{{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Lewiston Broncs , firstseason =1921 , lastseason =1974 , allyears =1921, 1937, 1939, 1952–1974 , city =Lewiston, Idaho , logo = , caplogo = , past class level =

Short-season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

Class A (1966–1974)
Class A (1963–1965)
Class B (1937, 1955–1962)
Class A (1952–1954)
Class C (1939)
Class D (1921) , league = , conference = , division = , past league = Northern Utah League (1921)

Western International League The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League ev ...

(1937)
Pioneer League (1939)

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Pacific Northwest, Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Maj ...

(1955–1974)
Western International League (1952–1954) , pastmajorleague = {{plainlist, *

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (often referred to as the A's) are an American professional baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The te ...

(1973–1974) *

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...

(1972) *Independent (1971) *

St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

(1967–1970) *

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 ...

(1960–1966) *Independent (1958–1959) *

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

(1957) *Independent (1955–1956) *

(1954) *

St. Louis Browns The St. Louis Browns were a Major League Baseball team that originated in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, as the Milwaukee Brewers. A charter member of the American League (AL), the Brewers moved to St. Louis, Missouri, after the 1901 season, where they p ...

(1953) *Independent (1952) , pastnames = {{plainlist, *Lewis-Clark Broncs * Lewiston Indians (1939) *Lewiston Broncs (1921, 1937, 1952–1974) , pastparks = Bengal Field (1952–1974) , classchamps = , leaguechamps =3 (1961, 1970, 1972) , conferencechamps = , divisionchamps = , owner = Lewiston Baseball Club, Inc. , colors = Royal Blue and White
{{color box, #003278 {{color box, #FFFFFF {{Location map , USA West , relief = 1 , label = {{small, Lewiston , position = top , lat = 46.409 , long = -117.012 , caption = Location in the

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

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 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, marksize = 5 , float = , background = , width = 280 {{Location map , USA Idaho , relief = 1 , label = {{small, Lewiston , lat = 46.409 , long = -117.012 , caption = Location in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

, marksize = 5 , float = , background = , width = 160 The Lewiston Broncs were a minor league baseball team in the

northwest The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sep ...

, based in

Lewiston, Idaho Lewiston is a city and the county seat of Nez Perce County, Idaho, United States, in the state's north central region. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene, and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is ...

, and played from 1952 through 1974. Locally, the team was known as "Lewis-Clark" to include the adjacent twin city of

Clarkston, Washington Clarkston is a city in Asotin County, Washington, United States. It is part of the Lewiston, ID-WA metropolitan area, and is located west of Lewiston, Idaho, across the Snake River. The population of Clarkston was 7,229 at the 2010 census. Wal ...

. The team's

ballpark A ballpark, or baseball park, is a type of sports venue where baseball is played. The playing field is divided into the infield, an area whose dimensions are rigidly defined, and the outfield, where dimensions can vary widely from place to pla ...

was Bengal Field,{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=nLJeAAAAIBAJ&pg=5390%2C291127 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Danforth wins 20th game , date=September 3, 1961 , page=8 a few blocks southeast of the

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

History

The parent organization was Lewiston Baseball Club, Inc., formed in 1952 by Lewiston businessmen Sam Canner Sr., Jack Lee, Billy Gray, George Thiessen, and others. Gray later sold his shares to Thiessen. Prior to its arrival in Lewiston, the team was the Tacoma Tigers, owned by William Starr of

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

, and were affiliated with the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

of 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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

(PCL).{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Aa1eAAAAIBAJ&pg=1681%2C2494854 , work=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=(Idaho) , title=Lewiston completes deal to buy Tacoma baseball franchise , date=November 30, 1951 , page=8{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ICdYAAAAIBAJ&pg=6726%2C7943250 , work=Spokane Daily Chronicle , location=(Washington) , agency=Associated Press , title=Lewiston ready to buy Tacoma team franchise , date=November 30, 1951 , page=11 The Broncs were a member of the

("Willy") from 1952–54,{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ScFeAAAAIBAJ&pg=3092%2C3771521 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Bronc ability well-rounded for Willy League opening , date=April 16, 1952 , page=8{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=T8FeAAAAIBAJ&pg=1458%2C4292381 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Broncs bring pro baseball back to Lewiston tonight , date=April 22, 1952 , page=8 and its successor, the

, from 1955–74. The Broncs won the NWL championships in {{Baseball year, 1961,{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=o7JeAAAAIBAJ&pg=4034%2C1430846 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Broncs beat Yakima 12-4, capture first championship , date=September 10, 1961 , page=10 led by

catcher Catcher is a Baseball positions, position in baseball and softball. When a Batter (baseball), batter takes their at bat, turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the (home plate, home) Umpire (baseball), umpire, and recei ...

