The name Toros was suggested by name-the-team contest winner Clarence Dupnik, who went on to become the Sheriff of Pima County, Arizona.

The Toros did better as the AAA team of the Oakland Athletics (1973–1976), winning the PCL Eastern Division title in 1973 and finishing in second place in 1975.

As the Texas Rangers farm team (1977–1979) they finished in third and fourth place, but with outstanding individual performances by outfielder Billy Sample (AAA Minor League Player of the Year, 1978) and others.

The team went 70–74, while "losing" a number of outstanding players, such as pitchers Donne Wall and Billy Wagner, to major league call-ups.

[1] In addition to Lofton, Wall and Wagner the Astros-era also yielded several future MLB players including Ray Montgomery, Mike Simms, Bobby Abreu, Dave Hajek, Melvin Mora, Phil Nevin, Craig Biggio, Brian Hunter and Mike Hampton.

Martin Stone, a businessman, land speculator and former owner of the Phoenix Firebirds,[4] purchased the Tucson Toros from Rick Holtzman.

With the coming of the Diamondbacks, a new ballpark was needed for spring training in Tucson, since the Colorado Rockies used Hi Corbett Field.

[4][6] In May 1999, longtime Toros general manager Mike Feder was fired from the Sidewinders by Stone, resulting in local uproar.

[7] Following the season, broadcasting entrepreneur Jay Zucker purchased the Sidewinders, reportedly for about $7 to $8 million, after Stone was diagnosed with prostate cancer.

[8] Tucson Baseball, LLC, the new ownership group led by Jay and Melinda Zucker, attempted to improve the situation with a variety of promotions, including weekly fireworks.

Mike Feder returned as general manager, but would leave again prior to the 2001 season to take a role as Regional Marketing Director for the NFL's New Orleans Saints.

Despite the parent club's World Series win the previous year, the Sidewinders reported 268,807 total attendance for the season, an average of just 3,895 per game (compared to Tucson Electric Park's capacity of 11,000).

Many individual Sidewinders performed admirably in mid-season call-ups, sometimes returning to the major league club time and again as needed.

Randy Johnson pitched the home opener as part of a brief rehab stint with the Sidewinders, and picked up a win for the team in his second outing on April 20.

The Sidewinders had a win–loss record of 60–82 in 2008, their final season in Tucson, finishing in fourth (last) place in Pacific South division of the PCL.

[9] The Silver Sox franchise was sold by the league to former Sidewinders owner Tucson Baseball LLC, but the team's history (including Reno's 2006 GBL Championship) did not go with them.

[5] Though they entered the league as an expansion team, the Toros adopted the original franchise's history and records up until 1997, essentially being "resurrected."

[16] In July 2011, the suspended franchise received an eviction notice from the city of Tucson due to reportedly defaulting on their lease at Hi Corbett Field.

[19] Zucker and his wife Melinda wore classic throwback jerseys at the press conference when the initial announcement was made.

The Tucson Toros were featured in an episode of Highway To Heaven, titled "Popcorn, Peanuts and Cracker Jacks."