Marc H. Blau - Baseball in Tacoma-Pierce County

I would like to thank every baseball and softball player, coach, umpire, administrator, broadcaster, sportswriter, team physician, trainer, batboy, and groundskeeper that I have visited with over the past 25 years. Their amazing stories are inspiring, and without their willingness to share photographs and memories this book would not be possible.

Clay Huntington, a longtime broadcaster, radio station owner, and sports fan and historian, has encouraged and fueled my passion of local sports. From taking me into the clubhouse at Cheney Stadium at age 11 to get Willie Mayss and Juan Marichals autographs, to enjoying our 1989 World Series trip, he is a great friend and one that I admire and respect.

The contributions to baseball in our community by Doug McArthur and Stan Naccarato are immeasurable as players, coaches, sponsors, broadcasters, administrators, and even umpires. Their efforts, combined with those of Clay and the generosity and passion for baseball shown by Ben Cheney, shaped the landscape for the national pastime in our backyard. We cannot thank them enough.

I am truly indebted to Jim Price, a former sports reporter for the Spokane Spokesman-Review and baseball historian extraordinaire, who offered considerable insights and stories for this book. David Eskenazi, whose dedication to preserving the history of baseball in Seattle, as well as the Pacific Coast League and Pacific Northwest, is unparalleled. Equally amazing is his incredible collection of photographs and recall about players and teams. Both Jim and David deserve significant credit for the success of this book. And, I would also like to acknowledge Eric Sallee, one of the creative forces, along with Jim and David, behind the book Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest.

Other individuals who have volunteered with research, stories and/or loaned photographs from their personal collections include Kevin Kalal, Frank Colarusso, and Michael Sage. Thanks also go to John Wohn for scanning over 400 photographs to choose from; Jody Gomez and Marilyn Buri of the Artco Craft & Frame Shop; Dale Phelps and John McGrath of The News Tribune for their continued support in promoting our sports heritage; Ray Nemec for his treasure trove of statistical data for players; Brian Kamens, Bob Schuler, and Jody Gripp, the incredible staff in the Northwest Room at the Tacoma Public Library; and to the Tacoma Rainiers Baseball Club for their support.

The community owes a debt of gratitude to Baseball Tacoma Inc. for saving baseball from leaving Tacoma in the fall of 1971. Those individuals include original members Stan Naccarato, Robert Alessandro, Tom Baker, Dr. James Billingsley, Mike Block, Morley Brotman, Francis Browne, Ray Carlson, Lawrence Ghilarducci Sr., Doug Gonyea, Clay Huntington, Dr. Robert Johnson, Frank Manley, Carl Miraldi, Frank Pupo, Frank Ruffo, Jim Topping, Mike Tucci Sr., Walt Wiklund, Alden Woodworth, and E. J. Jimmy Zarelli. Joining later were Brad Cheney, Warren Chinn, Norma Honeysett, Robert Kelly, Gus Paine, Tom Paine, Mike Tucci Jr., and John Xitco.

Conspicuously missing from this book is the history of high school baseball due to space limitations and I would like to convey my apologies in that regard. Coaches such as Bill Mullen, Marv Scott, John Heinrick, Holly Gee, Merle Hagbo, Ed Hardenbrook, Marco Malich, Bob Lightfoot, Larry Marshall, and Andy Helling and players such as Harry Nygard, Bill Hobert, Gary Moore, Pat Rooney, Bill Parker, Joe Keller, and Phil Westendorf are among the cast of thousands that have graced the high school diamonds over the years and are deserving of recognition.

Finally, unless otherwise noted, all images appear courtesy of the author.

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AMATEUR AND SEMIPRO BASEBALL 18741997

The reign of the Tacoma Invincibles, who were organized on August 8, 1874, was short lived as they played their first and last game 12 days apart. Yet the development of a baseball field at Eleventh and L Streets by John S. Baker in 1885 provided the impetus for the formation of countless amateur and semi-professional baseball teams throughout Pierce County.

Teams sprang up all over the city and one of the most memorable was the Amocats (Tacoma spelled backwards), who existed from 1901 to 1906. Leagues were organized based on the community a person lived in, ethnicity, and business, and so teams played in the Timber, Sunset, Valley, Commercial, Industrial, Twilight, Shipbuilders and City leagues among others.

The loose league affiliation did not prevent the South Tacoma Tigers from representing the West Coast in the Amateur Baseball Championship of the World in 1915 with their runner-up finish. It was not until 1937 that another Tacoma team ventured into postseason play, as the Johnson Paint team traveled to Wichita, Kansas, to compete in the National Baseball Congress tournament where they tied for fifth.

The Tacoma City League, resurrected in 1949, was the catalyst for a rebirth of baseball in the area, as community teams emerged in South Tacoma, Kay Street, Twenty-sixth and Proctor Streets, McKinley Hill, Sixth Avenue, and Thirty-eighth Street. The competition was fierce, and the crowds turned out in record numbers for games on neighborhood fields and at Tiger Park, located at Thirty-eighth and Lawrence Streets.

The formation of Stanleys Shoemen in 1955 resulted in epic battles against Tacomas Woodworth Contractors for local supremacy, and in 1956 Stanleys claimed top honors with their American Amateur Baseball Congress National Championship. Woodworth would go on to be the runner-up in 1958. Thirty-eight years later, in 1996, the Tacoma Timbers took second place in the National Baseball Congress (semi-pro) World Series in Wichita, Kansasthe last national appearance by an area team.

Memories and legends were made on the field during these years of Tacoma baseball. Among the greats were Lou Balsano, George Wise, Al Pentecost, Ocky Haugland, Allan Browne, Sammy Cappa, Floyd Lefty Isekite, Frank Ruffo, Sonny Bailey, Cy Greenlaw, Morry Abbott, Earl Kuper, Dick Greco, Pete Sabutis, Cliff Schiesz, Jack Johnson, Dale Bloom, Mike Dillon, Earl Hyder, Bob Maguinez, George Grant, umpire Clarence Stave, and coaches John Heinrick, Marv Scott, and Doug McArthur, who head a cast of thousands. Here is a look.

The earliest documented photograph of a baseball game is shown here as the Leans defeated the Fats 24-17 on June 6, 1891, at the Orting Baseball Park in one of the most widely attended games of the season. (Washington State Historical Society, Tacoma.)

The Tacoma Athletic Club participated in the Pacific Northwest Amateur Baseball League, and its entry finished third with a 3-3 record against three other teams. The team played its games at the Eleventh Street Grounds and the young men wear red perspirers, wrote the Daily Ledger .