King of Baseball

King of Baseball was a ceremonial title awarded annually from 1951 to 2019 by Minor League Baseball to recognize an individual for their longtime dedication and service to professional baseball.^[1] It was awarded during baseball's Winter Meetings and usually presented along with a crown and robe.^[2]

King of Baseball

Sport	Baseball
League	Minor League Baseball
Awarded for	Longtime dedication and service to professional baseball
Country	United States Canada Mexico
Presented by	Minor League Baseball
History
First award	Pants Rowland (1951)
Final award	Bob Lozinak (2019)

The title originated in a beauty pageant held in celebration of the 50th anniversary of Minor League Baseball in 1951. The first king was selected to accompany the winner, "Miss Golden Anniversary". The pageant was discarded after 1954, but crowning a king continued.^[3] The title was not issued in 2020 after the cancellation of the minor league season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.^[4] In 2021, Major League Baseball assumed control of the minor leagues.^[5] Subsequently, the committee responsible for the award chose to discontinue the honor.^[6]

Winners

Pants Rowland was selected as the first King of Baseball in 1951.

Donie Bush was chosen as 1963's King of Baseball.

Billy Hitchcock selected as the King of Baseball in 1980.

Max Patkin, the "Clown Prince of Baseball," was chosen as King of Baseball in 1988.

Don Mincher was selected as 2010's King of Baseball.

Bill Valentine was chosen as the 2014 King of Baseball.

Winners

Year	Winner	Winter Meetings site	Ref(s).
1951	Pants Rowland	Columbus, Ohio	[1]
1952	J. Alvin Gardner	Phoenix, Arizona	[1]
1953	Frank Shaughnessy	Atlanta, Georgia	[1]
1954	Shelby Pease	Houston, Texas	[1]
1955	Herman White	Columbus, Ohio	[1]
1956	Tommy Richardson	Jacksonville, Florida	[1]
1957	Charles Hurth	Colorado Springs, Colorado	[1]
1958	None selected	Washington, D.C.	[1]
1959	Bonneau Peters	St. Petersburg, Florida	[1]
1960	Joe Engel	Louisville, Kentucky	[1]
1961	Rosy Ryan	Tampa, Florida	[1]
1962	Phil Howser	Rochester, New York	[1]
1963	Donie Bush	San Diego, California	[1]
1964	Eddie Mulligan	Houston, Texas	[1]
1965	Ray Winder	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	[1]
1966	Eddie Leishman	Columbus, Ohio	[1]
1967	Alejo Peralta	Mexico City, Mexico	[1]
1968	Dewey Soriano	San Francisco, California	[1]
1969	Chauncey DeVault	Fort Lauderdale, Florida	[1]
1970	George MacDonald Sr.	Los Angeles, California	[1]
1971	Phil Piton	Phoenix, Arizona	[1]
1972	Vince McNamara	Honolulu, Hawaii	[1]
1973	Ray Johnston	Houston, Texas	[1]
1974	Fred Haney	New Orleans, Louisiana	[1]
1975	Joe Buzas	Hollywood, Florida	[1]
1976	Don Avery	Los Angeles, California	[1]
1977	Bill Weiss	Honolulu, Hawaii	[1]
1978	Zinn Beck	Orlando, Florida	[1]
1979	Harry Simmons	Toronto, Ontario, Canada	[1]
1980	Billy Hitchcock	Dallas, Texas	[1]
1981	Jack Schwarz	Hollywood, Florida	[1]
1982	Sy Berger	Honolulu, Hawaii	[1]
1983	Oscar Roettger	Nashville, Tennessee	[1]
1984	Donald Davidson	Houston, Texas	[1]
1985	Stan Wasiak	San Diego, California	[1]
1986	Lefty Gomez	Hollywood, Florida	[1]
1987	Bill Schweppe	Dallas, Texas	[1]
1988	Max Patkin	Atlanta, Georgia	[1]
1989	George Sisler Jr.	Nashville, Tennessee	[1]
1990	John Henry Moss	Los Angeles, California	[1]
1991	George Pfister	Miami Beach, Florida	[1]
1992	Johnny Lipon	Louisville, Kentucky	[1]
1993	George Kissell	Atlanta, Georgia	[1]
1994	Jim Bragan	Dallas, Texas	[1]
1995	Gene DaCosse	Los Angeles, California	[1]
1996	Sheldon "Chief" Bender	Boston, Massachusetts	[1]
1997	Max Schumacher	New Orleans, Louisiana	[1]
1998	Leo Pinckney	Nashville, Tennessee	[1]
1999	Tom Saffell	Anaheim, California	[1]
2000	P. Patrick McKernan	Dallas, Texas	[1]
2001	Roland Hemond	Boston, Massachusetts	[1]
2002	George Zuraw	Nashville, Tennessee	[1]
2003	Bob Wilson	New Orleans, Louisiana	[1]
2004	Dave Rosenfield	Anaheim, California	[1]
2005	Calvin Falwell	Dallas, Texas	[7]
2006	Paul Snyder	Lake Buena Vista, Florida	[8]
2007	Dave Walker	Nashville, Tennessee	[9]
2008	Pat Gillick	Las Vegas, Nevada	[1]
2009	Milo Hamilton	Indianapolis, Indiana	[1]
2010	Don Mincher	Lake Buena Vista, Florida	[10]
2011	Cuauhtemoc "Chito" Rodriguez	Dallas, Texas	[11]
2012	George McGonagle	Nashville, Tennessee	[12]
2013	Charlie Eshbach	Lake Buena Vista, Florida	[13]
2014	Bill Valentine	San Diego, California	[14]
2015	William Gladstone	Nashville, Tennessee	[15]
2016	David G. Elmore	National Harbor, Maryland	[16]
2017	Lee Landers	Orlando, Florida	[17]
2018	Mike Tamburro	Las Vegas, Nevada	[18]
2019	Bob Lozinak	San Diego, California	[19]
2020	None selected (season canceled due to COVID-19 pandemic)		[4]