TheDenver Zephyrs (formerly theDenver Bears) were aMinor League Baseball team based inDenver, Colorado, United States. They were aTriple-A team that played in theAmerican Association from 1955 to 1962, thePacific Coast League from 1963 to 1968, and the American Association again from 1969 to 1992. They played their home games atMile High Stadium.

Denver Zephyrs
1955–1992 Denver, Colorado
Team logo Cap insignia
Minor league affiliations
Class	Triple-A (1955–1992)
League	American Association (1969–1992) Pacific Coast League (1963–1968) American Association (1955–1962)
Major league affiliations
Team	Milwaukee Brewers (1987–1992) Cincinnati Reds (1985–1986) Chicago White Sox (1983–1984) Texas Rangers (1982) Montreal Expos (1976–1981) Chicago White Sox (1975) Houston Astros (1973–1974) Texas Rangers (1972) Washington Senators (1970–1971) Minnesota Twins (1965–1969) Milwaukee Braves (1963–1964) Detroit Tigers (1960–1962) Unaffiliated (1959) New York Yankees (1955–1958)
Minor league titles
Class titles(2)	1957 1991
League titles(7)	1957 1971 1976 1977 1981 1983 1991
Team data
Name	Denver Zephyrs (1984–1992) Denver Bears (1955–1983)
Ballpark	Mile High Stadium (1955–1992)

The Zephyrs won theAmerican Association championship on seven occasions: 1957, 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, 1983, and 1991. They also won the 1957Junior World Series and the 1991Triple-A Classic.

Denver, Colorado, had been the home of numerousminor league baseball teams dating back to 1885 with an unnamed team of theColorado State League. Off and on from 1901 to 1954, the city was represented by theDenver Bears of theWestern League. In 1955, theClass A Bears were replaced by aTriple-A team of theAmerican Association.^[1] This came about when theKansas City Blues were forced to relocate after theAmerican League'sPhiladelphia Athletics moved toKansas City, Missouri, to become theKansas City Athletics.^[2]

Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in the 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in theRockies, the team became known as Bears.^[1]

The new Denver team played at what became known later asMile High Stadium, but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This ballpark was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were onIndependence Dayfireworks nights, and the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game every year. It was on these nights that the Bears drew the largest crowds in minor league baseball history. On July 4, 1982, the Bears drew an all-time minor league record of 65,666 for a game against theOmaha Royals, breaking their own record of 59,691 set on July 4 of the previous year.^[3]

The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with theNew York Yankees at the outset, withRalph Houkmanaging many players who would reach the majors and play in theWorld Series. The team had some early success, winning theAmerican Association championship in 1957.^[4]League MVPs in this period includedMarv Throneberry in 1956 andSteve Boros in 1960.^[5]

Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, so for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to thePacific Coast League.^[1] The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers asCésar Tovar andTed Uhlaender, but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actualPacific Coast, Denver was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association.^[1]

The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players asAndre Dawson,Tim Wallach,Warren Cromartie,Tim Raines,Graig Nettles,Terry Francona,Wallace Johnson,Danny Morris,Pat Rooney, andBill Gullickson. Denver playersRichie Scheinblum (1971),Cliff Johnson (1973),Roger Freed (1976),Frank Ortenzio (1977), andRandy Bass (1980) were league MVPs.^[5] The managing careers of bothBilly Martin andFelipe Alou began with the Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983.^[4] The 1980 Bears were recognized as one of the100 greatest minor league teams of all time.^[6]

In 1984, the team name was changed to the Denver Zephyrs,^[1] after the famouspassenger train.Barry Larkin (1986) was league MVP while with the Zephyrs, as wereGreg Vaughn (1989),Jim Olander (1991), andJim Tatum (1992).^[5]ESPN broadcasterOrestes Destrade also played for the Zephyrs. On June 3, 1987, Zephyrs playerJoey Meyer hit the longest verified home run in American professional baseball history at 582 feet.^[7]

The Zephyrs' only championship under the new nickname was the 1991 American Association title.^[4] They went on to win the 1991Triple-A Classic against theInternational League'sColumbus Clippers, 4–1.^[8]

Major League Baseball came to Denver with the arrival of theColorado Rockiesexpansion team of theNational League in 1993. After 39 seasons of play, the Zephyrs relocated toNew Orleans, Louisiana, after the 1992 season where they continued as theNew Orleans Zephyrs.^[9]

• Narciso Elvira - played with the Zephyrs after his stint in the Major League Baseball with theMilwaukee Brewers in 1990
• Joey Meyer - holds the record for the longesthome run in professional baseball history at 582 feet (177 m), which he hit June 3, 1987, at Denver's Mile High Stadium

• Category:Denver Bears players
• Category:Denver Zephyrs players