Northwest PCL Teams
While there are web sites for most of the old PCL teams, currently there are none for the original Portland Beavers and Seattle Rainers. Portland and Seattle were charter members of the PCL and both teams have long histories. Here is a brief history of these two teams.
PORTLAND BEAVERS
Portland had a PCL team from 1903 (they did not field a team in 1918) through 1972, when they had an independent Class A team for four seasons, then had a PCL team from 1977 through 1993, and have had a team once more since 2001. Initially known as the "Browns," "Giants," and even "Ducks," they eventually settled on "Beavers" as their name. The first three Portland teams lost over 100 games apiece, but rebounded to win their first pennant in 1906. In 1910, Portland begin a string of championships that included four pennants in five years. In 1918, Portland dropped out of the league because of wartime travel difficulties but returned the next season. Portland's next pennants came in 1932 and 1936. Their last pennant of the old PCL era was in 1945. The Beavers played at a few different parks over the years, including Vaughn Stadium and Civic Stadium (now PGE Park).
In 1973, the team was moved to Spokane. The Portland Mavericks (an independent Northwest League Class A team) took their place. This team consisted mostly of major league organization "castoffs" but also had pitcher Jim Bouton (of "Ball Four" fame) and Kurt Russell the actor, for a season or two during their brief history. Kurt's father Bing owned the team which was managed by Frank "The Flake" Peters for two of the years the team existed. The 1973 team won the league title and also beat the PCL Eugene Emeralds in an exhibition game that same season. They remained until 1977 and the next season PCL baseball returned to Portland. The 'new' Beavers remained until 1993 when they moved to Salt Lake City and were again replaced by a Class A Northwest League team (a Colorado Rockies affiliate) from 1995 through 2000. In 2001, Portland again had a PCL team called the Beavers (currently a San Diego AAA affiliate) after the Albuquerque Dukes moved there. Visit Portland Beavers for more about the current Portland Beavers.
Notable Beaver players included Harry Heilmann (1913), Jim Thorpe (1922), Mickey Cochrane (1924), John Frederick (1936-1940), Ad Liska (1936-1949), Satchel Paige (1961), Luis Tiant (1964 & 1981), Lou Pinella (1966), Tony Pena (1980), and Juan Samuel (1983).
SEATTLE RAINERS
Seattle like Portland had a PCL team in 1903 and also through 1906. It played in the Northwestern League from 1907 through 1918 before rejoining the PCL in 1919. They won their first PCL title in 1924. The team was first known as the "Indians," and became the "Rainers" in 1938 when Rainer beer owner Emil Sick bought the team for $200,000. They played in a few different parks including Dugdale Field (which burned down after a July 4th celebration in 1932), Civic Stadium and Sicks Stadium (after it was built) in 1939.
Sicks Stadium was a state of the art stadium for its time and held 15,000 seats. It was also built on the site of the old Dugdale Field. Sick hired Jack Lelivelt (manager of the 1934 LA Angels, considered by some to be the greatest minor league team ever) to manage the team and authorized the spending of $25,000 to attract top players. These moves paid off as the Rainers made the playoffs every year from 1938-1943, winning the PCL in 1940 through 1942.
In 1951, Seattle hired Rogers Hornsby to manage the team. He led the team to the PCL title in his only year as manager. In 1955, ex-Rainers' pitcher Fred Hutchinson managed the team and also led them to a title. Sick owned the Rainers until 1961, when he sold it to the Boston Red Sox, who allowed the Rainers to keep their name. Seattle became the Red Sox' top farm team, an arrangement the Red Sox had with the Seals in the mid to late 1950s. Sick died in 1964.
In 1965 the Red Sox sold the team to the then LA Angels and the Rainiers became the Seattle Angels. The next year, Seattle won their last PCL title. They remained the Angels' top farm team until 1969, when the Angels ended their affiliation with Seattle and the team moved to Tucson to make way for the major league Seattle Pilots. After the Pilots moved to Milwaukee the next season, Seattle again had a team called the Rainers who played in the Northwest League from 1972 to 1976.
In 1995, the PCL Tacoma Tigers changed their name to the Rainers in honor of their long gone namesake.
Notable players included Rube Vickers (1906), Dick Geyselman (1935-1944, 1947), Fred Hutchinson (1938), "Kewpie Doll" Dick Barrett (1935-1942, 1947-1949), Hal Turpin (1937-1945), JoJo White (1938-1942), Maury Wills (1957), and Vada Pinson (1958).