The Senior Professional Baseball Association 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 eight teams in two divisions and a 72 game schedule. Pitchers Rollie Fingers

Rollie Fingers

Roland Glen Fingers is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher. During his 18-year baseball career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Diego Padres and Milwaukee Brewers . He became only the second reliever to be elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1992...

, Ferguson Jenkins

Ferguson Jenkins

Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...

 (both future Hall of Famers), and Vida Blue

Vida Blue

Vida Rochelle Blue Jr. is a former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher. During a 17-year career, he pitched for the Oakland Athletics , San Francisco Giants , and Kansas City Royals He won the American League Cy Young award and Most Valuable Player Award in 1971...

, outfielder Dave Kingman

Dave Kingman

David Arthur Kingman , nicknamed "Kong" and "Sky King", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder, first baseman, third baseman, and designated hitter. The towering 6' 6" Kingman was one of the most feared sluggers of the 1970s and 1980s...

, and manager Earl Weaver

Earl Weaver

Earl Sidney Weaver is a former Major League Baseball manager. He spent his entire 17-year managerial career with the Baltimore Orioles . Weaver was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1996.-Playing career:After playing for Beaumont High School in St...

 were the league's marquee names, and former big league outfielder Curt Flood

Curt Flood

Curtis Charles Flood was a Major League Baseball player who spent most of his career as a center fielder for the St. Louis Cardinals. A defensive standout, he led the National League in putouts four times and in fielding percentage twice, winning Gold Glove Awards in his last seven full seasons...

 was the circuit's first Commissioner. At age 54, Ed Rakow

Ed Rakow

Edward Charles "Rock" Rakow was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1960 to 1967. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania....

 was the league's oldest player. Former strikeout king J.R. Richard

J.R. Richard

James Rodney Richard is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire career, from 1971 to 1980, with the Houston Astros....

 was drafted by the league but cut in preseason.

Throughout the inaugural season, most clubs struggled with poor attendance. On the field, the West Palm Beach Tropics

West Palm Beach Tropics

The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and Rollie Fingers. The Tropics went 52-20 in the regular...

 ran away with the league's South Division, finishing 15 games ahead of the second place Fort Myers Sun Sox

Fort Myers Sun Sox

The Fort Myers Sun Sox were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The Sun Sox finished their inaugural season in second place in the Southern Division with a 37-35 record. Their offense was led by the league's top hitter, Tim...

. In the North, the St. Petersburg Pelicans

St. Petersburg Pelicans

The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team went 42-30 in the regular season and won the Northern Division title. Steve Henderson hit .352 for the club, and Lenny Randle batted .349. Milt...

 finished in first, and the Bradenton Explorers

Bradenton Explorers

The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in . That season, the club complied a record of 38-34 and finished in second place in the league's Northern Division, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice. Jim...

 were second, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice

Orlando Juice

The Orlando Juice was one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. In the league's inaugural season, the Juice finished third in the Northern Division, narrowly missing the playoffs. Pitcher Pete Falcone anchored the club's pitching...

. Infielder Ron Washington

Ron Washington

Ronald Washington is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and the current manager of the Texas Rangers. Prior to managing the Rangers, Washington coached in the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics organizations.-Playing career:Washington was signed by the Kansas City Royals on July 17, 1970...

 of West Palm Beach was the league's big offensive star, hitting .359 with a league leading 73 RBIs. Washington's teammate Mickey Rivers

Mickey Rivers

John Milton "Mickey" Rivers is a former Major League Baseball player from 1970-1984 for the California Angels, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers...

 hit .366, and Gold Coast Sun Bert Campaneris

Bert Campaneris

Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...

, the oldest everyday player in the league at 47, stole 16 bases. Bradenton's Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison (baseball)

James Forrest Morrison , is a former professional baseball player who played second and third base in the Major Leagues from 1977 to 1988. During his baseball career, Morrison played for the Philadelphia Phillies, Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Tigers, and Atlanta Braves...

 hit .290 with 55 RBIs and led the league with 17 homers. Tim Ireland

Tim Ireland

Timothy Neal Christopher Ireland is a former professional baseball player. He played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Kansas City Royals, appearing in 11 games in 1981 and 1982. He has also managed 12 seasons at various levels of the minor leagues.Ireland was originally...

 of Fort Myers hit a league best .374, and his teammate Kim Allen

Kim Allen

----Kim Bryant Allen is a former Major League Baseball player. After attending University of California, Riverside and a nondescript minor league career, Allen briefly earned prospect status with the Seattle Mariners on the strength of his spectacular season for the Triple-A Spokane Indians...

 paced the circuit with 33 stolen bases. Willie Aikens

Willie Aikens

Willie Mays Aikens is a former Major League Baseball first baseman. He had established himself as one of the top sluggers in the game before drugs derailed his career. In , Aikens was sentenced to twenty years in prison on four counts of crack cocaine distribution and one count of use of a firearm...

 hit 12 home runs and had 58 RBIs. West Palm Beach pitcher Juan Eichelberger

Juan Eichelberger

Juan Tyrone Eichelberger is a 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 pitched for the San Diego Padres , Cleveland Indians and Atlanta Braves...

 went 11-5 with a 2.90 ERA

Earned run average

In baseball statistics, earned run average is the mean of earned runs given up by a pitcher per nine innings pitched. It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number of innings pitched and multiplying by nine...

, and St. Petersburg's Milt Wilcox

Milt Wilcox

Milton Edward Wilcox was a pitcher who had a sixteen-year career from 1970 to 1975, 1977–1986. He played for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago Cubs of the National League and the Cleveland Indians, Detroit Tigers and Seattle Mariners of the American League...

 went 12-3. Jon Matlack

Jon Matlack

Jonathan Trumpbour Matlack is an American former Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher...

