275:. Miami had crowds up to 3,500, with an average of 1,350 for home games at Miami Stadium, drawing 48,600 for the 72 games played. Miami was also affected by the rest of the Inter–American League issues. Miami owners Fine and Ryan offered a promotion where Amigos fans could purchase a joint season ticket with the Miami Orioles for all of the two teams’ combined 130 home games for $ 250. The Amigos and other teams in the league did not have television or radio broadcasts, negating potential revenue sources and fan interest in the games. Only one 1979 Miami Amigos game was broadcast in Miami, a radio broadcast.
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336:. The ballpark had a capacity of 9,548 (1992) and dimensions of (Left, Center, Right): 330–400–330 (1950). Miami Stadium was built in 1949. It had a cantilevered grandstand with no support beams. A high, rounded roof, with palm trees growing out of the paved walkway circled the stadium. The stadium was renamed "Bobby Maduro Miami Stadium" in 1987. It was torn down in 2001. The stadium was located at 2301 Northwest 10th Avenue, Miami, Florida.
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the stadium lights failed and never came back on. The two
Venezuelan teams generally drew good crowds. But the San Juan Boricuas occasionally drew fewer than 100 fans and moved some games to Puerto Rico, drawing 14,625 total attendance for the season. In mid–June, the San Juan and Panama (24,400 in attendance) owners immediately abandoned their teams, leaving players stranded across the
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The Amigos’ uniforms were green with red and yellow trim. The Amigos' home uniform was a white jersey with white pants. The Miami road jersey was a bright green V–necked pullover with the "Miami Amigos" across the chest in yellow letters with red trim. The logo had "Miami" above "Amigos" with a large
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led the Inter–American League with 11 wins and teammate Ron
Martinez had a 0.89 ERA, tops in the league. The Amigos' shutdown left the above-mentioned Miami Orioles as the city's main pro baseball team, a status which would hold until 1991 (at which time they would move westward to Fort Myers), when
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owned a successful shoe factory in Miami and could only travel to away games on the weekends. The atmosphere at Miami
Stadium for Amigos games was festive, as the fans used conga drums and other percussion to play out Latin rhythms throughout the home games. The team cheerleaders were called the Hot
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Beginning play, the Inter–American League and Miami debuted on April 11, 1979. Problems affected the league as rains cancelled large numbers of games. Visa issues and airline problems negatively affected travel and resulted in additional cancelled games. One Amigos game in
Venezuela was called when
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The Miami Amigos, playing under manager Davey
Johnson, were in first place on June 30, 1979, when the Inter–American League permanently folded and were declared league champions. Miami had a 51–21 overall record and were 10.0 games ahead of the second place Caracas Metropolitanos in the league
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By June, the Inter–American League lost the San Juan and Panama franchises, who both folded. The Inter–American League then divided the season schedule into halves, awarding the first–half pennant to Miami, who were 43–17 in their first 60 games. The Amigos would only play 12 more games.
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comprised the league structure. The Miami Amigos played with fellow league members
Caracas Metropolitanos (Venezuela), Panama Banqueros, Puerto Rico Boricuas, Petroleros de Zulia (Venezuela) and Santo Domingo Azucareros (Dominican Republic) as charter members.
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in 1978, was hired to be a player/manager for the Amigos, in his first managerial job. The roster contained many players with previous major league experience. The Amigos' average player age was 27.5 and 13 players on the roster had major league experience.
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Once the season began, Davey
Johnson underwent back surgery and missed time with the team. Johnson had lingering effects from a home plate collision years earlier and was hitting .240 with one home run in 25 at–bats for the Amigos. Amigos player
283:, who was leading the league in home runs, was suspended by Johnson. Thomas' religious beliefs dictated that he was forbidden to play from sundown Friday until sundown Saturday and he had several incidents with umpires. Amigos player
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Bobby Maduro publicly announced the creation of the Miami Amigos on
September 14, 1978. The Miami franchise owners were Ronald Fine and Joe Ryan, who were already the owners of the Class A Miami Orioles of the
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and had owned minor league franchises in Cuba and the United States. The league was formed for the 1979 season. The Miami
Franchise was named the "Miami Amigos," playing home games at
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267:"A". The Amigos' cap was a pinwheel style with a red bill, a white front panel with a large red "M" joined with a pointed green "A", and a green background.
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188:. The Inter–American League uniquely featured franchises based in five different countries. Teams from the
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John Cronin, “When a Dream Plays
Reality in Baseball…,” The Baseball Research Journal 40 (2011), 88–93.
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won the league batting title, hitting .364 and also lead with 50 runs scored and 94 total hits.
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Bruce Markusen “The Short, Wild Life of the Inter-American League,” Hardball Times, July 8, 2014
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The Inter–American League was formed as the brainchild of Roberto “Bobby” Maduro, an exile from
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Gary Long, “For Johnson, Mets a Snap After Amigos,” Miami Herald, March 28, 1987
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and shared Miami Stadium. Joe Ryan had previously served as president of the
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Bill Colson, “The Over the Hill League,” Sports Illustrated, (June 4, 1979)
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began play in 1979 as charter members of the six–team, Class AAA level
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standings when the league permanently folded. Individually, Miami's
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474:(1979, MGR) 4x MLB All-Star; Manager: 1986 World Series Champion:
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853:"Miami Stadium in Miami, FL history and teams on StatsCrew.com"
663:"Cooperstown Confidential: Davey Johnson and the Miami Amigos"
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Sam Jacobs, “A Vanishing League,” Miami Herald, July 4, 2004.
711:"1979 Inter-American League (IIL) Standings on StatsCrew.com"
160:. In 1979, the Amigos played as members of the short–lived
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had 8 home runs to lead the league. On the mound, Miami's
871:"Maduro Stadium Nearer Demolition For Apartment Complex"
621:"Miami Amigos – Society for American Baseball Research"
592:"Inter-American League (AAA) Encyclopedia and History"
806:"1979 Inter-American League (IIL) on StatsCrew.com"
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788:"1979 Miami Amigos Roster on StatsCrew.com"
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644:"1979 Miami Amigos • Fun While It Lasted"
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887:Miami Amigos - Baseball Reference
922:1979 establishments in Florida
761:"1979 Miami Amigos Statistics"
239:Miami Stadium, Miami, Florida.
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317:were enfranchised as part of
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16:Minor league baseball team
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574:Miami Amigos players
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646:. December 8, 2011.
395:Year–by–year record
89:Minor league titles
827:(Third ed.).
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202:Dominican Republic
108:Conference titles
873:. April 19, 2001.
857:www.statscrew.com
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896:Categories
579:References
529:Jim Tyrone
523:Dan Thomas
298:Jim Tyrone
281:Dan Thomas
218:Bowie Kuhn
547:Hank Webb
377:Class AAA
362:Ballpark
273:Caribbean
206:Venezuela
162:Class AAA
120:Team data
58:Class AAA
569:See also
340:Timeline
136:Ballpark
465:(1979)
411:Manager
347:Year(s)
226:Class A
176:History
152:were a
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408:Finish
405:Record
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350:# Yrs.
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