Tombstone
Born: 1970 – The Key West Padres relocate to DeLand, FL
Moved: 1971 (Key West Sun Caps)
First Game: April 17, 1970 (L 4-3 @ Orlando Twins)
Last Game: August 29, 1970 (L 8-6 vs. Orlando Twins)
Florida State League Championships: None
Stadium
Conrad Park
Opened:
Ownership & Affiliation
Owner: Frank Purcell
Major League Affiliation: Co-op
Attendance
Background
The DeLand Sun Caps were a Class A minor league baseball team from Volusia County, Florida that played one season in the Florida State League during the summer of 1970.
Sun Caps owner and general manager Frank Purcell, a former merchant marine, charted a strange and winding course through the Florida State League during the late 1960’s. Purcell originally bought the Leesburg Athletics in 1968 and ran the club with his wife, Winnie. With crowds anemic, Purcell pulled the A’s out of Leesburg that August and finished the ’68 season in DeLand. In 1969, he moved his club to Key West and played a single year as the Key West Padres. Purcell was declared persona non grata by Key West officials at the end of the 1969 season owing to disputes over revenue sharing agreements and he beat another strategic retreat back to Deland for the 1970 season.1Girard, Fred. “FSL For ’70 May Shrink To 10 Teams”. The Tampa Bay Times (St. Petersburg, FL). October 23, 1969
In Deland, Frank Purcell sometimes worked as the Sun Caps’ bus driver and clubhouse manager in addition to his duties as President and General Manager.2Ed Hayes. “Purcell Simply Won’t Sit Still”. The Evening Star (Orlando, FL). May 26, 1970
Co-Op Status
The Sun Caps had no Major League affiliation. Instead the team operated as a so-called “co-op” club, directly employing low-priority minor leaguers loaned out by multiple Major League clubs. The Sun Caps featured journeymen from 11 different Major League organizations at the outset of the 1970 season.3NO BYLINE. “DeLand Has New Look As It Returns To FSL Baseball”. The Sentinel (Orlando, FL). April 10, 1970The Cincinnati Reds agreed to pay the salary of Sun Caps manager Bunky Warren.4Ed Hayes. “Purcell Simply Won’t Sit Still”. The Evening Star (Orlando, FL). May 26, 1970
Co-op arrangements are no longer permitted in Minor League Baseball in the 21st century. But in the 1970’s it was not unusual to find a few such arrangements each summer in the lower Class A ranks of the Minors. Deland was one of three co-op clubs in all of Minor League Baseball in 1970, along with Danville of the Midwest League and Raleigh-Durham of the Carolina League.
The DeLand Sun Caps finished the 1970 season in last place in the Florida State League’s six-team West Division with a 55-77 record. No member of the 1970 Sun Caps team ever advanced to the Major Leagues.
Return To Key West
Following the 1970 season, Frank Purcell brought his Florida State League adventures to a close, selling the Sun Caps to Steve Horowitz of New York. Horowitz promptly moved the Sun Caps back to Key West, where Purcell himself was unwelcome but his intellectual property was. Horowitz retained Purcell’s hand-picked “Sun Caps” moniker for his Key West Sun Caps club in 1971.
Professional baseball has never returned to DeLand, Florida since the Sun Caps departed at the end of the 1970 season.
Links
##
