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In 1903, a small league in California defied Organized Baseball by adding teams in Portland and Seattle to become the strongest minor league of the twentieth century. Calling itself the Pacific Coast League, this outlaw association frequently outdrew its major league counterparts and continued to challenge the authority of Organized Baseball until the majors expanded into California in 1958.
The Pacific Coast League introduced the world to Joe, Vince and Dom DiMaggio, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Ted Williams, Tony Lazzeri, Lefty O'Doul, Mickey Cochrane, Bobby Doerr, and many other baseball stars, all of whom originally signed with PCL teams. This thorough history of the Pacific Coast League chronicles its foremost personalities, governance, and contentious relationship with the majors, proving that the history of the game involves far more than the happenings in the American and National leagues.
List of contents
Table of ContentsPreface 1. Before the PCL: From the Gold Rush to 1900
2. 1901 to 1905: The Pacific Coast League Is Born
3. 1906 to 1909: Things Get Shaken Up
4. 1910 to 1914: The McCredie Era
5. 1915 to 1916: An Oasis in the Desert
6. 1917 to 1919: A Southern California Rivalry
7. 1920 to 1921: Lying Tigers and Bees, Oh My!
8. 1922 to 1924: The Battle of Avalon
9. 1925 to 1928: Murder, Mayhem and Manslaughter, Inc.
10. 1929 to 1932: Let There Be Lights!
11. 1933 to 1935: Joltin' Joe DiMaggio
12. 1936 to 1937: Bill Lane Leaves Hollywood and Finds a Star
13. 1938 to 1941: A New Wizard for the Emerald City
14. 1942 to 1945: Gashouse Baseball and the Miracle of '42
15. 1946 to 1948: Lefty, Casey and the Nine Old Men
16. 1949 to 1951: The Golden Boy and the Natural
17. 1952 to 1954: Hooray for Hollywood
18. 1955 to 1957: Stout Steve and the PCL's Last Great Team
19. Endings and Beginnings
Appendix League Champions; Highest Batting Average, Season; Most Home Runs, Season;
Most Home Runs, Career; Most RBIs, Season; Longest Hitting Streaks; Most Wins, Pitcher, Season;
Most Wins, Pitcher, Career; No- Hitters; Unassisted Triple Plays; Most Wins, Manager, Career;
Replaced Managers; Spring Training SitesChapter Notes Sources and Bibliography Index
About the author
Dennis Snelling is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the Pacific Coast League Historical Society. He is a three-time finalist for the Casey Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year, including for The Greatest Minor League. He lives in Rocklin, California. (Visit www.dennissnelling.com.)
