Spokane Indians

• Location: Spokane, WA
• League: Pacific National League 1903-1904; Northwestern League 1905-1917; Pacific Coast International League 1918, 1920; Western International League 1940-1942, 1946-1954; Northwest League 1955-1956; Pacific Coast League 1958-1971; Northwest League 1972; Pacific Coast League 1973-1982; Northwest League 1983-present
• Affiliation: Brooklyn Dodgers 1947; Philadelphia Phillies 1953; Los Angeles Dodgers 1958-1972; Texas Rangers 1973-1975, 2003-present; Milwaukee Brewers 1976-1978; Seattle Mariners 1979-1981; California Angels 1982; San Diego Padres 1983-1994; Kansas City Royals 1995-2002
• Ballpark: Ferris Field 1940-1942, 1946-1956; Avista Stadium 1983-present

Team History

The name Spokane Indians, traditionally adopted by ball teams from Spokane, WA is probably a corruption of Inlanders, a reference to the city's geographic location. That was the "official" name of Spokane's entry in the 1904 Pacific National League, but it was soon shortened to Indians by fans and sportswriters alike. There is no indication that the 1903 edition of the team had a nickname, but it has retroactively been referred to as the Indians as well. In any case, the name has stuck to Spokane ever since, through a variety of leagues and affiliations.

The 1905 Indians began the season in Victoria, BC as the Victoria Legislators. They moved to Spokane on July 11, 1905.

On June 24, 1946, the club, playing in the Western International League was the victim of one of the deadliest accidents in American sports history. The team bus, carrying 16 players, crashed on Highway 10 in the Snoqualmie Pass on its way from Spokane to Bremerton, WA. The bus rolled into the ravine along the highway and caught fire, killing manager Mel Cole and eight players, severely injuring three others.

In 1985, brothers George Brett, Ken Brett, Bobby Brett and J.B. Brett bought the Indians.

