Arizona-Mexico League

In 1955 the Arizona-Texas League became the Arizona-Mexico League. The circuit continued only four more seasons before the class C league bid adieu to baseball. During these four seasons more than 1,700,000 fans went through the gate. The Cananea Mineros was the only team to win more than one league title, taking two back to back, in 1955 and 1956. They drew 347,247 fans those two years.

An independent league of the same name was founded in 2003 and lasted two weeks before shutting down. Three weeks prior to the start of the season Ciudad Juarez Hawks of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua were moved to Tecate, Baja California and became the Tecate Cerveceros. The highest profile player was former MLB outfielder Chuck Carr who signed with Bisbee-Douglas as a player/coach on May 7. The league folded on June 17 after both the Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings and Nogales Charros ran out of money.

Cities Represented

1955-1958

• Bisbee, AZ & Douglas, AZ: Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings 1955; Douglas Copper Kings 1956-1958
• Cananea, Sonora, MEX: Cananea Mineros 1955-1957
• Chihuahua, Chihuahua, MEX: Chihuahua Dorados 1958
• Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, MEX: Juarez Indios 1958
• Globe, AZ & Miami, AZ: Globe-Miami Miners 1955
• Las Vegas, NV: Las Vegas Wranglers 1957
• Mexicali, Baja California, MEX: Mexicali Eagles (or Mexicali Aguilas) 1955-1958
• Nogales, Sonora, MEX: Nogales Yaquis 1955; Nogales Diablos Rojos 1956; Nogales Mineros 1958
• Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Stars 1955-1957
• Tijuana, Baja California, MEX: Tijuana Potros 1956
• Tucson, AZ: Tucson Cowboys 1955-1958
• Yuma, AZ: Yuma Sun Sox 1955-1956

Teams and Statistics

1955-1958

1955 Arizona-Mexico League - schedule
President: Tim Cusick

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Cananea Mineros	86	53	.619	0	213,074	Memo Garibay
Yuma Sun Sox	83	57	.593	3.5	79,083	Whitey Wietelmann
Phoenix Stars	80	59	.576	6	74,185	Jerry Gardner
Mexicali Eagles	78	62	.557	8.5	59,787	Art Lilly
Tucson Cowboys	66	74	.471	20.5	70,973	Don Jameson
Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings	63	77	.450	23.5	45,567	Everett Robinson
Globe-Miami Miners	51	87	.370	34.5	33,886	Ballinger / Reddell / Campbell
Nogales Yaquis	49	87	.360	35.5	74,145	Arteaga / Aros / Nunez / Galina

No Playoffs Scheduled.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Moises Camacho	Mexicali	BA	.363		Charlie Peete	Tucson	W	24
Ellis Burton	Phoenix	Runs	140		Olaf Nelson	Phoenix	W	24
Ruben Amaro	Mexicali	Runs	140		Charlie Peete	Tucson	SO	322
Humberto Barbon	Nogales/Yuma	Hits	202		Fernando Ramirez	Mexicali	ERA	2.95
Claudio Solano	Cananea	RBI	164		Humberto Barbon	Nogales/Yuma	HR	38

1956 Arizona-Mexico League
President: Tim Cusick

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Cananea Mineros	75	56	.573	0	134,173	Memo Garibay
Douglas Copper Kings	73	58	.557	2	42,059	Jerry Gardner
Nogales Diablos Rojos	71	59	.546	3.5	60,000	Carlos Galina
Phoenix Stars	70	59	.543	4	60,017	Bill Capps
Yuma Sun Sox	66	65	.504	9	35,076	Whitey Wietelmann / Bill Harris
Mexicali Eagles	63	65	.492	10.5	74,417	Larry Barton / Artie Wilson
Tucson Cowboys	57	71	.445	16.5	40,000	Don Jameson
Tijuana Potros #	17	59	.224	NA	30,000	Virgilio Arteaga

#Tijuana disbanded June 28.
Playoffs: Cananea 3 games,Yuma 0.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Walter Tyler	Yuma	BA	.392		James Johnson	Phoenix	W	19
Claudio Solano	Cananea	Runs	147		Amador Guzman	Nogales	W	19
Walter Tyler	Yuma	Hits	208		George Perez	Cananea	W	19
Claudio Solano	Cananea	RBI	174		John Ivory Smith	Tucson	SO	217
Claudio Solano	Cananea	HR	45		Joe Orrell	Tijuana/Mexicali	ERA	2.70

1957 Arizona-Mexico League - schedule
President: Charles S. Hollinger

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Phoenix Stars	89	48	.650	0	70,063	Bob Hooper
Cananea Mineros	76	56	.576	10.5	103,571	Claudio Solano / Daniel Rios
Douglas Copper Kings	68	69	.496	21	27,949	Bob Clear
Las Vegas Wranglers	62	74	.456	26.5	35,804	Red Marion
Tucson Cowboys	62	77	.446	28	28,157	Don Jameson / Ernest Choukalos
Mexicali Eagles #	51	84	.378	37	54,591	Artie Wilson / Manuel Magallon

#Mexicali disbanded September 6 and forfeited 10 remaining games.
Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Claudio Solano	Cananea	BA	.402		Candido Andrade	Tucson	W	20
Barry Shetrone	Phoenix	Runs	151		Bob Clear	Douglas	W	20
Barry Shetrone	Phoenix	Hits	199		Candido Andrade	Tucson	SO	260
Claudio Solano	Cananea	RBI	159		Donald Bruns	Phoenix	ERA	3.59
Claudio Solano	Cananea	HR	41

1958 Arizona-Mexico League - schedule
President: Charles S. Hollinger

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Douglas Copper Kings	68	52	.567	0	25,315	Bob Clear
Tucson Cowboys	66	54	.550	2	42,257	Harry Dunlop
Nogales Mineros	59	59	.500	8	48,887	Memo Garibay
Chihuahua Dorados	56	62	.475	11	59,917	Leonel Aldama
Juarez Indios	55	64	.462	12.5	59,847	Epitacio Torres / Serrell / Ramirez
Mexicali Eagles	53	66	.445	14.5	55,649	Felipe Hernandez

Playoffs: None Scheduled.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Jose Medrano	Mexicali	BA	.385		Jose Ibarra	Chihuahua	W	19
Jose Podilla	Nogales	Runs	136		Manuel Estrada	Nogales	SO	244
Jose Medrano	Mexicali	Hits	173		Kermit Kowalk	Tucson	ERA	3.04
Jose Echeverria	Chihuahua	RBI	126		Jose Echeverria	Chihuahua	HR	35

Source

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second Edition. (1955 - 1958).

2003

• Bisbee, AZ & Douglas, AZ: Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings 2003
• Cananea, Sonora, MEX: Cananea Mineros 2003
• Nogales, Sonora, MEX: Nogales Charros 2003
• Tecate, Baja California, MEX: Tecate Cerveceros 2003
  • Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, MEX: Halcones de Ciudad Juarez