Coast League | ||
| American Conference North | Pacific Conference North | |
|---|---|---|
| Iowa Cubs | Memphis Redbirds | Nashville Sounds | Omaha Royals | Colorado Springs Sky Sox | Portland Beavers | Salt Lake Bees | Tacoma Rainiers | |
| American Conference South | Pacific Conference South | |
| Albuquerque Isotopes | New Orleans Zephyrs | Oklahoma RedHawks | Round Rock Express | Fresno Grizzlies | Las Vegas 51s | Sacramento River Cats | Tucson Sidewinders | |
