Governors' Cup

The Governors' Cup is the trophy awarded each year to the champion of the International League, one of the two current Triple-A level minor leagues of Major League Baseball.

Governors' Cup History

In 1933, Frank Shaughnessy, General Manager of the League's Montreal Royals, introduced a new playoff system to International League President Charles H. Knappe and the Governors' Cup was born. Shaughnessy, who would ultimately serve as International League President from 1936 until 1960, was interested in developing a way for more than two clubs to share in the excitement of post-season play. His playoff format, devised to maintain the interest of fans and players alike during the Depression era, provided an opportunity for four teams to participate rather than only two. Several other leagues noticed the success of the "Shaughnessy Plan" and followed suit.

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

In 1988, International League President Harold Cooper donated the trophy to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, where it is on permanent display. A new trophy of the same name was minted in its place and is presented annually to the winner of the Governors' Cup Championship Series.

The two teams playing for the Governors' Cup in 2008 are the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, affiliate of the New York Yankees and the Durham Bulls, affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre won the best-of-five Governors' Cup Championship Series, 3 games to 1.

Governors' Cup Champions

Ten
*Rochester (1939,1952,1955,1956,1964,1971,1974,1988,1990,1997)

Eight
*Syracuse (1935,1942,1943,1947,1954,1969,1970,1976)

Seven
* Montréal (1941,1946,1948,1949,1951,1953,1958)
*Columbus (1979,1980,1981,1987,1991,1992,1996)

Six
*Buffalo (1933,1936,1957,1961,1998,2004)

Five
*Tidewater/Norfolk (1972,1975,1982,1983,1985)
*Richmond (1978,1986,1989,1994,2007)

Four
*Toronto (1934,1960,1965,1966)
*Newark (1937,1938,1940,1945)

Three
*Toledo (1967, 2005, 2006)

Two
*Baltimore (1944,1950)
*Indianapolis (1963,2000)
*Pawtucket (1973,1984)
*Charlotte (1993,1999)
*Durham (2002, 2003)

One
*Havana (1959)
*Atlanta (1962)
*Jacksonville (1968)
*Charleston (1977)
*Ottawa (1995)
*Louisville (2001)
*ScrantonWilkes-Barre (2008)

Governors' Cup Champions Year-by-year

(*) - Also Pennant Winner

(x) - A one-game playoff as a result of the series being cancelled September 12, 2001. Louisville, which had won Game 1, 2-1, of the five-game series on September 10, was declared the winner.

After 10 seasons in a two division format, the International League switched to a three division alignment in 1998. The practice of recognizing the League Champion as not only the Pennant Winner, but also the Governors’ Cup Winner will continue.

Playoff Format

The Governors' Cup Playoffs format is separated into two best-of-five series. With the three division format, all three division winners, and a Wild Card team (the team with the best second place record in the International League) will enter into the "Division Series".

The North Division Champion will play the Wild Card team, while the South Champion plays the West Champion. The winners of these series will move on to the Governors' Cup Championship Series. The team who wins the best-of-five Championship Series will be named Governors' Cup Champions for the year.