1946 International League season

BR minors page

The 1946 International League season was the 61st in the league's history, and ended with the Montreal Royals winning their first Governors' Cup in five seasons. The Royals would go on to win the Junior World Series.

Baltimore and Newark finished the season tied for third place, so a one-game playoff was held to break the tie on September 9 in Baltimore. The Orioles won 10-3, and the result is reflected in the standings below.

The season was notable for Jackie Robinson, Roy Partlow and Johnny Wright becoming the first African-American players in the minor leagues in 30 years.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Montreal Royals	100	54	.649	—	Clay Hopper	Brooklyn Dodgers
Syracuse Chiefs	81	72	.529	18½	Jewel Ens	Cincinnati Reds
Baltimore Orioles	81	73	.526	19	Tommy Thomas	Cleveland Indians
Newark Bears	80	74	.519	20	George Selkirk	New York Yankees
Buffalo Bisons	78	75	.510	21½	Gabby Hartnett	Detroit Tigers
Toronto Maple Leafs	71	82	.464	28½	Bill Harris	Philadelphia Athletics
Rochester Red Wings	65	87	.428	34	Burleigh Grimes/Benny Borgmann	St. Louis Cardinals
Jersey City Giants	57	96	.373	42½	Bruno Betzel	New York Giants

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Montreal Royals	4
	4	Newark Bears	2
						1	Montreal Royals	4
						2	Syracuse Chiefs	1
	2	Syracuse Chiefs	4
	3	Baltimore Orioles	2

First Round

Montreal vs. Newark Date Away Home September 11 Newark 5 Montreal 7 September 12 Newark 1 Montreal 2 September 14 Montreal 0 Newark 4 September 15 Montreal 2 Newark 3 September 16 Montreal 2 Newark 1 September 18 Newark 4 Montreal 5 Montreal wins series 4-2

Syracuse vs. Baltimore Date Away Home September 11 Syracuse 6 Baltimore 5 September 12 Syracuse 4 Baltimore 7 September 13 Baltimore 6 Syracuse 13 September 14 Baltimore 8 Syracuse 3 September 15 Baltimore 6 Syracuse 7 September 16 Syracuse 4 Baltimore 3 11 innings Syracuse wins series 4-2

Governors' Cup Finals

Montreal vs. Syracuse Date Away Home September 19 Syracuse 5 Montreal 0 September 20 Syracuse 12 Montreal 14 September 22 Montreal 11 Syracuse 1 September 25 Montreal 7 Syracuse 4 September 26 Montreal 7 Syracuse 1 Montreal wins series 4-1 and advances to Junior World Series

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Jackie Robinson, Montreal, .349
• Runs Scored Robinson, 113
• Hits Danny Murtaugh, Rochester; Bobby Brown, Newark, 174
• Doubles Eddie Joost, Rochester, 35
• Triples Marv Rackley, Montreal, 14
• Home Runs Howie Moss, Baltimore, 38
• Runs Batted In Eddie Robinson, Baltimore, 123
• Stolen Bases Rackley, 65

Pitching

• Wins Steve Nagy, Montreal; Jim Prendergast, Syracuse, 17
• Earned Run Average Herb Karpel, Newark, 2.41
• Complete Games Bud Byerly, Rochester, 21
• Shutouts Earl Harrist, Syracuse; Joe Coleman Sr., Toronto, 5
• Strikeouts Art Houtteman, Buffalo, 147

References

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.

1947 Baseball Guide

The International League: Year-by-Year Statistics by Marshall Wright

Further Reading

• Gary Belleville: "October 2, 1946: Jackie Robinson leads Montreal to thrilling 10-inning victory over Louisville," SABR Baseball Games Project.
• Gary Belleville: "October 3, 1946: Jackie Robinson’s heroics put Montreal on verge of first Junior World Series title," SABR Baseball Games Project.

External Links

1946 Montreal Royals tribute – MinorLeagueBaseball.com