The Arizona–Mexico League was a Minor League Baseball league in the southwestern U.S. and northwestern Mexico, that operated as an affiliated Class C league that existed from 1955–58, and then again in 2003 as an independent baseball league. Currently, the Arizona–Mexico League has formed as a legal entity as an independent baseball league that is scheduling to begin play in the future. The league office is in operation, with the goal of beginning play in previous league cities. An exact time to start a new season is unknown at this time.
History
The Arizona–Mexico League was the successor league of the Arizona-Texas League and Arizona State League. The Arizona–Texas League existed from 1930–32, 1937–41, 1947–50 and 1952-54. From 1928 to 1930, it was known as the Arizona State League.
On February 12, 1955, a league meeting at the Tucson league office was held, with President Tim Cusick presiding. The league board consisting of seven members were present. The El Paso and Juarez clubs had been released by the eight-team league during the 1954 season, release effective November 1955, and Globe-Miami entered the league in the off-season. With El Paso, the lone Texas franchise no longer in the league, on this date, the league voted to officially change the league name from Arizona-Texas League to Arizona-Mexico League.
League brass were scrambling in early 1955, trying to recruit an eighth team. Not knowing how many teams would be in the league on opening day, league president Tim Cusick drafted a two-part league schedule, a schedule for a seven-team league and one for an eight-team league. Just before the start of the 1955 season Yuma was accepted into the league. Eventual baseball heavyweight promoter Dick King got word that a team operator was needed in Yuma and he quickly arrived to begin the process of putting a team together.
Three of the eight league teams had affiliation with Major League Baseball. Mexicali had a working agreement with St Louis, Phoenix with Baltimore and the recently joined Globe-Miami team signed with Philadelphia.
The 1956 season had one team membership move and that was the Globe-Miami membership relocating to Tijuana. Also, the league trimmed the number of games from 139 in 1955, to a less aggressive 120 in 1956. Yuma found affiliation with the Cincinnati Reds along with the Douglas Copper Kings becoming affiliated with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Cananea won the first half pennant and Yuma the second half in the split season.
1957 brought a lot of business action. In a January 6, 1957 league meeting held in Nogales, Sonora, Chuck Hollinger of Tucson was elected president of the Arizona–Mexico League and Oliver Talimini of Phoenix, vice president in a general business meeting of league officials. Hollinger replaced E. T. (Tim) Cusick who resigned the previous year. It was voted that there would be no split season in 1957 and no playoff series. The members also adopted a 140-game playing schedule which included no doubleheader games although games rescheduled multiple times because of bad weather could have resulted in a doubleheader. A player pool, based on attendance, was also voted in with the top four finishers splitting the profits. The veteran limit of five was retained for this season.
Las Vegas was voted into the league in a league meeting held in Phoenix on February 3, replacing Tijuana which folded the previous season. At the close of the meeting the league had eight teams for the upcoming season. In other actions at the meeting, the league voted to abolish the job of executive secretary and to raise the salary of League President Charles Hollinger of Tucson from $2,400 to $3,200 a year. Hollinger, who was the former league executive secretary, will combine duties of the secretary with his post as league President. He also was selected to handle the job of league statistician, held for several years by William J. Weiss of San Mateo, Calif.