Pacific National League

From BR Bullpen

In 1903 the Pacific Northwest League changed its name to the Pacific National League. This was a result of the independent California League deciding to expand north into Seattle and Portland, and changing its name to the Pacific Coast League as a result. The Pacific Northwest League decided to oppose the move by placing franchises of its own in Los Angeles and San Francisco in a bid to see which of the two leagues would drive out the other.

The class A Pacific National League had teams in Seattle, Los Angeles, Portland and San Francisco, which all also had teams in the Pacific Coast League; these were complemented by teams in the smaller cities of Butte, Helena, Spokane and Tacoma. Travel would prove to be a nightmare for the smaller and more distant cities, and on July 1, the franchise in Portland disbanded, being replaced by a new team in Salt Lake City. On August 15, Helena left the league, and was soon followed by Tacoma, Los Angeles and San Francisco; only four teams finished out the season. The head-on war with the Pacific Coast League had proved disastrous.

With four cities left in 1904, the league was downgraded to class B as the remaining teams were in Boise, Butte, Salt Lake City and Spokane. The league was gone by 1905, while its 1903 rival endures to this day.

Contents 1 Cities Represented 2 Teams and Statistics 2.1 1903-A 2.2 1904-B 3 Source 4 Further Reading

[edit] Cities Represented

• Boise, ID: Boise Fruit Pickers 1904
• Butte, MT: Butte Miners 1903-1904
• Helena, MT: Helena Senators 1903
• Los Angeles, CA: Los Angeles (Pacific National League) 1903
• Portland, OR: Portland Green Gages 1903
• Salt Lake City, UT: Salt Lake City Elders 1903-1904
• San Francisco, CA: San Francisco Pirates 1903
• Seattle, WA: Seattle Chinooks 1903
• Spokane, WA: Spokane Indians 1903-1904
• Tacoma, WA: Tacoma Tigers 1903

[edit] Teams and Statistics

[edit] 1903-A

1903 Pacific National League
President: William Henry Lucas

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Butte Miners	85	62	.578	0	Jerry Kane / Walt Wilmot
Spokane Indians	82	68	.547	4.5	W.V. Garrett / C.H. Williams
Seattle Chinooks	78	71	.523	8	Dan Dugdale
Portland / Salt Lake City #	56	91	.381	29	John Grim / John McCloskey
Los Angeles ###	65	42	.607	NA	Charlie Reilly
San Francisco Pirates ###	56	52	.519	NA	John McCloskey
Tacoma Tigers ##	46	60	.434	NA	Byron McKibben
Helena Senators ##	40	62	.392	NA	John Flannery / M. Carish

#Portland (21-42) moved to Salt Lake City July 2.
##Tacoma and Helena disbanded August 16.
###Los Angeles and San Francisco disbanded August 21. Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Frank Huelsman	Spokane	BA	.392		Pete Dowling	Butte	W	30
She Donahue	Port/Salt Lake	Runs	114		Pete Dowling	Butte	SO	249
She Donahue	Port/Salt Lake	Hits	192		Ernest Nichols	Spokane	Pct	.833; 20-4
Joe Marshall	San Francisco	HR	25

[edit] 1904-B

1904 Pacific National League
President: William Henry Lucas

Team Standings	W	L	PCT	GB	Managers
Boise Fruit Pickers	82	49	.626	0	John McCloskey
Spokane Indians	73	57	.562	8.5	Charlie Reilly
Butte Miners	54	75	.419	27	Walt Wilmot
Salt Lake City Elders	51	79	.392	30.5	Dad Gimlin / Frederick Clarke

Player Statistics

Player	Team	Stat	Tot		Player	Team	Stat	Tot
Bill Carney	Spokane	BA	.366		Dan McFarlan	Boise	W	30
Ike Rockenfield	Spokane	Runs	113		Bill Hogg	Spokane	SO	259
Bill Weaver	Boise	Hits	188		Cal Vasbinder	Butte	Pct	.727; 8-3
Ralph Frary	Spokane	HR	13

[edit] Source

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: Second Edition.

[edit] Further Reading

• Rob Neyer: "In bitter 1903 war, the Coast was always clear", in Mark Armour, ed.: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland, OH, 2006, pp. 12-15, 47.