The Lewiston Broncos were an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Single-A minor league baseball

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

 team based in Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston, Idaho

Lewiston is a city in and also the county seat of Nez Perce County in the Pacific Northwest state of Idaho. It is the second-largest city in the northern Idaho region, behind Coeur d'Alene and ninth-largest in the state. Lewiston is the principal city of the Lewiston, ID - Clarkston, WA...

. The parent organization was Lewiston Baseball Club, Inc. formed in 1952 by Lewiston businessmen Sam Canner Sr., Jack Lee, Billy Gray, George Thiessen and others. Gray later sold his shares to Thiessen. The Broncs were a member of the Western International League

Western International League

The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level circuit in American and Canadian minor league baseball. It operated in 1923, 1937-42, and 1946-54. In 1955, it changed its name to the Northwest League, and still operates today as a Short Season A loop under that name.The WIL consisted of...

 1953-54, and the WIL's successor, the Northwest League

Northwest League

The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...

, from 1955-74. The Broncs won the NWL championships in , led by catcher

Catcher

Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...

-manager

Manager (baseball)

In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...

 John McNamara

John McNamara (baseball)

John Francis McNamara is a former manager and coach in Major League Baseball. He managed six major league teams, directing the 1986 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, only to experience an excruciating defeat in that season's World Series at the hands of the New York Mets.-Playing,...

, the future MLB skipper and in 1970, 1972 and 1973.

The Broncos had two distinctions:

1. They played in the smallest town in America to have a professional baseball team; and
2. They were the only professional baseball team to be operated without a business manager. During their entire existence, they were run by a board of directors centered around the stockholders.

The team colors were blue and white.

Affiliations

The Broncos were affiliated with the following major league

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

 teams:

Year	Affiliation
1953	St. Louis Browns Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
1954; 1972	Baltimore Orioles Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
1957	Philadelphia Phillies Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
1960-66	Kansas City Athletics Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
1967-70	St. Louis Cardinals St. Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
1973-74	Oakland Athletics Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....

Players

A roster check in 1967 showed that 40% of the players and coaches of the Kansas City Athletics had been in Lewiston at one time or another. Reggie Jackson

Reggie Jackson

Reginald Martinez "Reggie" Jackson , nicknamed "Mr. October" for his clutch hitting in the postseason with the New York Yankees, is a former American Major League Baseball right fielder. During a 21-year baseball career, he played from 1967-1987 for four different teams. Jackson currently serves as...

 was perhaps the most famous Lewiston Bronc of all-time; Mr. October played 12 games at age 20 for Lewiston in 1966. The Broncs' rosters included Rick Monday

Rick Monday

Robert James "Rick" Monday, Jr. is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball and is currently a broadcast announcer. From 1966 through 1984, Monday, a center fielder for most of his career, played for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics , Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers...

, manager John McNamara

John McNamara (baseball)

John Francis McNamara is a former manager and coach in Major League Baseball. He managed six major league teams, directing the 1986 Boston Red Sox to the American League pennant, only to experience an excruciating defeat in that season's World Series at the hands of the New York Mets.-Playing,...

, Vearl ("Snag") Moore, Thorton ("Kip") Kipper, Antonio Perez, Ron Koepper, Delmer Owen, Dick Green

Dick Green

Richard Larry Green , is a former Major League Baseball player.He was raised in Rapid City, S.D., where his ability as a baseball player was first noted....

, Bud Swan, Bert Campaneris

Bert Campaneris

Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco , nicknamed "Campy", is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for four American League teams, primarily the Kansas City and Oakland Athletics...

, John Israel, Dave Duncan

Dave Duncan (baseball)

David Edwin Duncan is an American former professional baseball player and current pitching coach for the St. Louis Cardinals...

, Al Heist and as a player, later coach-manager Robert ("Gabby") Williams.

Termination

The Broncos and their parent company were dissolved in January 1975, after years of financial losses due to poor win-loss records. Micromanagement interference from then A's owner, Charlie O. Finley, at all levels of the A's organization was the cause. The result for the Broncos was lost games due to the best players being quickly moved to other minor league franchises especially in Single-A Modesto, CA, or Double-A Brimingham, AL.

The A's maintained a presence in the Northwest League in 1975 with a new franchise in southwestern

Southwestern Idaho

Southwestern Idaho is a geographical term for the area along the state of Idaho's borders with Oregon and Nevada. It includes the populous areas of the Boise metropolitan area, Treasure Valley and Magic Valley.-Counties:Ada |Adams |Boise |Canyon |...

 Idaho as the Boise A's, managed by former Bronc, Tom Trebelhorn. After two seasons in Boise

Boise, Idaho

Boise is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho, as well as the county seat of Ada County. Located on the Boise River, it anchors the Boise City-Nampa metropolitan area and is the largest city between Salt Lake City, Utah and Portland, Oregon.As of the 2010 Census Bureau,...

, the team moved to Medicine Hat

Medicine Hat, Alberta

Medicine Hat, known to locals as "The Hat", is a city of 61,097 people located in the southeastern part of the province of Alberta, Canada. It is enclaved within Cypress County along with the nearby Town of Redcliff, although neither is part of the county....

 in eastern Alberta

Alberta

Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...

 in 1977 and joined the Pioneer League. The Medicine Hat A's switched affiliations after one season to become the Medicine Hat Blue Jays

Medicine Hat Blue Jays

The Medicine Hat Blue Jays were the Toronto Blue Jays rookie-level affiliate in the Pioneer League beginning in 1978 and remained with their parent club for 25 seasons. They played their home games at Athletic Park. Over the years, the club generally struggled on the field and with attendance, but...

 in 1978. There was no A's affiliate in the NWL in 1977; in 1978 it was the Bend Timber Hawks, in 1979 the Medford A's.

External links

• baseball-reference.com - minor league teams - Lewiston, Idaho
• http://natnotes.com/2005/08/23/past-northwest-league-champions/
• http://www.ballparkdigest.com/news/index.html?article_id=539