The Denver Zephyrs (formerly the Denver Bears) were a Minor League Baseball team based in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. They were a Triple-A team that played in the American Association from 1955 to 1962, the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

from 1963 to 1968, and the American Association again from 1969 to 1992. They played their home games at

Mile High Stadium Mile High Stadium (originally Bears Stadium until 1968) was an outdoor multi-purpose stadium located in Denver, Colorado from 1948 to 2001. The stadium was built in 1948 to accommodate the Denver Bears baseball team, which was a member of th ...

. The Zephyrs won the American Association championship on seven occasions: 1957, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1991. They also won the 1991

Triple-A Classic The Triple-A Classic was an interleague postseason championship series held annually between the league champions of the American Association (AA) and International League (IL) Triple-A leagues of Minor League Baseball from 1988 to 1991. Over ...

History

Origins

, had been the home of numerous minor league baseball teams dating back to 1885 with an unnamed team of the

Colorado State League The Colorado State League was an unaffiliated minor league baseball league that played between 1885 and 1898 involving teams from Colorado. Cities represented * Aspen, CO: Aspen Silver Kings 1889; Aspen Miners 1896, 1898-1899 * Colorado Spring ...

. Off and on from 1901 to 1954, the city was represented by the

Denver Bears Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Uni ...

of the Western League. In 1955, the Class A Bears were replaced by a Triple-A team of the American Association. This came about when the Kansas City Blues were forced to relocate after the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, the team became the Oakl ...

moved to Kansas City, Missouri, to become the

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 seas ...

Denver Bears (1955–1983)

Denver Bears uniform, History Colorado Center, 2018

Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in the 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in the Rockies, the team became known as Bears. The new Denver team played at what became known later as

, but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This ballpark was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

fireworks Fireworks are a class of low explosive pyrotechnic devices used for aesthetic and entertainment purposes. They are most commonly used in fireworks displays (also called a fireworks show or pyrotechnics), combining a large number of devices ...

nights, and the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game every year. Crowds of 45,000 and more watched the fireworks games, easily the biggest crowds most of the minor leagues had ever drawn. The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one o ...

at the outset, with

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed The Major, was an American catcher, coach, manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor of Casey Stengel as manager of the New Yor ...

managing many players who would reach the majors and play in the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 World Series, 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The ...

. The team had some early success, winning the American Association championship in 1957. League MVPs in this period included

Marv Throneberry Marvin Eugene Throneberry (September 2, 1933 – June 23, 1994) was an American Major League Baseball player. Affectionately known as "Marvelous Marv", he was the starting first baseman for the 1962 New York Mets, a team which set the modern rec ...

in 1956 and Steve Boros in 1960. Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, so for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the

. The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as

César Tovar César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Minnesota Twins (–), Philadelphia Phillies (), ...

and

Ted Uhlaender Theodore Otto Uhlaender (October 21, 1939 – February 12, 2009) was a Major League Baseball outfielder for the Minnesota Twins, Cleveland Indians and Cincinnati Reds from –. He was also the father of Olympic women's skeleton competitor Kati ...

, but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual

Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the P ...

, Denver was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association. The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as

Andre Dawson Andre Nolan Dawson (born July 10, 1954), nicknamed "The Hawk" and "Awesome Dawson", is an American former professional baseball player and inductee into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 21-year baseball career, he played for four different tea ...

, Tim Wallach,

Warren Cromartie Warren Livingston Cromartie (born September 29, 1953) is an American former professional baseball player best remembered for his early career with the Montreal Expos. He and fellow young outfielders Ellis Valentine and Andre Dawson were the tal ...

Tim Raines Timothy Raines Sr. (born September 16, 1959), nicknamed "Rock",Raines received this nickname at an Expo rookie camp when he was seventeen, based on his physique. is an American professional baseball coach and former player. He played as a left ...

Graig Nettles Graig Nettles (born August 20, 1944), nicknamed "Puff", is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman. During a 22-year baseball career, he played for the Minnesota Twins (1967–1969), Cleveland Indians (1970–1972), New York Yankee ...

