The Senior Professional Baseball Association, referred to commonly as the ''Senior League'', was a winter baseball league based in Florida for players age 35 and over, with a minimum age of 32 for catchers. The league began play in 1989 and had eight teams in two divisions and a 72-game schedule. Pitchers

Rollie Fingers Roland Glen Fingers (born August 25, 1946) is an American former right-handed relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for three teams between 1968 and 1985, when his effectiveness helped to redefine the value of relievers within baseba ...

, Ferguson Jenkins (both future

Hall of Famers A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

), and

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (born July 28, 1949) is a former American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball between and , most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

, outfielder

Dave Kingman David Arthur Kingman (born December 21, 1948), nicknamed "Kong," "King Kong," and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter who was a three-time MLB All-Star with 442 caree ...

, and managers Earl Weaver and

Dick Williams Richard Hirschfeld Williams (May 7, 1929 – July 7, 2011) was an American left fielder, third baseman, manager, coach and front-office consultant in Major League Baseball. Known especially as a hard-driving, sharp-tongued manager from 1967 to 1 ...

were the league's marquee names; and former big league outfielder

Curt Flood Curtis Charles Flood (January 18, 1938 – January 20, 1997) was an American professional baseball player and activist. He was a center fielder who played 15 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Cincinnati Redlegs, St. Louis Cardinals, ...

was the circuit's first Commissioner. At age 54, Ed Rakow was the league's oldest player.Senior Citizens: The Boys of Winter
''Uni Watch''. Retrieved on March 8, 2016.

First season

Throughout the inaugural season, most clubs struggled with poor attendance, with an average attendance of less than 1,000 per game. On the field, the

West Palm Beach Tropics The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and Rol ...

ran away with the league's South Division, finishing 15 games ahead of the second place Fort Myers Sun Sox. In the North, the

St. Petersburg Pelicans The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began playing in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team was managed by Bobby Tolan, while Dick Bosman, Ozzie Virgil, Sr. and Tom Zimmer served a ...

finished in first, and the

Bradenton Explorers The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in . That season, the club compiled a record of 38-34, finishing in second place in the league's Northern Division, ...

were second, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice. Infielder Ron Washington of

West Palm Beach West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some R ...

was the league's offensive star, hitting .359 with a league leading 73 RBIs and winning the

MVP award In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...

. Washington's teammate Mickey Rivers hit .366, and Gold Coast Sun

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

, the oldest everyday player in the league at 47, stole 16 bases. Bradenton's

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

hit .290 with 55 RBIs and led the league with 17 homers.

Tim Ireland Timothy Neal Christopher Ireland is a former professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, appearing in 11 games in 1981 and 1982. He has also managed 12 seasons at various levels ...

of Fort Myers hit a league best .374, and his teammate Kim Allen paced the circuit with 33 stolen bases.

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, and Toronto Blue Jays between 1977 and 1985. He had established ...

hit 12 home runs and had 58 RBIs. West Palm Beach pitcher Juan Eichelberger went 11–5 with a 2.90 ERA, and St. Petersburg's Milt Wilcox went 12–3.

Jon Matlack Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack (born January 19, 1950) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through for the New York Mets and the Texas Rangers. The three-t ...

, Tim Stoddard, and Pete Falcone each won 10 games. Bradenton's Rick Lysander saved 11 games, and Winter Haven's Bill Campbell notched 5 saves to go along with a 2.12 ERA.

Joaquín Andújar Joaquín Andújar (; December 21, 1952 – September 8, 2015) was a Dominican professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, St. Louis Cardinals, and Oakland Athletics from 1976 through 19 ...

of Gold Coast had 5 wins and an ERA of 1.31.1990 set of Senior League baseball cards from Pacific Trading Cards
''Playing With My Cards''.Retrieved on March 8, 2016. In the first weekend of February 1990, the league's top four teams participated in a three-game, single elimination tournament with a rather unusual format. On February 2, the league's second place clubs faced off. The Explorers defeated the Sun Sox for a chance to face the St. Petersburg Pelicans. The next day, the Pelicans beat the Explorers 9–2 to advance to the league championship game against the West Palm Beach Tropics. On February 4, 1990, the Pelicans, powered by Lamar Johnson's home run and 3 RBIs, beat the Tropics 12–4 for the league's first championship. The 1989-90 player statistics for all teams were published in the Sporting News on February 12, 1990, pages 30–31 "Assessing the Boys of Winter". 1989/1990 Teams Northern Division *

(42–30, 1st Place) *

(38–34, 2nd Place) * Orlando Juice (37–35, 3rd Place) * Winter Haven Super Sox (29–43, 4th Place) Southern Division *

(52–20, 1st Place) * Fort Myers Sun Sox (37–35, 2nd Place) *

Gold Coast Suns The Gold Coast Suns is a professional Australian rules football club that competes in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club is based on Queensland's Gold Coast in the suburb of Carrara. The club has been playing in the AFL since th ...

(32–39, 3rd Place) * St. Lucie Legends (20–51, 4th Place)

Second season

For its second season, four of the league's eight teams (Gold Coast, Orlando, St. Lucie, and Winter Haven) folded; the West Palm Beach Tropics became a traveling team known as the Florida Tropics, and the Explorers moved from Bradenton to Daytona Beach, becoming the

Daytona Beach Explorers The Daytona Beach Explorers was a baseball club that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990. They were a replacement team when the originals Bradenton Explorers relocated to Daytona Beach, Florida, and played its games at ...

. The circuit then added clubs in Arizona, the

Sun City Rays The Sun City Rays were a short-lived professional baseball team, based in Sun City, Arizona. The Rays was a member of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990 for the league's second season.Solomon, Burt (1997). ''The Baseball Timeline ...

, as well as in California, the San Bernardino Pride. In addition, the league dropped the minimum age to 34 and shortened the season to 56 games. Less than halfway through its second season, the SPBA folded on December 26, 1990. 1990/1991 Standings *

(15–8) *

(13–9) * San Bernardino Pride (13–12) *

(11–12) * Fort Myers Sun Sox (11–14) * Florida Tropics (7–15) Ron Washington,

Paul Mirabella Paul Thomas Mirabella (born March 20, 1954) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. Mirabella, who threw left-handed, played all or parts of 13 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers (1978 and 1982), New York Yankees ...

, Danny Boone, and Ozzie Virgil Jr. signed

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

contracts after playing in the Senior League; Mirabella, Boone, and Virgil all played in the Majors after their appearances in the SPBA.

References

{{Authority control Baseball leagues in Florida Defunct independent baseball leagues in the United States Sports leagues established in 1989 Sports leagues disestablished in 1990 1989 establishments in Florida 1990 disestablishments in Florida Defunct professional sports leagues in the United States