Washington State League
The Washington State League was a Class-D minor league baseball circuit in Washington state that existed for three seasons—from 1910 to 1912. Teams in the league included the Aberdeen Black Cats, Chehalis Gophers, Hoquiam Loggers, Centralia Pets, Montesano Farmers, Raymond Cougars, Tacoma Cubs, South Bend River Rats and Centralia Railroaders. The Washington State League was also the name of an independent baseball league in 1897.[1]
| Classification | Class D (1910—1912) |
|---|---|
| Sport | Minor League Baseball |
| Inaugural season | 1897 |
| Ceased | July 14, 1912 |
| Director | W. E. Campbell (1910) |
| President | Walter R. McFarlane (1910) O.J. Albers (1911—1912) |
| No. of teams | 8 |
| Country | United States of America |
| Most titles | 1 Raymond Cougars (1910) Centralia Pets (1911) Chehalis Farmers (1912) |
| Related competitions | Pacific Coast International League |
History
The Washington State League played the 1897 season as an independent baseball league, with unknown teams and standings.[1]
In 1910, the league reformed. The 1910 league was organized at a meeting in Hoquiam, Washington on March 6, 1910, as a six–team circuit with a 21–week schedule. It was approved to split the shares of tickets equally between the home and away teams, with ten percent of the ticket earnings given to the league for travel expenses.[2] Walter A. MacFarlane was elected league president and W. E. Campbell was elected vice president. During the 1910 season, the salary cap was limited to $850 per month.[3]
In July 1910, Montesano Farmers second baseman Otto Moore was struck on the head with a baseball pitched by Harold Cross. As a result, Moore fell into a coma.[4]
The Raymond Cougars won the 1910 Washington State League championship with a record of 36 wins and 19 losses (.655 winning percentage).[5]
The league reduced to four teams in 1911 and 1912, folding during its final season. The Centralia Pets and Chehalis Farmers won championships in those seasons.[6] The league permanently folded on July 14, 1912.[7]
Cities represented
- Aberdeen, WA: Aberdeen Black Cats 1910, 1912
- Centralia, WA: Centralia Pets 1911; Centralia Railroaders 1912
- Chehalis, WA: Chehalis Gophers 1910; Chehalis Proteges 1911; Chehalis Farmers 1912
- Hoquiam, WA: Hoquiam Loggers 1910; Hoquiam Cougars 1912
- Montesano, WA: Montesano Farmers 1910
- Raymond, WA: Raymond Cougars 1910; Raymond Venetians 1911
- South Bend, WA: South Bend River Rats 1911
- Tacoma, WA: Tacoma Cubs 1910
Standings & statistics
1910 Washington State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raymond Cougars | 36 | 19 | .655 | - | Fred Dunbar |
| Chehalis Gophers | 35 | 19 | .618 | 0.5 | Fred Heghring / Thomas Kelly |
| Aberdeen Black Cats | 24 | 29 | .453 | 11.0 | Dick Boettiger |
| Montesano Farmers | 22 | 31 | .415 | 13.0 | Chub Philbrick |
| Hoquiam Loggers | 12 | 18 | .400 | NA | Wells |
| Tacoma Cubs | 8 | 21 | .276 | NA | Joe Dryer |
Hoquiam disbanded July 15; Tacoma disbanded July 18.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fielder Jones | Chehalis | BA | .358 | James Jachs | Raymond | W | 15 | |
| White McBride | Chehalis | Runs | 48 | James Jachs | Raymond | SO | 164 | |
| Frank Jansa | Chehalis | Hits | 70 | Clarence Krause | Chehalis | PCT | .833 5–1 |
1911 Washington State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Centralia Pets | 38 | 17 | .691 | - | W.R. Patton / Guy Muck |
| Chehalis Proteges | 36 | 20 | .648 | 2.5 | Dusty Miller / Lenny Taylor |
| Raymond Venetians | 25 | 29 | .463 | 12.5 | C.D. Wineholt |
| South Bend River Rats | 11 | 44 | .200 | 27.0 | NA |
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Reed | South Bend | BA | .333 | Ray Callahan | Centra/Chehal | W | 13 | |
| Tate Berry | Chehalis | Runs | 49 | Raymond Baker | Raymond | W | 13 | |
| C.D. Wineholt | Raym/Chehal | Runs | 49 | Ray Callahan | Centra/Chehal | SO | 131 | |
| Howard Guynn | Centralia | Hits | 72 | Heinie Berger | Centralia | PCT | .778 7–2 | |
| C.D. Wineholt | Raym/Chehal | HR | 8 |
1912 Washington State League
| Team standings | W | L | PCT | GB | Managers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chehalis Farmers | 25 | 16 | .610 | - | James Burns |
| Centralia Railroaders | 19 | 17 | .528 | 3.5 | W.R. Patton / George Dysart |
| Aberdeen Black Cats | 16 | 21 | .432 | 7.0 | Thomas Kelly |
| Hoquiam Cougars | 17 | 23 | .425 | 7.5 | Ed Ford / Joe Wilkins |
Aberdeen disbanded July 10.
The league disbanded July 14.
| Player | Team | Stat | Tot | Player | Team | Stat | Tot | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L.G. Taylor | Chehalis | BA | .351 | F.B. Archer | Chehalis | W | 9 | |
| Arthur Haley | Chehalis | Runs | 17 | Heinie Berger | Hoquiam | SO | 82 | |
| E. Carrigan | Chehalis | Hits | 23 | Walter Frink | Chehalis | PCT | .800 8–2 | |
| L.A. Giddings | Aberdeen | Hits | 23 | |||||
| Kinkelon | Hoquiam | HR | 2 |
References
- "League History in Other Classifications". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved 30 August 2018.
- "Clubs decided on". Morning Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. March 7, 1910. p. 15. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- "State league is admitted". Morning Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. March 16, 1910. p. 8. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- "Man hit by ball in coma 20 hours". Morning Oregonian. Portland, Oregon. July 12, 1910. p. 1. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
- "State League Pennant Goes to Raymond". The Tacoma Times. Tacoma, Washington. September 6, 1910. p. 2. Retrieved August 29, 2018.
- "1911 Washington State League". Baseball-Reference.com.
- "1912 Washington State League (WSL) Minor League Baseball Standings on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
- The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson & Miles Wolff, editors (Third ed.). Baseball America. 2007. ISBN 978-1932391176.
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