Montreal Royals

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For other uses, see Montreal Royals (disambiguation).

The Montreal Royals were a professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897-1917 and from 1928-60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League. The Royals are most famous as the top farm club (Class AAA beginning in 1946) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1960.

In 1928, George Stallings, a former Major League Baseball executive and Southern United States plantation owner, formed a partnership with Montreal lawyer and politician Athanase David and businessman Ernest Savard to resurrect the Montreal Royals. Among the teams other partners was Charles Trudeau (businessman) who also served on the Board of Directors until his death in 1935. [1]They built Delorimier Stadium at Delorimier Avenue and Ontario Street in downtown Montreal to serve as the team's home field. This version of the Montreal Royals enjoyed great success and launched the baseball careers of Sparky Anderson, Gene Mauch, Roberto Clemente and the man who broke Major League Baseball's color barrier with the Royals in 1946, Jackie Robinson. Others Royals' players of note include Duke Snider, Don Drysdale, Chuck Connors, Walter Alston, Roy Campanella and the winningest pitcher in the history of the team, Tommy Lasorda. [2]

The team holds a unique place in baseball history as being the first major-league affiliate to break the so-called "baseball color barrier", when the Brooklyn general manager and part-owner, Branch Rickey, signed Jackie Robinson, an African-American, on October 23, 1945. Robinson played with the Royals during the 1946 season.

During that season, Robinson faced the racist resistance of his manager, Mississippian Clay Hopper, and teammates to his entrance, but soon won them over with his masterful playing (beginning with spectacular play in the opening game against the Jersey City Giants and courage facing against hostile crowds and opponents. As for his home city, he was welcomed immediately by the public, who followed his performance in that season with intense adoration. For rest of his life, Robinson remained grateful to the people of Montreal for making the city a welcome oasis for his wife and himself during the difficult 1946 season.

Statue at Montreal's Olympic Stadium of the Royals' most famous player, Jackie Robinson.

Robinson then left to play for the Dodgers the following year, but not before winning the Little World series and being chased by exultant Montreal fans right to the train as he left. In Ken Burns documentary film Baseball the narrator quotes Sam Maltin, a stringer for the Pittsburgh Courier: "It was probably the only day in history that a black man ran from a white mob with love instead of lynching on its mind."

1 Titles
2 Montreal Royals Win-Loss Record
3 Montreal Royals Managers
4 References

[edit] Titles

The Royals won the Governors' Cup, the championship of the IL, 7 times, and played in the championship series 11 times. For more details on their playoff history, please see Montreal Royals Accomplishments

1935 - Lost to Syracuse
1941 - Defeated Newark
1945 - Lost to Newark
1946 - Defeated Syracuse
1948 - Defeated Syracuse
1949 - Defeated Buffalo
1951 - Defeated Syracuse
1952 - Lost to Rochester
1953 - Defeated Rochester
1954 - Lost to Syracuse
1958 - Defeated Toronto

[edit] Montreal Royals Win-Loss Record

Year	Wins	Losses	Percentage	Finish
1897	49	76	.392	7th
1898	68	48	.586	1st
1899	62	51	.549	2nd
1900	54	72	.429	7th
1901	65	67	.492	6th
1902	59	77	.434	6th
1903	37	95	.280	7th
1904	67	62	.519	5th
1905	56	80	.412	6th
1906	57	83	.407	7th
1907	46	85	.351	8th
1908	64	75	.461	5th
1909	68	83	.450	6th
1910	71	80	.470	5th
1911	72	80	.474	5th
1912	71	81	.467	6th
1913	74	77	.490	5th
1914	60	89	.403	7th
1915	67	70	.489	5th
1916	75	64	.539	3rd
1917	56	94	.373	7th
1928	84	84	.500	5th
1929	88	79	.527	4th
1930	96	72	.571	3rd
1931	85	80	.515	4th
1932	90	78	.536	4th
1933	81	84	.490	6th
1934	73	77	.487	6th
1935	92	62	.597	1st
1936	71	81	.467	6th
1937	82	67	.550	2nd
1938	69	84	.451	6th
1939	64	88	.421	7th
1940	80	80	.500	5th
1941	90	64	.584	2nd
1942	82	71	.536	2nd
1943	76	76	.500	4th
1944	73	80	.477	6th
1945	95	58	.621	1st
1946	100	54	.649	1st
1947	93	60	.608	2nd
1948	94	59	.614	1st
1949	84	70	.545	3rd
1950	86	67	.562	2nd
1951	95	59	.617	1st
1952	95	56	.629	1st
1953	89	63	586	2nd
1954	88	66	.571	2nd
1955	95	59	.617	1st
1956	80	72	.526	4th
1957	68	86	.442	8th
1958	90	63	.588	1st
1959	72	82	.468	6th
1960	62	92	.403	8th

[edit] Montreal Royals Managers

Year(s)	Name
1897	George Weidman
1897-1902	Charles Dooley
1903	Eugene DeMontreville
1904	Charles Atherton
1904	Edward Barrow
1905-1906	James Bannon
1906-1907	Malachi Kittridge
1907	James Morgan
1908-1909	James “Doc” Casey
1910	Edward Barrow
1911	Edward McCafferty
1912	William Lush
1912-1914	William “Kitty” Bransfield
1914-1917	Daniel Howley
1928	George Stallings
1928-1932	Edward Holly
1932-1933	Walter “Doc” Gautreau
1933-1934	Oscar Roettger
1934-1936	Frank Shaughnessy
1936	Harry Smythe
1937-1938	Walter “Rabbit” Maranville
1938	Alex Hooks
1939	Burleigh Grimes
1940-1942	Clyde Sukeforth
1943	Lafayette “Fresco” Thompson
1944-1945	Bruno Betzel
1946-1949	Clay Hopper
1950-1953	Walter Alston
1954	Max Macon
1955-1957	Gerg Mulleavy
1957	Al Campanis
1957	Al Ronning
1957	Tommy Holmes
1958-1960	Clay Bryant