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

, Wallace Johnson,

Danny Morris Danny Walker Morris (June 11, 1946 – September 23, 2023) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in six Major League games for the 1968–1969 Minnesota Twins. He stood tall and weighed during his ...

, Pat Rooney, and

Bill Gullickson William Lee Gullickson (born February 20, 1959) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher who played professionally in Canada, the U.S. and Japan, during an 18-year professional career, of which 14 seasons were spent in MLB. MLB career ...

. Denver players

Richie Scheinblum Richard Alan Scheinblum (November 5, 1942 – May 10, 2021), nicknamed "Shane", Whiting, Robert. ''You Gotta Have Wa'' (Vintage Departures, 1989), pp. 82-83. was an American professional Major League Baseball (MLB) player. In 1971, he won the A ...

(1971), Cliff Johnson (1973),

Roger Freed Roger Vernon Freed (June 2, 1946 – January 9, 1996), was an American professional baseball outfielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, and St. Louis C ...

(1976),

Frank Ortenzio Frank Joseph Ortenzio Jr. (born February 24, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He played nine games for the Kansas City Royals in . He also played two seasons ( and ) in Japan for the Nankai Hawks. During his time with the Na ...

(1977), and

Randy Bass Randy William Bass (born March 13, 1954) is an American politician and former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) and Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), and served in the Oklahoma Senate. Bass made his MLB debut in 1977, a ...

(1980) were league MVPs. The managing careers of both

Billy Martin Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. (May 16, 1928 – December 25, 1989), commonly called "Billy", was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager who, in addition to leading other teams, was five times the manager of the New York Yan ...

and

Felipe Alou Felipe Rojas Alou (born May 12, 1935) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder, first baseman, and manager. He managed the Montreal Expos (1992–2001) and the San Francisco Giants (2003–2006). The first Dominican to play regularly in the ...

began with the Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983. The 1980 Bears were recognized as one of the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time.

Denver Zephyrs (1984–1992)

In 1984, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs, after the famous

passenger train A passenger train is a train used to transport people along a railroad line. These trains may consist of unpowered passenger railroad cars (also known as coaches or carriages) hauled by one or more locomotives, or may be self-propelled; self p ...

Barry Larkin Barry Louis Larkin (born April 28, 1964) is an American former professional baseball player. He played shortstop for the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1986 to 2004. He briefly played in the minor leagues before making hi ...

(1986) was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as were

Greg Vaughn Gregory Lamont Vaughn (born July 3, 1965) is an American former baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee Brewers (1989–1996), San Diego Padres (1996–1998), Cincinnati Reds (1999), Tampa Bay Devil Rays (2000–2002) and Colorado Ro ...

(1989),

Jim Olander James Bentley Olander (born February 21, 1963) is a former Major League Baseball outfielder and currently a baseball scout. Olander attended Sahuaro High School in Tucson, Arizona. He was selected by Philadelphia Phillies in the 7th Round (175th ...

(1991), and

Jim Tatum Jim or JIM may refer to: * Jim (given name), a given name * Jim, a diminutive form of the given name James * Jim, a short form of the given name Jimmy * OPCW-UN Joint Investigative Mechanism * ''Jim'' (comics), a series by Jim Woodring * ''Jim'' ...

(1992).

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

broadcaster Orestes Destrade also played for the Zephyrs. Their only championship under the new nickname was the 1991 American Association title. They went on to win the 1991

against the

International League The International League (IL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the United States. Along with the Pacific Coast League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Baseball ( ...

Columbus Clippers The Columbus Clippers are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League (IL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians. They are located in Columbus, Ohio, and are named for speedy merchant sailing vessels known as clipp ...

, 4–1.

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 (AL) ...

came to Denver with the arrival of the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fi ...

expansion team An expansion team is a new team in a sports league, usually from a city that has not hosted a team in that league before, formed with the intention of satisfying the demand for a local team from a population in a new area. Sporting leagues also ...

of the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

in 1993. After 39 seasons of play, the Zephyrs relocated to

New Orleans, Louisiana New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

New Orleans Zephyrs New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Notable players

* Narciso Elvira - played with the Zephyrs after his stint in the Majors with

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. The Brewers are named for the city's association wi ...

in 1990