Year-by-Year Record

Year	Record	Finish	Manager	Playoffs	Notes
1903	82-68	2nd	W.V. Garrett / C.H. Williams	none
1904	73-57	2nd	Charlie Reilly	none
1905	20-19	3rd	Charlie Reilly	none	PNL ended play June 20
	27-20 (41-58 overall)	4th	G.G. Howlett / Ed Hutchinson / Charles McIntyre	none	Victoria (NWL) moved to Spokane July 11
1906	37-50	4th	Bill Hurley	none
1907	68-76	5th	E.E. Quinn	none
1908	72-75	4th	E.E. Quinn	none
1909	100-66	2nd	Robert Brown	none
1910	96-65	1st	Dan Dugdale	none League Champs
1911	96-71	2nd	Joseph Cohen	none
1912	95-72	2nd	Harry Ostdiek	none
1913	70-97	6th	Harry Ostdiek / Watt Powell / Mike Lynch	none
1914	84-68	3rd	Mike Lynch	none
1915	81-74	3rd	Bob Wicker
1916	79-48	1st	Nick Williams	none League Champs
1917	36-41	4th	Nick Williams	none
1918	9-16	--	Nick Williams		Team disbanded May 26
1920	56-58	5th	Cliff Blankenship	none
1940	84-59	1st	Eddie Leishman	Lost League Finals
1941	89-44	1st	Ray Jacobs	none League Champs	(Lost series to All-Star team)
1942	58-83	4th	Ray Jacobs	none
1946	54-78	7th	Glenn Wright / Mel Cole / Ben Geraghty	none
1947	87-67	2nd	Ben Geraghty	none
1948	102-64	1st	Buddy Ryan (57-52) / Dolph Camilli (45-12)	none League Champs
1949	78-71	3rd	Jim Brillheart	Lost in 1st round
1950	63-85	7th	Alan Strange	none
1951	93-49	1st	Alan Strange	none League Champs
1952	91-64	2nd	Don Osborn	none
1953	75-67	5th	Don Osborn	League Champs
1954	30-24	--	Don Osborn		team disbanded on June 21
1955	47-80	7th	Eddie Lake
1956	56-77	7th	Joe Rossi	none
1958	68-85	7th	Goldie Holt (32-45) / Bobby Bragan (36-40)	none
1959	77-77	5th	Bobby Bragan	none
1960	92-61	1st	Preston Gomez	none, League Champs
1961	68-86	7th	Preston Gomez	none
1962	58-96	8th	Preston Gomez	none
1963	98-60	1st	Danny Ozark	Lost League Finals
1964	85-73	5th	Danny Ozark
1965	57-90	11th	Bill Brenzel (3-8) / Duke Snider (6-8) / Pete Reiser (1-1) / Duke Snider (47-73)
1966	75-73	7th	Roy Hartsfield
1967	80-68	2nd	Roy Hartsfield	Lost League Finals
1968	85-60	2nd	Roy Hartsfield	Lost League Finals
1969	71-73	2nd	Tommy Lasorda
1970	94-52	1st	Tommy Lasorda	League Champs
1971	92-56	3rd	Tommy Lasorda
1972	42-36	2nd	Bill Berrier
1973	81-63	2nd	Del Wilber	League Champs
1974	78-64	1st	Del Wilber	League Champs
1975	64-78	7th	Del Wilber
1976	65-78	7th	Frank Howard
1977	75-69	4th	John Felske
1978	64-75	8th	John Felske
1979	68-79	9th	Rene Lachemann
1980	60-80	8th	Rene Lachemann
1981	56-84	10th	Rene Lachemann (11-9) / Ken Pape (45-75)
1982	78-65	3rd	Moose Stubing	Lost League Finals
1983	23-46	8th	Ed Olsen
1984	35-39	6th (t)	Jack Maloof
1985	33-41	6th (t)	Jack Maloof
1986	39-35	5th	Rob Picciolo
1987	54-22	1st	Rob Picciolo	League Champs
1988	42-34	3rd (t)	Steve Lubratich	League Champs
1989	41-34	1st	Bruce Bochy	League Champs
1990	49-27	2nd	Gene Glynn	League Champs
1991	24-52	8th	Gene Glynn
1992	32-44	8th	Ed Romero
1993	35-41	6th (t)	Tim Flannery
1994	30-46	7th	Ty Waller
1995	36-40	6th	Al Pedrique
1996	37-39	5th	Bob Herold
1997	45-31	2nd	Jeff Garber
1998	47-29	1st (t)	Jeff Garber
1999	44-32	1st	Kevin Long	League Champs
2000	38-38	5th	Tom Poquette
2001	22-54	8th	Tom Poquette
2002	29-47	7th	Tom Poquette
2003	50-26	1st	Darryl Kennedy	League Champs
2004	41-35	3rd (t)	Darryl Kennedy
2005	37-39	4th	Greg Riddoch	League Champs
2006	26-50	8th	Mike Micucci
2007	33-42	7th	Tim Hulett
2008	51-25	1st	Tim Hulett	League Champs
2009	37-39	4th	Tim Hulett
2010	43-33	2nd (t)	Tim Hulett	Lost League Finals
2011	35-41	6th	Tim Hulett
2012	28-48	8th	Tim Hulett
2013	38-38	5th	Tim Hulett
2014	40-36	4th	Tim Hulett	Lost in 1st round
2015	34-42	6th(t)	Tim Hulett
2016	32-43	7th	Tim Hulett	Lost in 1st round
2017	39-37	4th (t)	Matt Hagen	Lost in 1st round
2018	38-38	3rd (t)	Kenny Holmberg	Lost League Finals
2019			Kenny Hook

Further Reading

• Beth Mary Bollinger: Until The End Of The Ninth, Rooftop Publishing, 2007 (a novel based on the true story of the 1946 bus crash and its aftermath).
• Jim Price: "Devastating crash reverberates 60 years later", in Mark Armour, ed.: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland, OH, 2006, pp. 92-94.
• Jim Price: "Stars leapt to bigs through Spokane", in Mark Armour, ed.: Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, Society for American Baseball Research, Cleveland, OH, 2006, pp. 84-91.

Related Sites

• Official Team Website
• Newspaper account of the 1946 bus crash