Southern California League

The Southern California League was a minor league baseball league that played in the 1886, 1899, 1900 and 1913 seasons. The Class D level four–team Southern California League consisted of franchises based in California. The Southern California League permanently folded during the 1913 season.

Southern California League
ClassificationIndependent (1886, 1899–1900)
Class D (1913)
SportMinor League Baseball
Inaugural season1886
CeasedJuly 13, 1913
PresidentJay Davidson (1913)
No. of teams6
CountryUnited States of America
Most titles1
San Bernardino Grays (1899)
San Diego Bears (1913)
Related
competitions		Southern California Trolley League

History

An independent league called the Southern California League played in the 1886, 1899 and 1900 seasons.[1][2] The 1886 teams are unknown.[3] The 1899 teams were the Los Angeles Angelenos, Los Angeles Merchants, San Bernardino Grays and San Diego Fullers. The San Bernardino Grays won the 1899 league championship. The 1900 teams were Azusa, Los Angeles, Los Angeles-Pacific and San Diego. No official league standings are known of the 1896 and 1900 seasons.[4][5]

The Southern California League was formed for the 1913 season as a four–team Class D minor league under the direction of league president Jay Davidson.[6] The Southern California League began play in the 1913 season hosting franchises from Long Beach, California (Long Beach Beachcombers),[7] Pasadena, California (Pasadena Millionaires),[8] San Bernardino, California (San Bernardino Kittens) and San Diego, California (San Diego Bears).[9][10][11][12][13]

The San Bernardino Kittens were owned by player/owner and namesake, Kitty Brashear.[10][6]

The Southern California League officially began play on April 22, 1913.[14] San Bernardino had a home opener crowd of 1,000 at Urbita Springs Park, where Mayor Joseph Bright threw out the ceremonial first pitch before San Bernardino defeated Long Beach 12–4 and begin a seven–game winning streak to start the season. Pasadena had attendance of 1,600 at their home opener. The Southern California League had scheduled Sunday double headers, with the first game being scheduled on Sunday morning. This led to disputes with local clergy in the host locales and schedules were rearranged. Teams began to struggle financially and president Jay Davidson suggested that each team issue stock.[10]

In 1913, Homer Miller and Blount, pitching for the Long Beach Beachcombers, threw consecutive Southern California League no-hitters against the San Diego Bears.[15]

The league was scheduled in a split–season format, with champions in each half of the season. Pasadena had a 15–38 record when the franchise moved to Santa Barbara on June 13, 1913 to become the Santa Barbara Barbareans. The San Diego Bears won the first half of the season. In the second half, the Santa Barbara Barbareans were leading the second half when the Southern California League permanently disbanded on July 23, 1913.[9][14] The San Diego Bears (56–33) had the best overall record, followed by the San Bernardino Kittens (48–38), Long Beach Beachcombers (43–46) and Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans (27–57). During the season, the San Diego Bears had a 20–game winning streak that ended on the final day of league play.[16][10][5]

Southern California League teams
Team name City represented Ballpark Year active
Long Beach Beachcombers Long Beach, California Connor Park[17] 1913
Los Angeles Angelenos 1899
Los Angeles Merchants 1899		 Los Angeles, California Unknown 1899
Pasadena Millionaires Pasadena, California Unknown 1913
Santa Barbara Barbareans Santa Barbara, California Unknown 1913
San Bernardino Grays 1899
San Bernardino Kittens 1913		 San Bernardino, California Urbita Springs Park[10] 1899, 1913
San Diego Fullers 1899
San Diego Bears 1913		 San Diego, California League Park/Connor Park[18] 1899, 1913

Standings & statistics

1899 Southern California League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
San Bernardino Grays199.679–George Cobb / Seth Hart
San Diego Fullers1810.6431.0J.M. Dodge / Patterson Spriggs
Los Angeles Angelenos1018.3579.0James Wooley / Charles Thomas
Los Angeles Merchants919.32110.0Gil Mead / Frank Gridley

Playoffs: None were held

Player statistics
PlayerTeamStatTotPlayerTeamStatTot
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoBA.418Mun ThurmanSan BernardinoW13
Sandy BarclaySan DiegoRuns43Kid CortadSan DiegoSO105
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoHits51Mun ThurmanSan BernardinoPCT.765 13–4
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoHR4
Babe WhalingSan Bernardino/
Los Angeles		HR4
Tom WorksSan DiegoHR4

[5] 1913 Southern California League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
San Diego Bears5633.629–Spencer Abbott / Dick Cooley
San Bernardino Kittens4838.5506.5Ed Householder / Kitty Brashear
Long Beach Beachcombers4346.4839.5Bull Durham /
Harry G. Connor / Jesse Stovall
Pasadena Millionaires /
Santa Barbara Barbareans		2757.38526.5John Schuster /
Bull Durham / Spencer Abbott

Pasadena (15–38) moved to Santa Barbara June 13
League folded July 23

[16][5]

Notable alumni

References
  1. "1900 Southern California League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. "1899 Southern California League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. "1886 Southern California League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. "Southern California League (D) Encyclopedia and History". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  6. "1913 San Bernardino Kittens Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. "1913 Long Beach Beachcombers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. "1913 Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. "1913 Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  10. "Here's a yarn about some baseball-playing Kittens". June 10, 2013.
  11. "Professional Baseball in Los Angeles". www.laalmanac.com.
  12. Reichard, Kevin (November 5, 2008). "Southern California League".
  13. "KEISSER: Delving into LB baseball history can reveal gems". September 17, 2010.
  14. "1913 Southern California League (SCL) on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  15. "Divide and Conquer, NL West: New Beginnings on the Frontier". Baseball Prospectus. March 29, 2011.
  16. "1913 Southern California League (SCL) Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  17. "Connor Park in Long Beach, CA history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  18. "Connor Park in San Diego, CA history and teams on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
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