Editing Denver Zephyrs (section)

===Denver Bears (1955–1983)===
[[File:Denver Bears uniform, History Colorado Center, 2018.jpg|thumb|left|upright=0.8|A Denver Bears uniform]]

Although naming a team for its uniform color had been popular in the 19th century, it was not fashionable in the 20th. As Denver had no connection to the original Blues, and in recognition of the new location in the [[Rocky Mountains|Rockies]], the team became known as Bears.<ref name=BR-Denver/>

The new Denver team played at what became known later as [[Mile High Stadium]], but was originally known as Bears Stadium, after the team. This ballpark was one of the largest venues in history to host minor league baseball on a routine basis, and had the additional draw of being in one of the largest minor league markets at the time. For many years, the biggest crowds were on [[Independence Day (United States)|Independence Day]] [[fireworks]] nights, and the American Association scheduled the Bears for a home game every year. It was on these nights that the Bears drew the largest crowds in minor league baseball history. On July 4, 1982, the Bears drew an all-time minor league record of 65,666 for a game against the [[Omaha Storm Chasers|Omaha Royals]], breaking their own record of 59,691 set on July 4 of the previous year.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stivers |first1=Melinda |title=Denver Bears doing well, but city still wants a big league baseball team |url=https://www.csmonitor.com/1982/0811/081130.html |access-date=23 March 2023 |work=Christian Science Monitor |date=August 11, 1982}}</ref>

The Triple-A Bears were affiliated with the [[New York Yankees]] at the outset, with [[Ralph Houk]] [[manager (baseball)|managing]] many players who would reach the majors and play in the [[World Series]]. The team had some early success, winning the [[List of American Association (1902–1997) champions|American Association championship]] in 1957.<ref name=AAChamps>{{cite web|url=http://www.tripleabaseball.com/PostSeasonAA.jsp|title=American Association Playoff Results|work=Triple-A Baseball.com|publisher=Triple-A Baseball|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref> [[American Association (1902–1997) Most Valuable Player Award|League MVPs]] in this period included [[Marv Throneberry]] in 1956 and [[Steve Boros]] in 1960.<ref name=AAMVP>{{cite web|url=http://www.tripleabaseball.com/AAAwards.jsp|title=American Association Special Award Winners|work=Triple-A Baseball.com|publisher=Triple-A Baseball|access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref>

Although the team had been a member of the American Association since the league's inception 60 years before, it was a Midwestern circuit, so for the 1963 season, the Bears transferred to the [[Pacific Coast League]].<ref name=BR-Denver/> The mid-1960s Bears included such future big-leaguers as [[César Tovar]] and [[Ted Uhlaender]], but lacked overall success. It also turned out that with the PCL otherwise all but confined to the actual [[West Coast of the United States|Pacific Coast]], Denver was now located too far east. In 1969, the franchise returned to the American Association.<ref name=BR-Denver/>

The Denver Bears had some good teams from the 1970s to the mid-1980s, producing such players as [[Andre Dawson]], [[Tim Wallach]], [[Warren Cromartie]], [[Tim Raines]], [[Graig Nettles]], [[Terry Francona]], [[Wallace Johnson (baseball)|Wallace Johnson]], [[Danny Morris]], [[Pat Rooney (baseball)|Pat Rooney]], and [[Bill Gullickson]]. Denver players [[Richie Scheinblum]] (1971), [[Cliff Johnson (baseball)|Cliff Johnson]] (1973), [[Roger Freed]] (1976), [[Frank Ortenzio]] (1977), and [[Randy Bass]] (1980) were league MVPs.<ref name=AAMVP/> The managing careers of both [[Billy Martin]] and [[Felipe Alou]] began with the Bears. The team won the Association's championship with some regularity, topping the league in 1971, 1976, 1977, 1981, and 1983.<ref name=AAChamps/> The 1980 Bears were recognized as one of the [[The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams|100 greatest minor league teams of all time]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=37 |title=Top 100 Teams |website=Minor League Baseball |date=2001 |access-date=December 7, 2018}}</ref>