The St. Lucie Legends was one of the eight original baseball franchises that played in the

Senior Professional Baseball Association 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 ei ...

in 1989.1989–1990 St. Lucie Legends
''Fun While it Lasted website''. Retrieved on February 27, 2016. The club played its home games at the then recently inaugurated Thomas J. White Stadium, located in

Port St. Lucie, Florida Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most-populous municipality in the county and the sixth-most populous city in Florida, with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is a principal city in ...

. The Legends featured players such as

Vida Blue Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. (; July 28, 1949 – May 6, 2023) was an American professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1969 to 1986, most notably as an integral member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty ...

, a former

American League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' ...

and

Cy Young Award The Cy Young Award is given annually to the best pitchers in Major League Baseball (MLB), one each for the American League (AL) and National League (baseball), National League (NL). The award was introduced in 1956 by Commissioner of Baseball ( ...

winner, as well as

National League MVP The Major League Baseball Most Valuable Player Award (MVP) is an annual Major League Baseball (MLB) award given to one outstanding player in the American League and one in the National League. The award has been presented by the Baseball Writers' ...

George Foster and perennial All-Stars

Bobby Bonds Bobby Lee Bonds Sr. (March 15, 1946 – August 23, 2003) was an American right fielder in Major League Baseball from to . He played for the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees, California Angels, Chicago White Sox, Texas Rangers (baseball), ...

and

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 ...

, who signed on as player-manager. Nevertheless, the Legends were an awful team that lost 20 of their first 23 games, which cost Nettles his manager's post, being replaced by Bonds for the remainder of the season. The Legends finished the season with an overall record of 20–51 and did not make the playoffs.

Juan Beníquez Juan José Beníquez Torres (born May 13, 1950) is a Puerto Rican former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers, New York Yankees, Seattle Mariners, California Angels, Baltimore Orioles, Kansas ...

led the team with a .359

batting average Batting average is a statistic in cricket, baseball, and softball that measures the performance of batters. The development of the baseball statistic was influenced by the cricket statistic. Cricket In cricket, a player's batting average is ...

, while

Willie Aikens Willie Mays Aikens (born October 14, 1954) is an American former 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 establis ...

and Foster belted 11

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

s apiece. In addition, the Legends had severe financial struggles while averaging only 607 fans for 36 home games. The club folded shortly thereafter.

Notable players

Don Cooper Donald James Cooper (born January 15, 1956) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who spent his career in Major League Baseball (MLB) in parts of four seasons with the Minnesota Twins (1981 Minnesota Twins season, 1981–1982 Minne ...

John D'Acquisto John Francis D'Acquisto (born December 24, 1951) is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played ten seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the cousin of former major league pitcher Lou Marone. Career San Francisco Giant ...

* George Foster *

Oscar Gamble Oscar Charles Gamble (December 20, 1949 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional baseball outfielder and designated hitter who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 17 seasons from to for seven teams: the Chicago White Sox and Ne ...

* Ed Glynn * Fernando Gonzalez *

Ross Grimsley Ross Albert Grimsley Jr.
Retrieved August 26, 2018 (born ...

Jerry Grote Gerald Wayne Grote (October 6, 1942 – April 7, 2024) was an American professional baseball catcher. He played in Major League Baseball from 1963 through 1981 for the Houston Colt .45s, New York Mets, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Kansas City Roya ...

Don Gullett Donald Edward Gullett (January 6, 1951 – February 14, 2024) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through . He was a member of the Cincinnati Reds Big Red Ma ...

* Dave Hilton *

Al Holland Alfred Willis Holland (born August 16, 1952) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates, San Francisco Giants, Philadelphia Phillies, California Angels, and New Y ...

Joe Horlen Joel Edward Horlen (August 14, 1937 – April 10, 2022) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1961 to 1972 for the Chicago White Sox and Oakland Athletics. In references, he is called Joe Ho ...

Clint Hurdle Clinton Merrick Hurdle (born July 30, 1957) is an American former professional baseball outfielder and manager who currently serves as both the interim bench and hitting coach for the Colorado Rockies of Major League Baseball (MLB). Hurdle played ...

* Jerry Johnson *

Von Joshua Von Everett Joshua (born May 1, 1948) is an American former professional baseball outfielder who played for the Los Angeles Dodgers (1969–71, 1973–74 and 1979), San Francisco Giants (1975–76), Milwaukee Brewers (1976–77) and San Diego Pad ...

Bill Madlock Bill "Mad Dog" Madlock, Jr. (born January 12, 1951) is an American former professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a third baseman from 1973 to 1987. Madlock is notable for being a four-time National League ...

Jerry Manuel Jerry Lorenzo Manuel Sr. (born December 23, 1953), nicknamed "the Sage", is an American former professional baseball second baseman and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, Montreal Expos, and San Diego Padres ...

Larry Milbourne Lawrence William Milbourne (born February 14, 1951) is an American former professional baseball utility infielder whose career spanned 15 seasons, 11 of which were spent in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Houston Astros (1974–76), Seattle ...

Félix Millán Félix Bernardo Millán Martínez (born August 21, 1943) is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball second baseman, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets. He holds one of the best at-bat to st ...

* Tom Murphy * Ivan Murrell *

Randy Niemann Randal Harold Niemann (born November 15, 1955) is an American professional baseball coach and a former pitcher who appeared in 122 Major League games, all but 10 in relief, in 1979–80 and 1982–87 for the Houston Astros, Pittsburgh Pirates, ...

* Jim Nettles * Sergio Ferrer * Steve Ontiveros *

Floyd Rayford Floyd Kinnard "Sugar Bear" Rayford (born July 27, 1957) is a retired professional baseball player who played for seven seasons in the Major leagues. He primarily played third base and catcher during his career, but was a utility man who played ...

* Fred Stanley *

Roy Thomas Roy William Thomas Jr."Roy Thomas Checklist" ''Alter Ego'' vol. 3, #50 (July 2005) p. 16 (born November 22, 1940) is an American comic book writer and editor. He was Stan Lee's first successor as editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics and possibly bes ...

Luis Tiant Luis Clemente Tiant Vega () (November 23, 1940 – October 8, 2024), nicknamed "El Tiante", was a Cuban professional baseball pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 19 years, primarily for the Cleveland Indians and the Boston R ...

* Jackson Todd *

Bill Travers William Inglis Lindon Travers (3 January 1922 – 29 March 1994) was a British actor, screenwriter, director and animal rights activist. Before his show business career, he served in the British Army with Gurkha and special forces units. Earl ...

Walt Williams Walter Ander "the Wizard" Williams (born April 16, 1970) is an American former professional basketball player. A sharpshooting 6'8" swingman, Williams attended school at the University of Maryland from 1988 to 1992, and has been credited for h ...

:St. Lucie Legends Gallery
''The Trading Card Database website''. Retrieved on February 27, 2016. Additional players added from The Sporting News / February 12, 1990. "Assessing the Boys of Winter". This article contains the player stats from all players who played in 1989.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Lucie Legends Defunct baseball teams in Florida Senior Professional Baseball Association teams Port St. Lucie, Florida 1989 establishments in Florida 1989 disestablishments in Florida Baseball teams established in 1989 Baseball teams disestablished in 1989