The 1970’s
(To be filled in later)
The 1966 expansion class came of age in its fifth season as all four teams were strong contenders for the 1970 playoff field. Denver, Montreal, and San Diego all made the postseason; Atlanta missed the playoffs by two games. While Houston won the ABL West by 20 games (to earn their first-ever playoff berth) and Cleveland won the NBL East by 10, the other two divisional races were close, and several teams were still in the hunt for wild card berths during the final weekend of the season. Three of the four division winners fell to wild card entrants during the Divisional Round: San Diego toppled Denver, Chicago beat Cleveland, and San Francisco got by Houston. The only division winner to advance was Montreal, who defeated defending champion Detroit.
The American League won its second consecutive Midsummer Classic by a 4-3 margin at St. Louis, but the Junior Circuit still trailed the all-time series, 12-11.
Jeff Murchison of Philadelphia repeated as the NBL batting champion, hitting .370, while Seattle’s Dustin Guest won the Junior Circuit batting crown with a .332 clip. As Los Angeles’ Ernie Ronnebaum blasted 54 home runs to pace the Seniors, Carl Jacobs of Twin Cities led the Americans with a somewhat less gaudy 39. The RBI champs were Don Keough of Pittsburgh (124) and Mark Sisson of Houston (125). The NBL’s pitching leaders were Chicago’s Skip Crawford (2.48 ERA), Cleveland’s Roger Scherf (21 wins), and San Diego’s Ray Heath (199 strikeouts). The ABL’s leading moundsmen were Montreal’s Bob Schar (2.17 ERA), Detroit’s Larry Black and Houston’s Danny Prentice (20 wins apiece), and Dallas’ Dario Perez (198 strikeouts).
End-of-season awards in the NBL went to MVP Guillaume Moret (28 HR/82 RBI/.299 BA) of Denver, Royal Ricketts Award winner Ray Heath (20-9/2.85 ERA/199 K) of San Diego, and Rookie of the Year Bob Underwood (25 HR/97 RBI/.324 BA) of New York. The ABL honorees were MVP Mark Sisson (34 HR/125 RBI/.293 BA) of Houston, Royal Ricketts Award winner Oscar Rodela (19-8/2.24 ERA/156 K) of Montreal, and Rookie of the Year Chuck Gunter (31 HR/83 RBI/.315 BA) of Los Angeles.
San Diego (88-74) and San Francisco (87-75) were the lowest-seeded playoff teams but after the Caps knocked off Chicago and the ’Gulls outlasted Montreal, the two underdogs found themselves facing off in the first all-West Coast World Series. The home team won every game, which meant the series went the full seven and the team whose regular season record earned them the extra home game captured the World Championship; that team was San Diego.
The Hall of Fame opened its doors to Harry Osborn and Herman Carter, longtime Pittsburgh teammates who finished their careers on championship teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles, respectively.
NBL Season statistics
ABL Season statistics
Weekly standings
For the first time, all eight postseason entrants won 90 or more regular season games, taking a little air out of complaints that “undeserving” teams can qualify for the playoffs. Curiously, five of the eight finalists finished with identical 94-68 records. With all of those teams already qualifying for the postseason berths, the NBL East title was decided by regular season head-to-head records, giving Pittsburgh bragging rights over Philadelphia as official division champions.
It mattered little in the long run, as both Keystone State contestants ultimately saw their seasons end at the hands of defending world champion San Diego. The Divisional Round saw San Diego defeat Pittsburgh, Philadelphia topple Denver, Dallas drop San Francisco, and Detroit finish off Atlanta. The Captains sailed to a second consecutive World Series appearance by besting Philadelphia in the NBLCS, while Dallas’ victory over Detroit gave the Wranglers a shot at a fourth world title in six years.
The All-Star Game was a 2-1 squeaker won by the Nationals, their first win in three years but their 13th overall in the 24-year history of the inter-league exhibition.