–

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

John McNamara, the future MLB skipper, and again in 1970{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=UKBfAAAAIBAJ&pg=5786%2C101762 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Broncs defeat Phils 6-4 in final game , date=September 1, 1970 , page=12 {{nowrap, and 1972.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=mYxfAAAAIBAJ&pg=3694%2C168599 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Broncs beat Tribe to end season , date=September 1, 1972 , page=19 The Broncs had two distinctions: # They played in the smallest town in America to have a professional baseball team (1960 census = 12,691^); and # They were the only professional baseball team to be operated without a business manager. During their entire existence, they were run by a board of directors centered on the stockholders. The team colors were blue and white and the ballpark was Bengal Field; at 11th Avenue and 14th Street, it is now the

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

-only venue of Lewiston High School, with a grandstand on its west sideline. When it was a baseball stadium for the Lewiston Broncs, home plate was in the northeast corner of the property at 15th Street, resulting in an unorthodox southwest alignment (home to center field). (The recommended alignment is east-northeast.){{cite web , url=http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/official_info/official_rules/objectives_1.jsp, publisher=Major League Baseball , title=Objectives of the Game – rule 1.04, accessdate=November 2, 2015 LHS played baseball there through 1983.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1GpfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4791%2C4455341 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , last=Sahlberg , first=Bert , title=Home isn't what it used to be , date=April 15, 1984 , page=1C ^ Note: The Orchards area of south Lewiston was unincorporated until {{nowrap, late 1969.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_JFfAAAAIBAJ&pg=4430%2C3300057 , work=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=(Idaho) , last=Hollister , first=Hal , title=Orchards tracts now part of city , date=December 17, 1969 , page=14 {{cite news , url=http://lmtribune.com/northwest/old-grudges-are-slow-to-pass-lewiston-orchards-annexation/article_755e17d4-6606-5ed5-bff5-04e6618e4d20.html , work=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=(Idaho), last=Lee , first=Sandra L. , title=Old grudges are slow to pass; Lewiston Orchards annexation , date=January 1, 2005 , accessdate=October 21, 2017

Affiliations

The Broncs were affiliated with four major league franchises: {, class=wikitable , - ! Year ! Affiliation , - , align=center, 1952 , , style="background:#DCDCDC;" align=center, Independent , - , align=center, 1953 , ,

, - , align=center, 1954 , ,

, - , 1955–56 , , style="background:#DCDCDC;" align=center, Independent , - , align=center, 1957 , ,

, - , 1958–59 , , style="background:#DCDCDC;" align=center, Independent , - , 1960–66 , ,

, - , 1967–70 , ,

, - , align=center, 1971 , , style="background:#DCDCDC;" align=center, Independent , - , align=center, 1972 , ,

, - , 1973–74 , ,

*The St. Louis Browns became the Baltimore Orioles in

1954 Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...

. *The Kansas City Athletics moved to Oakland in 1968.

Players

A roster check in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

showed that 40% of the players and coaches of the Kansas City Athletics had been in Lewiston at one time or another.

Reggie Jackson Reginald Martinez Jackson (born May 18, 1946) is an American former professional baseball right fielder who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, and Cali ...

was perhaps the most famous Lewiston Bronc of all-time; ''Mr. October'' played 12 games at age 20 for Lewiston in 1966. The Broncs' rosters included

Rick Monday Robert James "Rick" Monday Jr. (born November 20, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player who now serves as a broadcaster. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1966 to 1984, most notably as a member ...

, manager John McNamara, Vearl ("Snag") Moore, Thorton ("Kip") Kipper, Antonio Perez, Ron Koepper, Delmer Owen,

Dick Green Richard Larry Green (born April 21, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a second baseman in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won three consec ...

