The London Tigers were a professional Double-A Minor League Baseball team that played in the Eastern League from 1989 to 1993. They played at Labatt Memorial Park in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, and were affiliated with the Detroit Tigers. At the time it was the only EL and Double A franchise in Canada.

History

First year and second year in London

After 47 years without a pro team, professional baseball returned to London in 1989 when the

Glens Falls Tigers The Glens Falls Tigers (formerly the Glens Falls White Sox) were an American minor league baseball team from Glens Falls, New York that played in the Eastern League from 1980 until 1988, the team's ballpark was East Field Stadium. The team was fo ...

moved to the city and took on the name London Tigers. Sitting on the Tigers' Board of Directors were President Dan Ross, Vice President Mike Tucker, Vice-President and General Manager Bob Gilson, Vice-President and Assistant General Manager General Manager Bill Wilkinson and Vice-President Brian Costello. Sitting on the Tigers' Advisory Board were Brad Nelson, Bill MacDougall, London restaurant entrepreneur Mike Smith, Spencer Clark, Bruce Johnson and Tom Whealy. The inaugural season homeopener for the Tigers was on Friday, April 7, 1989, against the

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

, Yankees. During the team's inaugural season, the club derived its offence from unusual sources—shortstop and catcher. Shortstop Travis Fryman led the EL with 30 doubles, while hitting .265/.297/.402 and catcher Phil Clark batted .298/.328/.427. Third baseman Scott Livingstone hit a team-high 14 HR but batted just .217. Paul Wenson went 2–3 with a 3.50 ERA one year after leading the EL in ERA while Darren Hursey (8-13, 3.97) led the league in losses, hits allowed (183) and runs allowed (92). The Tigers went 63-76 and finished 6th of 8 teams. The London Tigers, managed by former New York Yankee star,

Chris Chambliss Carroll Christopher Chambliss (born December 26, 1948) is an American professional baseball player and coach (baseball), coach. He played in Major League Baseball from to for the Cleveland Indians, New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves. He served ...

drew 167,679 fans, more than they had their last two years in Glens Falls. Chambliss was named Manager of the Year in the 1990 Eastern League after London finished 76–63, just three games behind the Albany Yankees, while attendance was just 15 fans off of the opening season's pace. All-Star first baseman

Rico Brogna Rico Joseph Brogna (born April 18, 1970) is an American former professional baseball first baseman and coach who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Detroit Tigers, New York Mets, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, and Atlanta Bra ...

was named the #3 prospect in the circuit and led the league in homers (21), and tied for the lead in RBI (77) while hitting .262/.331/.447. Mike Wilkins (13-5, 2.42),

Dave Haas Robert David Haas (born October 19, 1965) is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in the majors, from until , for the Detroit Tigers. On April 14, 1991, Haas pitched a no-hitter while playing for Lakeland in t ...

(13-8, 2.99) and

Rusty Meacham Russell Loren Meacham (born January 27, 1968) is a former professional baseball pitcher. He played all or parts of eight seasons in Major League Baseball between 1991 and 2001. Professional career Early career Meacham was drafted by the Det ...

(15-9, 3.13) gave the club a nice trio of arms; Wilkins was 6th in the league in ERA, Haas 9th and Meacham led in wins. London hosted the Eastern League All-Star Game on June 25, 1990. In the post-season, London lost the first two games to the Canton–Akron Indians but then won three in a row at home. They then beat the

New Britain Red Sox 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 ...

in three straight games to become the first Detroit Tigers farm club to win the Eastern League championship.

Third year in London

Gene Roof Eugene Lawrence Roof (born January 13, 1958) is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder. He played during three seasons at the Major League level for the St. Louis Cardinals and Montreal Expos. Playing career He was drafted by the Cardinal ...

managed the team to sixth place in 1991 with a 61–78 record as attendance slipped to 150,435. Brogna was again named one of the top prospects in the loop (4th) though he spent some of the year in the International League while he hit .273/.330/.457; for the second straight year he hit as many doubles as homers for London. Steve Pegues hit .301 and Lou Frazier stole 42 bases and drew 77 walks. John Doherty (3-3, 15 Sv, 2.22) was the top pitcher on the squad.

