Hawaii Islanders
From BR Bullpen
- Location: Honolulu, HI
- League: Pacific Coast League 1961-1987
- Affiliation: Kansas City Athletics 1961; Los Angeles Angels 1962-1964; Washington Senators 1965-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968; California Angels 1969-1970; San Diego Padres 1971-1982; Pittsburgh Pirates 1983-1986; Chicago White Sox 1987
- Ballpark: Les Murakami Stadium 1961-1974, Aloha Stadium 1975-1987
The Hawaii Islanders were originally a very strong amateur team. In 1961 when the Pacific Coast League expanded to Hawaii, the Kansas City Athletics' farm club took the nickname. The affiliation would change frequently over the years. A good deal of the turnover may be due to the inconvenience and travel expenses of having a farm club several time zones away. The most famous player to come from the Islanders was possibly Barry Bonds, who was with the club for a portion of the 1986 season. After the 1987 season, the club relocated and became the Colorado Springs Sky Sox
- Members of the original 1961 Islanders included Jim McManus, Carlos Bernier, Bobby Prescott, Ken Toothman, Rac Slider, Jay Ward, Bobby Balcena, and Jack Parks. The pitching staff was led by Dave Theis, Bill Werle, Diego Segui, and Julius "Swamprat" Grant. Ray "Jabbo" Jablonski started the year with the Islanders but was traded to the Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers of the American Association when the Islanders obtained Toothman.
- Irv Noren managed the team in 1962-63, and had a $50 fine for any player who showed up too sunburned to play ball.
- Due to being 2500 miles from their nearest opponent, the PCL had a unique schedule for the Islanders. Initially, teams made one four and one seven game visit to the Islands with the Islanders doing the same. Later, as the league expanded, the Islanders played 8 game series against each team in order to cut down on travel costs.
[edit] Year-by-Year Record
| Year | Record | Finish | Manager | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 68-86 | 6th | Tommy Heath / Bill Werle (6/5) / Tommy Heath (6/16) / Bill Werle (8/31) | none |
| 1962 | 77-76 | 5th | Irv Noren | none |
| 1963 | 81-77 | 4th | Irv Noren | |
| 1964 | 60-98 | 10th | Bob Lemon | |
| 1965 | 75-72 | 6th (t) | George Case | |
| 1966 | 63-84 | 10th | George Case | |
| 1967 | 60-87 | 12th | Wayne Terwilliger | |
| 1968 | 78-69 | 3rd | Bill Adair | |
| 1969 | 74-72 | 4th | Chuck Tanner | |
| 1970 | 98-48 | 1st | Chuck Tanner | Lost League Finals |
| 1971 | 73-73 | 4th (t) | Bill Adair | |
| 1972 | 74-74 | 5th | Rocky Bridges | |
| 1973 | 70-74 | 5th | Rocky Bridges (13-19) / Warren Hacker (2-3) / Roy Hartsfield (55-52) | |
| 1974 | 67-77 | 6th | Roy Hartsfield | |
| 1975 | 88-56 | 1st | Roy Hartsfield | League Champs |
| 1976 | 77-68 | 2nd | Roy Hartsfield | League Champs |
| 1977 | 79-67 | 2nd | Dick Phillips | |
| 1978 | 56-82 | 8th | Dick Phillips | |
| 1979 | 72-76 | 8th | Dick Phillips | |
| 1980 | 76-65 | 5th | Doug Rader | Lost League Finals |
| 1981 | 72-65 | 3rd (t) | Doug Rader | Lost in 1st round |
| 1982 | 73-71 | 5th | Doug Rader | |
| 1983 | 72-71 | 5th | Tom Trebelhorn | |
| 1984 | 87-53 | 1st | Tommy Sandt | Lost League Finals |
| 1985 | 84-59 | 1st | Tommy Sandt | Lost in 1st round |
| 1986 | 65-79 | 9th | Tommy Sandt | |
| 1987 | 65-75 | 9th | Bob Bailey |