Houston’s Jackie Frost (.347) and Philadelphia’s Jeff Murchison (.350) were their respective leagues’ batting champions. The Chicago Hawks’ Ray Baum paced the ABL in homers with 39 while Detroit’s Pete Morrison topped that loop in RBI with 127; Pittsburgh’s Don Keough led the Nationals in those two categories with 56 round-trippers and 150 RBI. San Francisco’s Tim Stambaugh posted the Americans’ best ERA (1.93) while Dallas teammates Steve Coomes (20 W) and Barry Gilmore (198 K) led the league in those respective categories. The NBL’s pitching leaders were Milwaukee’s Jeff Munoz (2.25 ERA), Denver’s Francisco Castro (20 W), and San Diego’s Ray Heath (174 K).
Morrison (38 HR/127 RBI/.283 BA) won his second ABL MVP award while Guillaume Moret (29 HR/82 RBI/.340 BA) of Denver took home the NBL’s MVP trophy for the fourth straight time. Stambaugh (18-3/1.93 ERA/136 K) and Munoz (19-9/2.25 ERA/135 K) were the Royal Ricketts Award honorees while Twin Cities’ Gerald Gross (12-9/2.63 ERA/139 K) and Brooklyn’s Greg Landrum (11 HR/47 RBI/.315 BA) were their respective leagues’ Rookies of the Year.
The World Series pitted a defending champion against a recent three-time championship team trying to reignite their dynasty. The upstart San Diegans added their names to the list of repeat champions by dispatching Dallas in six.
Catcher Maggie Everts, outfielder Pat Isom, and pitchers Jim Meier and Charlie Sinclair were added to the Hall of Fame, which now claimed 83 members.
NBL Season statistics
ABL Season statistics
Weekly standings
The most interesting race was for the American League wildcard, with Atlanta, Houston, Los Angeles, Montreal, and Twin Cities all still in the hunt for two spots in the season’s final two weeks. Los Angeles clinched during the final weekend; Atlanta and Twin Cities stayed alive until the final game of the season before being eliminated by Montreal. The other playoff berths were wrapped up fairly early.
The Senior Circuit routed the Juniors 7-1 in the 25th All-Star Game at Philadelphia, their second consecutive triumph and 14th overall.
During the regular season the National League hit .261 while the American League hit just .251; the disparity is evident in some league leading statistics. San Diego’s Randy Barnes hit a blistering .361 to earn the National League batting title, while in the American League the Empires’ Buck DeFalco topped the loop by hitting .304. Pittsburgh’s Don Keough out-homered Houston’s Mark Sisson 46-36 but both led their respective leagues. RBI figures did not follow suit, as Keough (106) and the Hawks’ Mark Sisson (109) produced similar league-leading totals.
The top winners in the Junior Circuit were teammates Tim Stambaugh and Jerry Patrick of San Francisco, both of whom notched 21 victories apiece, as did San Diego’s Mark Pike, who led the Seniors. Patrick also led the Americans in ERA with a 1.96 mark, while Bruce Cardenas of San Diego led the Nationals at 2.15. The strikeout kings were Dallas’ Barry Gilmore (249) and Pittsburgh’s Dennis Visco (184).
The Most Valuable Players were Detroit’s Pete Morrison (.291 BA/27 HR/82 RBI) and Denver’s Guillaume Moret (.326 BA/35 HR/75 RBI). Patrick (21-4/1.96 ERA/173 K) and Visco (18-7/2.20 ERA/184 K) took home their respective leagues’ Royal Ricketts Awards, and Rookies of the Year were the Pobladores’ Dan Turner (14-7/2.01 ERA/110 K) and Cleveland’s Phil Chirico (.243 BA/6 HR/40 RBI).
The Divisional Round saw San Francisco defeat Montreal, Detroit defeat Los Angeles, Denver defeat the Knicks, and San Diego defeat Pittsburgh. Detroit then downed San Francisco in five in the ALCS as the defending champion Captains took the Burros to the a seventh game in the NLCS before bowing. The World Series was a tight affair, with Denver outlasting Detroit to win their first world title.
The Hall of Fame opened its doors to Paul Burke, Lance DeWald, and Witness York.
NBL Season statistics
ABL Season statistics
Weekly standings
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