The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play 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. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger

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 career hom ...

and Rollie Fingers. The Tropics went 52-20 in the regular season and ran away with the Southern Division title.

Ron Washington Ronald Louis Washington (born April 29, 1952) is an American former professional baseball shortstop. He played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, Baltimore Orioles, Cleveland Indians, and Houston Astros. W ...

led the club's offense, hitting .359 with a league-high 73 RBI.

Mickey Rivers John Milton "Mickey" Rivers (born October 30, 1948) is an American former baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees and Texas Rangers. As a member of the Yankees, he was pa ...

hit .366 and Kingman added 8 homers. The pitching staff was led by

Juan Eichelberger Juan Tyrone Eichelberger (born October 21, 1953) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He graduated from Balboa High School of San Francisco, California, in 1971, played collegiately at the University of California, Berkeley and pi ...

, who went 11-5 with a 2.90

ERA An era is a span of time defined for the purposes of chronology or historiography, as in the regnal eras in the history of a given monarchy, a calendar era used for a given calendar, or the geological eras defined for the history of Earth. Comp ...

Tim Stoddard Timothy Paul Stoddard (born January 24, 1953) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two men to have played in both a World Series and a Final Four of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, along with fellow Eas ...

also won 10 games for the club. Local Valentino Falcone (a former minor leaguer) ruptured a hamstring stealing second base (one game before opening day) depriving him of an eventual roster spot. Despite their regular season dominance, the Tropics lost 12-4 to the St. Petersburg Pelicans in the SPBA's initial championship game. The West Palm Beach Tropics returned for a second season, as a

traveling team Travel is the movement of people between distant geographical locations. Travel can be done by foot, bicycle, automobile, train, boat, bus, airplane, ship or other means, with or without luggage, and can be one way or round trip. Travel c ...

known as the Florida Tropics, however the team ceased operation when the league folded in December 1990.

Attendance

The Tropics also had the league's best attendance record. A crowd of 3,404 showed up for opening night, an 8-1 victory over the

St. Lucie Legends The St. Lucie Legends was one of the eight original baseball franchises that played in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989.Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The club's home ballpark is LoanDepot Park. The fran ...

and

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...

owner John Henry and Boca Raton lawyer Don Sider, sold the Tropics after the first season, convinced the league would fail in its attempt to expand to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

Arizona Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...

. New York theatrical producer Mitch Maxwell purchased the club but never completed financial requirements with the league and tried to sell the team back to Henry. The former home of the tropics, Municipal Stadium, was later demolished and is now a

Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., is an American multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportation rentals. Home Depot is the largest home improvement r ...

Coaches and staff

Manager and coaches

*Manager: Dick Williams *Coaches: Bob Fralick,

Ed Rakow Edward Charles Rakow (May 30, 1935 – August 26, 2000), nicknamed "Rock", was an American professional baseball player. The right-handed pitcher appeared in 195 games in Major League Baseball during all or parts of seven seasons (1960–65; 1967 ...

, Larry Brown

Front Office

*Ken Shepard, Vice President of Operations / Manager (died 2014) *Ken Burlew, Asst. Dir. of Operations *Michelle Jaminet, Vice President of Marketing *Dale Patten, Ticket Manager *Frank Calieri, Marketing Assistant

Notable players

Benny Ayala Benigno Ayala Felix (born February 7, 1951) is a former Major League Baseball player who had a 10-season career from to . He played outfield, first base, and designated hitter. He played for the New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals both of the ...

Pete Broberg Peter Sven Broberg (born March 2, 1950) is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. Career Broberg played in the major leagues from to . He played for the Washington Senators/ Texas Rangers, Milwaukee Brewers, Chicago Cubs, and Oakl ...

Ray Burris Bertram Ray Burris (born August 22, 1950) is an American former pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB), and the current rehabilitation pitching coordinator in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. He played in MLB from 1973 through 1987 for seve ...

Doug Capilla Douglas Edmund Capilla (born January 7, 1952)Doug Capilla
Baseball Reference. Retrieved 2012-11 ...

Mike Easler Michael Anthony Easler (born November 29, 1950), nicknamed "The Hit Man", is an American former professional baseball outfielder, designated hitter, and coach, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Houston Astros, California Angels, Pi ...

* Rollie Fingers *

Toby Harrah Colbert Dale (Toby) Harrah (born October 26, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played as a shortstop and third baseman in Major League Baseball from to . Harrah played the majority of his career for the Texas Rangers f ...

Al Hrabosky Alan Thomas Hrabosky (; born July 21, 1949) is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1970 to 1982 for the St. Louis Cardinals, Kansas City Royals, and Atlanta Braves. As of 2022, he is the ...

Randy Johnson Randall David Johnson (born September 10, 1963), nicknamed "The Big Unit", is an American photographer and former professional baseball pitcher who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (1988–2009) for six teams, primarily the Seattle M ...

Ron Johnson Ronald Harold Johnson (born April 8, 1955) is an American accountant, businessman, and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Wisconsin, a seat he has held since 2011. A Republican, Johnson was first elected to the U.S. S ...

Odell Jones Odell Jones (born January 13, 1953 in Tulare, California) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Seattle Mariners, Texas Rangers, Baltimore Orioles and Milwaukee Brewers, in parts of nine seasons spann ...

Lee Lacy Leondaus "Lee" Lacy (born April 10, 1948) is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played sixteen seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Dodgers, Atlanta Braves, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Baltimore Orioles betw ...

Gary Lance Gary Dean Lance (born September 21, 1948) is a former baseball pitcher. He played briefly for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB) in its 1977 season. Listed at 6' 3", 195 lb., Lance batted and threw right handed. He was born i ...

Tito Landrum Terry Lee Landrum (born October 25, 1954) is a former professional baseball player who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) primarily as an outfielder from 1980 to 1988. Biography Landrum was born in Joplin, Missouri. He graduated from Highlan ...

* Renie Martin *

Will McEnaney William Henry McEnaney (February 14, 1952) is a former professional baseball player. He was a left-handed pitcher over parts of six seasons in Major League Baseball (1974–79) with the Cincinnati Reds, Montreal Expos, Pittsburgh Pirates and St. ...

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 ...

* Sid Monge *

Dan Norman Daniel Edmund Norman (born January 11, 1955) is an American former professional baseball right fielder, who played for the New York Mets and Montreal Expos of Major League Baseball (MLB). His professional career started in the Cincinnati Reds ...

Lowell Palmer Lowell Raymond Palmer (born August 18, 1947) is a retired American professional baseball pitcher who appeared in 106 games in Major League Baseball ( MLB) as a member of four different teams over all or portions of five seasons (– and ). Born i ...

Luis Pujols Luis Bienvenido Pujols Toribio (born November 18, 1955) is a Dominican former professional baseball player coach and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a catcher from to , most prominently as a member of the Houston Astros whe ...

* Rodney Scott *

Tom Underwood Thomas Gerald Underwood (December 22, 1953 – November 22, 2010) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. His younger brother, Pat was also a pitcher, and made his major league debut against Tom. It was the first time in major league histo ...

* Mark Wagner *

* Jerry White :1989–1990 West Palm Beach/Florida Tropics
''The Trading Card Database''. Retrieved on March 3, 2016.

References

{{Senior Professional Baseball Association , state=collapsed West Palm Beach, Florida Senior Professional Baseball Association teams 1989 establishments in Florida 1990 disestablishments in Florida Sports in Palm Beach County, Florida Baseball teams established in 1989 Baseball teams disestablished in 1990 Defunct baseball teams in Florida