Fourth year in London

Mark DeJohn Mark Stephen DeJohn (born September 18, 1953) is an American professional baseball coach and former infielder and manager. A switch hitter who threw right-handed, DeJohn stood tall and weighed . He was born in Middletown, Connecticut. A former ...

managed London to a 67–70 record in 1992 as the team finished in fifth. Attendance dropped to 112,913, lowest in the EL. The club's top position players were all repeats at AA. All-Star 1B

Iván Cruz Luis Iván Cruz (born May 3, 1968) is a former professional baseball first baseman and past coach for the GCL Braves in 2018 Career He played during four seasons at the major league level for the New York Yankees, Pittsburgh Pirates, and St. Lou ...

hit .273/.321/.407 in his second year with London; he drove in 104 to become the first EL player to top 100 since

Mark Grace Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Worl ...

five years earlier. OF Frazier (in his 4th year at AA and third with London) hit .252/.376/.298 and led the circuit in walks (95), steals (58) and times caught stealing (23). Greg Sparks (in his 5th season at AA) hit .232/.331/.482 and topped the league with 25 homers; he was named to the All-Star team at DH. 3B Rob Reimink (.296/.393/.381 in his second year with London) was 4th in the league in average and Tyrone Kingwood (in his second AA season) (.284/.333/.385, 22 SB) also placed in the top 10 in average.

Fifth/final year in London

In 1993 with

Tom Runnells Thomas William Runnells (born April 17, 1955) is an American former infielder, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. Biography Runnells attended the University of Northern Colorado and originally signed with the San Francisco Giants. He pla ...

as manager, the Tigers again drew the fewest fans, with 103,840, when Runnells led the team to a 63–75, 6th-place finish. The team at least wasn't loaded with minor-league veterans—21-year-old OF Danny Bautista hit .285/.336/.382 and stole 28 bases; 23-year-old OF Rudy Pemberton posted a .276/.311/.435 line with 15 homers; 23-year-old 2B Shannon Penn (.260/.335/.310) led the league with 53 stolen bases and 22-year-old OF Bobby Higginson batted .308/.362/.464 after a call-up from the

Lakeland Tigers Lakeland is primarily a toponym. It may refer to: Places Australia * Lakeland, Queensland Canada * Lakeland (electoral district), a federal electoral district in Alberta * Lakeland County, a former municipal district in Alberta * District of ...

Felipe Lira Felipe Antonio Lira (born April 26, 1972) is a Venezuelan former Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Detroit Tigers (-), Seattle Mariners (1997-) and Montreal Expos (-). He batted and threw right-handed. Career In a six-year caree ...

went 10–4 with a 3.38 ERA, the third-best ERA in the league, and was the last London Tiger to make the EL All-Star team.

José Lima José Desiderio Rodriguez Lima (September 30, 1972 – May 23, 2010) was a Dominican right-handed pitcher who spent 13 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers (1994–1996, 2001–2002), Houston Astros (1997–2001), Kan ...

went 8-13 with a 4.07 ERA. After the 1993 campaign, the Tigers, frustrated with sinking attendance, moved the team to

Trenton, New Jersey Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.Trenton Thunder The Trenton Thunder are a collegiate summer baseball team of the MLB Draft League. They are located in Trenton, New Jersey, and play their home games at Trenton Thunder Ballpark. From 1994 to 2020, it was a Minor League Baseball team of the ...

. After one year in Trenton, the Thunder switched affiliation from Detroit to the

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 ...

, Trenton Thunder Baseball are now members of the collegiate summer baseball

MLB Draft League The MLB Draft League is a collegiate summer baseball league that began play in 2021. Created by Major League Baseball (MLB) and ''Prep Baseball Report'', the league serves as a showcase for top draft-eligible prospects leading up to each summer' ...

References