Southwest International League

Formed in 1951 by the merger of the Sunset League and Arizona-Texas League, the Southwest International League lasted just two seasons as a class C league. In '51, Tijuana's players went on strike for not being paid on a regular basis. In '52, the league attempted to draw excitement with an all-black team, which was originally supposed to play half of its games in the US and half in Mexico, but instead settled in Porterville, California. Only 4 of the 6 entries survived the complete '52 season.

Cities Represented

• Bisbee, AZ & Douglas, AZ: Bisbee-Douglas Copper Kings 1951, moved from Arizona-Texas League 1950, moved back 1952
• Ciudad Juarez, MEX: Juarez Indios 1951, moved from Arizona-Texas League 1950, moved back 1952
• El Centro, CA: El Centro Imperials 1951, moved from Sunset League; El Centro Imps 1952
• El Paso, TX: El Paso Texans 1951, moved from Arizona-Texas League 1950, moved back 1952
• Las Vegas, NV: Las Vegas Wranglers 1951-1952, moved from Sunset League
• Mexicali, MEX: Mexicali Eagles 1951-1952, moved from Sunset League
• Phoenix, AZ: Phoenix Senators 1951, moved from Arizona-Texas League 1950, moved back 1952
• Porterville, CA: Porterville Comets 1952
  • Franchise started the season as Riverside-Ensenada, became Riverside-Porterville, moved to Porterville April 25, then Disbanded August 1, 1952.
• Tijuana, MEX: Tijuana Potros 1951-1952, moved from Sunset League
• Tucson, AZ: Tucson Cowboys 1951, moved from Arizona-Texas League 1950, moved back 1952
• Yuma, AZ: Yuma Panthers 1951-1952, moved from Sunset League

Teams and Statstics

1951-1952

1951 Southwest International League - schedule
President: Les Powers

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
El Paso Texans	88	56	.611	-	104,061	Art Lilly
Juarez Indios	87	57	.604	1	68,000	Victor Manuel Canales / Red Kress
Phoenix Senators	83	61	.576	5	65,320	Wayne Tucker
Mexicali Eagles	81	63	.563	7	88,426	Virgilio Arteaga / Dee Moore
Las Vegas Wranglers	72	71	.503	15.5	48,000	Newt Kimball
Tucson Cowboys	68	75	.476	19.5	62,841	Ken Meyers / Bud Dawson
Tijuana Potros	65	79	.451	23	55,000	Luis Montes de Oca / Enrique Fernandez
Bisbee-Douglas	64	80	.444	24	57,786	Syd Cohen
El Centro Imperials	59	85	.410	29	23,847	Red Kress / Bud Beringhele
Yuma Panthers	52	92	.361	36	50,557	Ray Viers / Don Jameson

Playoff: Mexicali 4 games, Phoenix 1.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Raymon Vargas	Juarez/El Paso	BA	.377		Vince Gonzales	Juarez	W	32
Eduardo Cruz	Juarez	Runs	135		Memo Luna	Tijuana	SO	318
Ramon Vargas	Juarez/El Paso	Hits	229		Memo Luna	Tijuana	ERA	2.52
Ramon Vargas	Juarez/El Paso	RBI	149		Manuel Echeverria	Mexicali	PCT	.824 14-3
Herman Lewis	Phoenix	HR	23		Tony Ponce	Phoenix	CG	38

1952 Southwest International League
President: Harry Ledell

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Attend	Managers
Tijuana Potros	80	56	.588	-	45,000	Fernando Paredes
Mexicali Eagles	74	57	.565	3.5	35,239	Dolf Luque / Virgilio Arteaga
Las Vegas Wranglers	70	66	.515	10	53,200	William DeCarlo
Yuma Panthers	62	68	.477	15	52,280	Lou Bekeza
Porterville Comets #	39	59	.398	NA	32,000	Chet Brewer
El Centro Imps ##	28	47	.373	NA	12,000	Bud Beringhele / Frank Gabler / Henry Savin

# Franchise started the season as Riverside-Ensenda, became Riverside-Porterville, moved to Porterville April 25, then disbanded August 1.
## El Centro disbanded July 13.

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Pete Hughes	Tijuana	BA	.366		Joe Orrell	Tijuana	W	21
Walter Tyler	Porter/Yuma	BA	.366		Silverio Rodriguez	Mexicali	SO	209
Joe Clardy	Las Vegas	Runs	142		Joe Orrell	Tijuana	ERA	2.01
Joe Clardy	Las Vegas	RBI	202		Joe Orrell	Tijuana	Pct	.875; 21-3
Pete Hughes	Tijuana	RBI	131
Pete Hughes	Tijuana	HR	28
Refugio Bernal	Mexicali	HR	28
Pete Hughes	Tijuana	BB	180

Source

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second Edition.