, Tim Stoddard

Tim Stoddard

Timothy Paul Stoddard is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He is one of only two known men to have played in both a World Series and an NCAA basketball national championship game....

, and Pete Falcone

Pete Falcone

Peter Frank "Pete" Falcone , is a left-handed former professional baseball player who pitched in the Major Leagues from 1975–84.-High school and college:...

 each won 10 games. Bradenton's Rick Lysander

Rick Lysander

Richard Eugene Lysander is a former Major League Baseball pitcher. He had a four-season career in the majors, spread out over six years.-Major League career:...

 saved 11 games, and Winter Haven's Bill Campbell

Bill Campbell (baseball player)

William Richard Campbell is a former Major League Baseball pitcher who played from 1973 to 1987. He played for the Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Detroit Tigers all of the American League and the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies, St...

 notched 5 saves to go along with a 2.12 ERA. Joaquín Andújar

Joaquín Andújar

Joaquín Andújar is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who became one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball while playing with the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-80s.-Early years:...

 of Gold Coast had 5 wins and an ERA of 1.31.

In the first weekend of February 1990, the league's top four teams participated in a three game, single elimination tournament with a rather unusual format. On February 2, the league's second place clubs faced off. The Explorers defeated the Sun Sox for a chance to face the St. Petersburg Pelicans. The next day, the Pelicans beat the Explorers 9-2 to advance to the league championship game against the West Palm Beach Tropics. On February 4, 1990, the Pelicans, powered by Lamar Johnson

Lamar Johnson

Lamar Johnson Sr. is a retired professional baseball player who played infielder in the Major Leagues from 1974-1982...

's home run and 3 RBIs, beat the Tropics 12-4 for the league's first championship.

1989/1990 Teams

Northern Division

• St. Petersburg Pelicans
  St. Petersburg Pelicans
  The St. Petersburg Pelicans were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The team went 42-30 in the regular season and won the Northern Division title. Steve Henderson hit .352 for the club, and Lenny Randle batted .349. Milt...
  
   (42-30, 1st Place)

• Bradenton Explorers
  Bradenton Explorers
  The Bradenton Explorers were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in . That season, the club complied a record of 38-34 and finished in second place in the league's Northern Division, narrowly holding off the Orlando Juice. Jim...
  
   (38-34, 2nd Place)

• Orlando Juice
  Orlando Juice
  The Orlando Juice was one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. In the league's inaugural season, the Juice finished third in the Northern Division, narrowly missing the playoffs. Pitcher Pete Falcone anchored the club's pitching...
  
   (3rd Place)

• Winter Haven Super Sox
  Winter Haven Super Sox
  The Winter Haven Super Sox were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club featured future Hall of Famer Ferguson Jenkins as part of its pitching staff. In the league's inaugural season, the Super Sox struggled and went...
  
   (4th Place)

Southern Division

• West Palm Beach Tropics
  West Palm Beach Tropics
  The West Palm Beach Tropics were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The club hired Dick Williams as manager and fielded a lineup that included slugger Dave Kingman and Rollie Fingers. The Tropics went 52-20 in the regular...
  
   (52-20, 1st Place)

• Fort Myers Sun Sox
  Fort Myers Sun Sox
  The Fort Myers Sun Sox were one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989. The Sun Sox finished their inaugural season in second place in the Southern Division with a 37-35 record. Their offense was led by the league's top hitter, Tim...
  
   (37-35, 2nd Place)

• Gold Coast Suns

• St. Lucie Legends
  St. Lucie Legends
  The St. Lucie Legends was a U.S. baseball team and one of the eight original franchises that began play in the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1989....
  
  

For its second season, four of the league's eight teams (Gold Coast, Orlando, St. Lucie, and Winter Haven) folded, and the Bradenton Explorers relocated to Daytona Beach and became the Daytona Beach Explorers. The circuit added clubs in Arizona (the Sun City Rays) and California (the San Bernardino Pride

San Bernardino Pride

The San Bernardino Pride, based in San Bernardino, CA, joined the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990 for the league's second season. They ceased operation when the circuit folded in December of that year....

). They also dropped the minimum age to 34 and shortened the season to 56 games. Less than halfway through its second season, the league folded in December 1990.

At least five of the circuit's players (Ron Washington

Ron Washington

Ronald Washington is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and the current manager of the Texas Rangers. Prior to managing the Rangers, Washington coached in the New York Mets and Oakland Athletics organizations.-Playing career:Washington was signed by the Kansas City Royals on July 17, 1970...

, Joaquín Andújar

Joaquín Andújar

Joaquín Andújar is a former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher who became one of the most dominant pitchers in baseball while playing with the St. Louis Cardinals in the mid-80s.-Early years:...

, Paul Mirabella

Paul Mirabella

Paul Thomas Mirabella is a former professional baseball pitcher. Mirabella, who threw left-handed, played all or part of thirteen seasons in Major League Baseball for the Texas Rangers , New York Yankees , Toronto Blue Jays , Baltimore Orioles , Seattle Mariners and Milwaukee Brewers .Mirabella...

, Danny Boone

Danny Boone

Daniel Hugh Boone is a former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched parts of three seasons in Major League Baseball, appearing in 1981, 1982, and 1990...

, and Ozzie Virgil, Jr.

Ozzie Virgil, Jr.

Osvaldo José Virgil, Jr. is a former Major League Baseball catcher who played with the Philadelphia Phillies, Atlanta Braves, and Toronto Blue Jays from 1980 to 1990. He was elected to the National League All-Star team twice in 1985 and 1987...

) signed major league contracts after playing in the Senior League, and at least three (Mirabella, Boone, and Virgil) played in the big leagues after their Senior League appearances.