Tucson Toros
Triple-A affiliate that won PCL titles in 1991 and 1993.
The Tucson Toros were a professional baseball team based in Tucson, Arizona. The original Toros were a Triple-A minor league team in the Pacific Coast League from 1969 to 1997, winning PCL championships in 1991 and 1993. They were affiliated with several Major League Baseball teams, most notably the Houston Astros. The team rebranded as the Tucson Sidewinders in 1998 and relocated to Reno after the 2008 season. A new iteration of the Toros played in the independent Golden Baseball League for the 2009 and 2010 seasons, then went on hiatus for 2011 and folded later that year.
Quick Facts
- City
- Tucson, Arizona
- Past class level
- Independent (2009–2011)
- Triple-A (1970–2008)
- Class-C (1940–1941, 1947–1958)
- Class-D (1915, 1928–1932, 1937–1939)
- League
- Golden Baseball League (2009–2011)
- Mascot
- Tuffy the Toro (2009-2011, 1978-1998)
- Sandy Sidewinder (1998-2008)
- Freddie the Toro (1974-1977)
Facts from the source article.
History
Tucson had several baseball teams between 1915 and 1958, including the Tucson Old Pueblos, the Tucson Waddies, the Tucson Cowboys, the Tucson Missions, and the Tucson Lizards, none of which were part of the Pacific Coast League. After the last Cowboys team folded in 1958, the city had no professional baseball until the Toros began play in 1969. Hiram "Hi" Corbett, a former state senator, helped bring spring training to Tucson, and Randolph Park was renamed Hi Corbett Field in his honor. The name Toros came from a name-the-team contest won by Clarence Dupnik, later Sheriff of Pima County. From 1969 through 1972, the Toros were the AAA affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, finishing no better than fourth place. As the Oakland Athletics farm team from 1973 to 1976, they won the PCL Eastern Division title in 1973 and placed second in 1975. During their tenure as the Texas Rangers affiliate (1977–1979), the team finished third and fourth, though outfielder Billy Sample was named AAA Minor League Player of the Year in 1978. In 1980 the Toros began a long association with the Houston Astros. That year they introduced a uniform considered by some the ugliest in baseball history, featuring orange pants with yellow and red stripes and a multicolored jersey; the 1981 all-orange uniform was similarly criticized. In their first Astros-affiliated season, the Toros won the first-half Southern Division title but were eliminated by the Albuquerque Dukes in the playoffs. The team spent most of the 1980s in third place. In 1989, under new owner Rick Holtzman, Mike Feder became general manager, and his family-friendly promotions led to the club being named Promotional Club of the Year in 1990 and achieving its highest season attendance to that point.
Off the field
Fans could try their hand at a cow-milking contest on Arizona Dairy Night, hunt for a Diamond Dig in the base paths, or ring "bull bells" during Turn Back the Clock Night. After one early-1990s game, Ray Charles gave a concert. Three Toros broadcasters—Vince Cotroneo, Mario Impemba, and Matt Vasgersian—later called games in the majors. Hi Corbett Field hosted filming for a Highway to Heaven episode featuring the team. Mascot Tuffy the Toro later appeared with the Tucson Sidewinders before a new snake mascot, Sandy Sidewinder, replaced him in 1998.
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