, Bud Swan,

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 / ...

, John Israel, Dave Duncan, Al Heist and as a player, later coach-manager Robert ("Gabby") Williams. In 1967, the Broncs started a four-year affiliation with the

,{{citation, url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=CLwSAAAAIBAJ&pg=3842%2C2119713, work=Spokane Daily Chronicle , location=(Washington) , title=Broncs land major pact , date=September 23, 1966 , page=13 who went to 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 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

those first two seasons, both going seven games; they won in

, but were a game short in 1968.

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
alumni

(1966) Inducted, 1993 *

Tony LaRussa Anthony La Russa Jr. (; born October 4, 1944) is an American former professional baseball player, coach, and manager. His MLB career has spanned from 1963 to 2022, in several roles. He is the former manager of the St. Louis Cardinals, Oakland ...

(1964) Inducted, 2015 * John McNamara (1955), (1958–1962, MGR) Inducted, 2015

Notable alumni

{{Div col, colwidth=25em *

Jack Aker Jackie Delane Aker (born July 13, 1940) is an American former professional baseball relief pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Kansas City / Oakland Athletics, Seattle Pilots, New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Brav ...

(1961, 1963) *

(1963) 6x MLB All–Star *

Reggie Cleveland Reginald Leslie Cleveland (born May 23, 1948) is a Canadian former professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, Cleveland appeared in 428 games in Major League Baseball over 13 seasons (1969–81) for four teams. Born in Swift Current, S ...

(1967) * Chuck Dobson (1965) * Dave Duncan (1965) MLB All–Star *

Bob Forsch Robert Herbert Forsch (January 13, 1950 – November 3, 2011) was an American professional baseball player who spent most of his sixteen years in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the St. Louis Cardinals (1974–1988) before finishing his pl ...

(1969–1970) *

(1961) *

Wayne Gross Wayne Dale Gross (born January 14, 1952), is an American former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily as a third baseman from 1976-1986. Gross was named to the All-Star Game as a rookie in 1977 as a las ...

(1973) MLB All-Star * Dave Hamilton (1966) *

Ted Kubiak Theodore Rodger Kubiak (born May 12, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player and manager. He played as an infielder in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won thr ...

(1963) *

Marcel Lachemann Marcel Ernest Lachemann (born June 13, 1941) is an American professional baseball executive and a former player, manager and pitching coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a player, he was a relief pitcher for the Oakland Athletics. Career ...

(1964) *

Hillis Layne Ivoria Hillis Layne (February 23, 1918 – January 12, 2010) was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball who played for the Washington Senators (1901–60), Washington Senators in parts of three seasons spanning 1941–1945. Listed at 6 ...

(1956–1958, MGR) * Steve McCatty (1973-1974) 1981 AL ERA Leader *

(1965) 2 x MLB All–Star *

Dwayne Murphy Dwayne Keith Murphy (born March 18, 1955) is an American former player who spent most of his career playing for the Oakland Athletics of Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder. During much of his time in Oakland, Murphy batted second in th ...

(1973) 6x Gold Glove * Jim Nash (1965) *

Fred Norman Fredie Hubert Norman (born August 20, 1942) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a left-handed pitcher from through , most notably as a member of the Cincinnati Reds dynasty that won four div ...

(1962) *

Blue Moon Odom Johnny Lee "Blue Moon" Odom (born May 29, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from through , most notably as a member of the Oakland Athletics dynasty that won t ...

(1965) 2x MLB All–Star * John O'Donoghue (1960-1961) MLB All–Star *

Tom Trebelhorn Thomas Lynn Trebelhorn (born January 27, 1948) is a former manager in Major League Baseball for the Milwaukee Brewers (1986–91) and Chicago Cubs (1994). He was the manager of the Class A Salem-Keizer Volcanoes from 2008 to 2012. Personal li ...

(1974) * Gary Woods (1973) {{Div col end

Termination

The Broncs and their parent company were dissolved in January 1975, after years of financial losses due to poor win–loss records, resulting in low attendance. Micromanagement interference from A's owner

Charlie O. Finley Charles Oscar Finley (February 22, 1918 – February 19, 1996), nicknamed Charlie O or Charley O, was an American businessman who owned Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics. Finley purchased the franchise while it was located in Kansas C ...

