1967 International League season

BR minors page

The 1967 International League season was the 82nd in the league's history, and ended with the Toledo Mud Hens winning their first Governors' Cup. It was the first title for the Mud Hens since the 1927 American Association championship.

Rochester and Richmond finished the season tied, so a one-game playoff took place September 5 in Rochester, NY for the IL pennant. The Braves won 2-0, thanks to Jim Britton's eight shutout innings. (Sadly, Britton's father suffered a heart attack in the stands during the ninth inning and later died.) This result is reflected in the standings below.

Because of the playoff game, the Governors' Cup semifinal pairings were decided in advance.

This was the final season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Richmond Braves	81	60	.574	--	Lum Harris	Atlanta Braves
Rochester Red Wings	80	61	.567	1	Earl Weaver	Baltimore Orioles
Toledo Mud Hens	73	66	.525	7	Jack Tighe	Detroit Tigers
Columbus Jets	69	71	.493	11½	Hardy Peterson	Pittsburgh Pirates
Jacksonville Suns	66	73	.475	14	Bill Virdon	New York Mets
Toronto Maple Leafs	64	75	.460	16	Eddie Kasko	Boston Red Sox
Buffalo Bisons	63	76	.453	17	Lou Fitzgerald/Don Zimmer	Cincinnati Reds
Syracuse Chiefs	63	77	.367	17½	Gary Blaylock	New York Yankees

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Richmond Braves	2
	3	Toledo Mud Hens	3
						3	Toledo Mud Hens	4
						4	Columbus Jets	1
	2	Rochester Red Wings	1
	4	Columbus Jets	3

First Round

Richmond vs. Toledo Date Away Home September 6 Toledo 0 Richmond 3 September 7 Toledo 1 Richmond 10 September 8 Richmond 5 Toledo 6 September 9 Richmond 1 Toledo 4 September 10 Richmond 1 Toledo 5 Toledo wins series 3-2

Rochester vs. Columbus Date Away Home September 6 Columbus 6 Rochester 5 September 7 Columbus 0 Rochester 3 September 8 Rochester 3 Columbus 4 September 9 Rochester 2 Columbus 3 Columbus wins series 3-1

Governors' Cup Finals

Columbus vs. Toledo Date Away Home September 11 Toledo 0 Columbus 5 September 12 Toledo 6 Columbus 1 September 13 Columbus 1 Toledo 2 September 14 Columbus 4 Toledo 7 September 15 Columbus 0 Toledo 1 Toledo wins series 4-1

League Leaders

Batting

• Batting Average Elvio Jimenez, Columbus, .340
• Runs Scored Wayne Comer, Toledo, 86
• Hits Jimenez, 164
• Doubles Steve Demeter, Rochester, 32
• Triples Tom Shopay, Syracuse, 13
• Home Runs Jim Beauchamp, Richmond, 25
• Runs Batted In Curt Motton, Rochester, 70
• Stolen Bases Freddie Patek, Columbus, 42

Pitching

• Wins Dave Leonhard, Rochester, 15
• Earned Run Average Tug McGraw, Jacksonville, 1.99
• Complete Games Ron Reed, Richmond, 17
• Shutouts Reed; Tom Fisher, Rochester, 5
• Strikeouts Jerry Koosman, Jacksonville, 183

All-Star Team

• First Base Jim Beauchamp, Richmond
• Second Base Félix Millán, Richmond
• Shortstop Tom Matchick, Toledo
• Third Base Steve Demeter, Rochester
• Outfield Elvio Jimenez, Columbus; Curt Motton, Rochester; Tommie Aaron, Richmond
• Catcher Johnny Bench, Buffalo; Chris Cannizzaro, Toledo
• Pitcher Dave Leonhard, Rochester; Ron Reed, Richmond; Bill Short, Columbus
• Manager Jack Tighe, Toledo

References

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

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

1968 Baseball Guide

External Links

1967 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond