Governors' Cup

The Governors' Cup trophy is awarded to the winner of the International League's championship. It was first handed out in 1933, the year when the league instituted a playoff format known as the Shaughnessy Playoffs.

Governors' Cup History

The Governors' Cup began in 1933 after Frank Shaughnessy, general manager of the Montréal Royals, introduced a four-team playoff system to league president Charles Knappe. The system would be known formally as the "Shaughnessy Playoffs", and was popular enough to be put in use by most minor leagues across the country by the end of the 1930s.

In response to the new playoff format, the Governors of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York and the Lieutenant Governors of Québec and Ontario, representing the states and provinces with International League teams, sponsored a trophy to be awarded annually to the winner of the new playoffs. The trophy was created by the Supervisor of International League Umpires W.B. Carruth out of solid silver and has been appraised at over $3,000.

In 1988, International League President Harold Cooper donated the trophy to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY, where it went on permanent display. A replacement trophy was minted in its place and has continued to be presented annually to the winner of the Governors' Cup Series. Since then, the International League has recognized the league's champion as the winner of the Governors’ Cup Series.

Governors' Cup Format

Since the International League went to a three division format for the 1998 season, the divisional winners qualify for the Cup as does the remaining team with the best record. Originally, the top two teams in the North division qualified, but the IL changed the format in 1999 to where it is today. Both semifinal series and the Governors' Cup final are best-of-five.

Previous Formats

1933-1938: The top four teams qualify for the playoffs, with the first-place team playing the third-place team and the second-place team playing the fourth-place team in semifinal series. The semifinals are best-of-five, while the final is best-of-seven.

1934: The semifinals expand to best-of-seven series.

1939-1962: First place now plays fourth place, while second place plays third place. All series remain best-of-seven.

1963: With the folding of the American Association, the IL added Indianapolis and Arkansas to expand to 10 teams, which were then split into two divisions. The first-place teams in each division played each other, as do the second-place teams. The winners played for the Governors' Cup. All series remain best-of-seven.

1964-1965: Indianapolis and Arkansas joined the Pacific Coast League in 1964, so the league went back to its previous four-team, single-division format. All series remain best-of-seven.

1966-1971: All series are now best-of-five.

1972: For this season only, the first round was shortened to a best-of-three series.

1973-1974: The league splits into two divisions, and uses the same playoff format as in 1963. In 1973, all series were best-of-five. With no Junior World Series in 1974, the series are expanded to best-of-seven.

1975-1987: The league goes back to the traditional four-team, single-division format. All series are now best-of-five.

1977-1980: The IL expands the Governors' Cup final to a best-of-seven series. The final goes back to a best-of-five series for the 1981 season.

1988-1991: During the Triple-A Alliance years, the eight clubs were divided into two divisions with the division winners playing a five-game series for the Governors' Cup.

1992-1997: With the dissolution of the Alliance, the IL went back to a four-team format. The top two teams in each division played each other with the winners playing for the Governors' Cup. All series were best-of-five.

Governors' Cup Results

BOLD indicates league champion

(Note: the IL recognized the league champions as the team finishing first in the regular season until 1988, except for 1963, 1973 and 1974. In those years, the victor of a playoff series between the division winners was considered the league champion. Since 1988, the Governors' Cup winner has been the league champion.)

Year	Champion Manager	Results	Runner-up	Other Teams
1933	Buffalo Bisons Ray Schalk	4 - 2	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles Newark Bears
1934	Toronto Maple Leafs Ike Boone	4 - 1	Rochester Red Wings	Albany Senators Newark Bears
1935	Syracuse Chiefs Nemo Leibold	4 - 3	Montreal Royals	Buffalo Bisons Newark Bears
1936	Buffalo Bisons Ray Schalk	4 - 2	Baltimore Orioles	Newark Bears Rochester Red Wings
1937	Newark Bears Ossie Vitt	4 - 0	Baltimore Orioles	Montreal Royals Syracuse Chiefs
1938	Newark Bears Johnny Neun	4 - 1	Buffalo Bisons	Rochester Red Wings Syracuse Chiefs
1939	Rochester Red Wings Billy Southworth	4 - 3	Newark Bears	Buffalo Bisons Jersey City Giants
1940	Newark Bears Johnny Neun	4 - 3	Baltimore Orioles	Jersey City Giants Rochester Red Wings
1941	Montreal Royals Clyde Sukeforth	4 - 3	Newark Bears	Buffalo Bisons Rochester Red Wings
1942	Syracuse Chiefs Jewel Ens	4 - 0	Jersey City Giants	Montreal Royals Newark Bears
1943	Syracuse Chiefs Jewel Ens	4 - 2	Toronto Maple Leafs	Montreal Royals Newark Bears
1944	Baltimore Orioles Tommy Thomas	4 - 3	Newark Bears	Buffalo Bisons Toronto Maple Leafs
1945	Newark Bears Billy Meyer	4 - 3	Montreal Royals	Baltimore Orioles Toronto Maple Leafs
1946	Montreal Royals Clay Hopper	4 - 1	Syracuse Chiefs	Baltimore Orioles Newark Bears
1947	Syracuse Chiefs Jewel Ens	4 - 3	Buffalo Bisons	Jersey City Giants Montreal Royals
1948	Montreal Royals Clay Hopper	4 - 1	Syracuse Chiefs	Newark Bears Rochester Red Wings
1949	Montreal Royals Clay Hopper	4 - 1	Buffalo Bisons	Jersey City Giants Rochester Red Wings
1950	Baltimore Orioles Nick Cullop	4 - 2	Rochester Red Wings	Jersey City Giants Montreal Royals
1951	Montreal Royals Walter Alston	4 - 1	Syracuse Chiefs	Buffalo Bisons Rochester Red Wings
1952	Rochester Red Wings Harry Walker	4 - 2	Montreal Royals	Syracuse Chiefs Toronto Maple Leafs
1953	Montreal Royals Walter Alston	4 - 0	Rochester Red Wings	Baltimore Orioles Buffalo Bisons
1954	Syracuse Chiefs Skeeter Newsome	4 - 3	Montreal Royals	Rochester Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs
1955	Rochester Red Wings Dixie Walker	4 - 0	Toronto Maple Leafs	Havana Sugar Kings Montreal Royals
1956	Rochester Red Wings Dixie Walker	4 - 3	Toronto Maple Leafs	Miami Marlins Montreal Royals
1957	Buffalo Bisons Phil Cavarretta	4 - 1	Miami Marlins	Richmond Virginians Toronto Maple Leafs
1958	Montreal Royals Clay Bryant	4 - 1	Toronto Maple Leafs	Columbus Jets Rochester Red Wings
1959	Havana Sugar Kings Preston Gomez	4 - 2	Richmond Virginians	Buffalo Bisons Columbus Jets
1960	Toronto Maple Leafs Mel McGaha	4 - 1	Rochester Red Wings	Buffalo Bisons Richmond Virginians
1961	Buffalo Bisons Kerby Farrell	4 - 1	Rochester Red Wings	Columbus Jets San Juan Marlins/Charleston Marlins
1962	Atlanta Crackers Joe Schultz	4 - 3	Jacksonville Suns	Rochester Red Wings Toronto Maple Leafs
1963	Indianapolis Indians Rollie Hemsley	4 - 2	Atlanta Crackers	Syracuse Chiefs Toronto Maple Leafs
1964	Rochester Red Wings Darrell Johnson	4 - 2	Syracuse Chiefs	Buffalo Bisons Jacksonville Suns
1965	Toronto Maple Leafs Dick Williams	4 - 1	Columbus Jets	Atlanta Crackers Syracuse Chiefs
1966	Toronto Maple Leafs Dick Williams	4 - 1	Richmond Braves	Columbus Jets Rochester Red Wings
1967	Toledo Mud Hens Jack Tighe	4 - 1	Columbus Jets	Richmond Braves Rochester Red Wings
1968	Jacksonville Suns Clyde McCullough	4 - 0	Columbus Jets	Rochester Red Wings Toledo Mud Hens
1969	Syracuse Chiefs Frank Verdi	4 - 1	Columbus Jets	Louisville Colonels Tidewater Tides
1970	Syracuse Chiefs Frank Verdi	3 - 1	Columbus Jets	Rochester Red Wings Tidewater Tides
1971	Rochester Red Wings Joe Altobelli	3 - 2	Tidewater Tides	Charleston Charlies Syracuse Chiefs
1972	Tidewater Tides Hank Bauer	3 - 2	Louisville Colonels	Charleston Charlies Rochester Red Wings
1973	Pawtucket Red Sox Darrell Johnson	3 - 2	Charleston Charlies	Rochester Red Wings Tidewater Tides
1974	Rochester Red Wings Joe Altobelli	4 - 3	Syracuse Chiefs	Memphis Blues Richmond Braves
1975	Tidewater Tides Joe Frazier	3 - 1	Syracuse Chiefs	Charleston Charlies Rochester Red Wings
1976	Syracuse Chiefs Bobby Cox	3 - 1	Richmond Braves	Memphis Blues Rochester Red Wings
1977	Charleston Charlies Jim Beauchamp	4 - 0	Pawtucket Red Sox	Richmond Braves Tidewater Tides
1978	Richmond Braves Tommie Aaron	4 - 3	Pawtucket Red Sox	Charleston Charlies Toledo Mud Hens
1979	Columbus Clippers Gene Michael	4 - 3	Syracuse Chiefs	Richmond Braves Tidewater Tides
1980	Columbus Clippers Joe Altobelli	4 - 1	Toledo Mud Hens	Richmond Braves Rochester Red Wings
1981	Columbus Clippers Frank Verdi	2 - 1 See note	Richmond Braves	Rochester Red Wings Tidewater Tides
1982	Tidewater Tides Jack Aker	3 - 0	Rochester Red Wings	Columbus Clippers Richmond Braves
1983	Tidewater Tides Davey Johnson	3 - 1	Richmond Braves	Charleston Charlies Columbus Clippers
1984	Pawtucket Red Sox Tony Torchia	3 - 2	Maine Guides	Columbus Clippers Toledo Mud Hens
1985	Tidewater Tides Bob Schaefer	3 - 1	Columbus Clippers	Maine Guides Syracuse Chiefs
1986	Richmond Braves Roy Majtyka	3 - 0	Rochester Red Wings	Pawtucket Red Sox Tidewater Tides
1987	Columbus Clippers Bucky Dent	3 - 2	Tidewater Tides	Pawtucket Red Sox Rochester Red Wings
1988	Rochester Red Wings Johnny Oates	3 - 1	Tidewater Tides
1989	Richmond Braves Jim Beauchamp	3 - 1	Syracuse Chiefs
1990	Rochester Red Wings Greg Biagini	3 - 2	Columbus Clippers
1991	Columbus Clippers Rick Down	3 - 0	Pawtucket Red Sox
1992	Columbus Clippers Rick Down	3 - 2	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons	Pawtucket Red Sox Richmond Braves
1993	Charlotte Knights Charlie Manuel	3 - 2	Rochester Red Wings	Ottawa Lynx Richmond Braves
1994	Richmond Braves Grady Little	3 - 0	Syracuse Chiefs	Charlotte Knights Pawtucket Red Sox
1995	Ottawa Lynx Pete Mackanin	3 - 1	Norfolk Tides	Richmond Braves Rochester Red Wings
1996	Columbus Clippers Stump Merrill	3 - 0	Rochester Red Wings	Norfolk Tides Pawtucket Red Sox
1997	Rochester Red Wings Marv Foley	3 - 2	Columbus Clippers	Charlotte Knights Pawtucket Red Sox
1998	Buffalo Bisons Jeff Datz	3 - 2	Durham Bulls	Louisville Redbirds Syracuse SkyChiefs
1999	Charlotte Knights Tom Spencer	3 - 1	Durham Bulls	Columbus Clippers Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
2000	Indianapolis Indians Steve Smith	3 - 2	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons	Buffalo Bisons Durham Bulls
2001	Louisville RiverBats Dave Miley	1 - 0 See note	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons	Buffalo Bisons Norfolk Tides
2002	Durham Bulls Bill Evers	3 - 1	Buffalo Bisons	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Toledo Mud Hens
2003	Durham Bulls Bill Evers	3 - 0	Pawtucket Red Sox	Louisville Bats Ottawa Lynx
2004	Buffalo Bisons Marty Brown	3 - 1	Richmond Braves	Columbus Clippers Durham Bulls
2005	Toledo Mud Hens Larry Parrish	3 - 0	Indianapolis Indians	Buffalo Bisons Norfolk Tides
2006	Toledo Mud Hens Larry Parrish	3 - 2	Rochester Red Wings	Charlotte Knights Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons
2007	Richmond Braves Dave Brundage	3 - 2	Durham Bulls	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Toledo Mud Hens
2008	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees Dave Miley	3 - 1	Durham Bulls	Louisville Bats Pawtucket Red Sox
2009	Durham Bulls Charlie Montoyo	3 - 0	Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees	Gwinnett Braves Louisville Bats
2010	Columbus Clippers Mike Sarbaugh	3 - 1	Louisville Bats	Durham Bulls Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees
2011	Columbus Clippers Mike Sarbaugh	3 - 1	Lehigh Valley IronPigs	Durham Bulls Pawtucket Red Sox

Notes

• The final two games of the 1981 Governor's Cup final were cancelled due to weather-related problems. Columbus was declared the champion.
• The remaining games of the 2001 Governor's Cup final were cancelled on September 12, 2001 due to the attacks on the United States occuring on the previous day. Due to its 2-1 win in the only game played at the time, the Louisville RiverBats were declared champions.