, at all levels of the organization, was the cause. The result for the Broncs was lost games due to the best players being quickly moved up to other A's minor league franchises in Single-A (

Burlington Bees The Burlington Bees are a collegiate summer baseball team of the Prospect League. They are located in Burlington, Iowa, and have played their home games at Community Field since 1947. Founded in 1889, the Bees played in Minor League Baseball' ...

) and Double-A (

Birmingham A's The Birmingham A's were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Double-A Southern League from 1967 to 1975. They were located in Birmingham, Alabama, and were named for their Major League Baseball affiliates, the Kansas City Athletics (1 ...

). The A's maintained a presence in the Northwest League in 1975 with a new franchise in

southwestern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Idaho as the Boise A's, managed by former Bronc

.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ZapfAAAAIBAJ&pg=6136%2C2229810 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=(Idaho), title=Former Broncs boss Trebelhorn takes over Portland Beavers , date=June 21, 1982, page=2C After two seasons in

Boise Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

at Borah Field, the team moved to

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, ...

in eastern

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

in 1977 and joined the Pioneer League.{{cite news, url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=-VVOAAAAIBAJ&pg=6262%2C3399088, newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle , location=(Washington), agency=Associated Press , title=Teams added for Pioneer, date=October 14, 1976 , page=34 The Medicine Hat A's switched affiliations after one season to become the

Medicine Hat Blue Jays The Medicine Hat Blue Jays were a Rookie League affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, playing in the Pioneer League and located in the city of Medicine Hat, Alberta, Canada. They played a total of 25 seasons; 1978 through 2002. Their home field wa ...

in 1978. There was no A's affiliate in the NWL in 1977; in 1978 it was the Bend Timber Hawks, who moved south in 1979 and became the Medford A's.

Previous teams

Prior to the Broncs, Lewiston's first seasons in the minor leagues were in the 1921 Northern Utah League and with teams named the Indians, in the Class B WIL in 1937,{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gq9fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1296%2C1966890, newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Lewiston to see first game under the lights tonight when Indians meet Spokane Hawks , date=April 27, 1937 , page=8{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=g69fAAAAIBAJ&pg=1530%2C2055697, newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Spokane Hawks trim Lewiston , date=April 28, 1937 , page=13 and in the Class C Pioneer League in 1939.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=TtZXAAAAIBAJ&pg=5209%2C1212060 , newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle , location=Washington , title=Lewiston ball club in first home game , date=May 5, 1939 , page=5 {{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ippfAAAAIBAJ&pg=2002%2C2589756, newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Join us in celebrating , agency=(advertisement) , date=May 5, 1939 , page=8{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=ippfAAAAIBAJ&pg=1776%2C2600935 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Undefeated Lewiston team will meet Boise Pilots tonight , date=May 5, 1939 , page=10{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Q71eAAAAIBAJ&pg=1757%2C4341350 , newspaper=Lewiston Morning Tribune , location=Idaho , title=Mel Marlowe whitewashes Indians as Salt Lake City takes series , date=September 1, 1939 , page=8 The first night game at Bengal Field was {{Time ago, 1937, the opening game in 1937 on April 27.{{cite news , url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=VwUVAAAAIBAJ&pg=6612%2C3827641 , newspaper=Spokesman-Review , location=Spokane, Washington , title=New W.I. League opens tonight , date=April 27, 1937 , page=13

References

{{reflist, 2

External links

Baseball-Reference.com
– minor league teams – Lewiston, Idaho
Nat Notes
– Northwest League
Northwest League of Professional Baseball 2012 Media Guide
**(Information on page 28 supports the fact that the franchise's official nickname was Broncs, not Broncos). {{coord, 46.409, N, 117.012, W, display=title Oakland Athletics minor league affiliates Baltimore Orioles minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates St. Louis Browns minor league affiliates Defunct minor league baseball teams Defunct Northwest League teams Professional baseball teams in Idaho 1952 establishments in Idaho 1974 disestablishments in Idaho Baseball teams established in 1952 Sports clubs disestablished in 1974 Defunct Pioneer League (baseball) teams Defunct baseball teams in Idaho Baseball teams disestablished in 1974 Northern Utah League teams