Time Period - 1983 to 1986
Venue : PGE Park
City : Portland, OR
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Franchise History :
The initial pro baseball franchise in Portland was founded in 1902 and began play in 1903 as a charter member of the new Pacific Coast League (PCL) . They began play as the Webfoots, switched to the Browns during 1903, the Giants in 1905 and then the Beavers in 1906. The club was an ongoing member of the PCL till 1918 when they played as the Buckaroos in the Pacific Coast International League. The franchise disbanded following the 1918 season.
In 1919 a new expansion franchise was created entitled the Beavers ... they became members of the PCL ... they played in the league till 1972 ( played in 1929 as the Ducks for one season ). Following the 1972 season the franchise was moved to Spokane, Washington.
Actor Bing Russell stepped in and created the Portland Mavericks for the 1973 season, an independent team in the short season Northwest League. Jim Bouton pitched for the team and Kurt Russell ( Bing’s son ) played for them. Russell hired the first female GM in Pro Baseball ( Lanny Moss ) and was known for his unorthodox management style. The team set a short season record for attendance in 1977 when they drew 125,300 fans for 33 dates.
Russell sold territorial rights for a record $206,000 in 1978 when MLB brought the PCL back to Portland ... a documentary entitled “The Battered Bastards of Baseball” debuted in 2014 detailing the club’s brief existence - 5 years - 4 Division titles 😳
The Portland Beavers came back into PCL existence with yet another new franchise in 1978 and lasted till 1993 when they moved to Salt Lake City ... the Portland Rockies were formed in 1995 and played in the Northwest League till 2000. In 2001 the fourth iteration of the Portland Beavers were formed and played thru the 2010 season before moving to Tucson. Since moving from Yakima,WA in 2013 the Hillsboro Hops represent Portland as it’s current pro baseball franchise in the Northwest League.
Portland PCL/NWL Affiliations :
Cleveland Indians - 1910 to 1915 & 1964 to 1969, 1972, 1978
Philadephia A’s - 1925 to 1932
Detroit Tigers - 1935
Brooklyn Dodgers - 1956
Chicago Cubs - 1957 to 1958
Kansas City A’s - 1959 & 1962 to 1963
St. Louis Cardinals - 1961
Milwaukee Brewers - 1970
Minnesota Twins - 1971 & 1987 to 1993
Pittsburgh Pirates - 1979 to 1982
Philadelphia Phillies - 1983 to 1986
Colorado Rockies - 1995 to 2000
San Diego Padres - 2001 to 2010
Arizona Diamondbacks - 2013 to Present
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The Stadium the Phillies teams played in :
PGE Park :
Also Known As: Portland Civic Stadium 1970-1999; Multnomah Stadium 1956-1969
Location: 1844 SW Morrison Street.
Capacity: 27,000 (1995); 23,150 (1998); 20,000 (2002); 19,566 (2003)
Dimensions (Left, Center, Right): 316-392-336 (1995); 317-405-320 (2002)
PGE Park (Civic Stadium) was built in 1926, it was used exclusively for football until 1956. It became the home of Portland’s various Pro Baseball franchises from 1956 to 2010 and also served as home for Portland State, Oregon State and the University of Oregon Football.
Today it is exclusively used for Soccer and hosts the pro soccer Portland Timbers of the MLS and Portland Thorns FC on the NWSL.
It’s been a sports venue since 1893 when it was known as Multnomah Field and is the oldest soccer specific stadium in the MLS ... now known as Providence Park.
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The Seasons :
1983
Pacific Coast League (AAA )... Manager : John Felske ... 75-67, 1st place ... Attendance: 283,688. League Champions - Defeated Edmonton Trappers 3 games to 1 in Playoffs and the Albuquerque Dukes 3 games to 0 in Championship Series
30 year old RHP Larry Andersen recorded 22 saves in 52 appearances and posted a 2.05 ERA in 70.1 IP ... he led the league in both saves and ERA ... “LA” had appeared in 103 big league games at that point from 1975 to 1982 with the Indians and Mariners and would pitch in 17 games in 1983 with the Phillies as well ... he would go on to pitch in 17 MLB seasons with the Indians, Mariners, Phillies, Astros, Red Sox and Padres and is today the highly regarded radio analyst for Phillies broadcasts 😎
22 year old second baseman Juan Samuel hit .330 in 261 AB’s with 15 home runs, 52 RBIs and 33 stolen bases ... he had spent the first 47 games of the season at AA Reading and would receive a September call up to the Phillies where he made his big league debut ... Sammy went on to play in 16 major league seasons with the Phillies, Mets, Dodgers, Royals,Reds, Tigers and Blue Jays before becoming both a big league coach with the Phillies and Orioles as well as a big league skipper with Baltimore in 2006.
1984
Pacific Coast League (AAA )... Manager : Lee Elia ... 62-78, 5th place ... Attendance: 184,143.
23 year old outfielder Jeff Stone hit .307 with 15 doubles, 14 triples and 7 home runs in 82 games ( 355 AB’s ) - he also stole 33 bases ... Jeff was promoted to the Phillies in season and he excelled with a .362 batting average in 51 games ( 185 AB’s ) with 27 stolen bases ... by far the best stint of his time in the show ( parts of 8 seasons ) with the Phillies, Orioles, Red Sox and Rangers from 1983 to 1990
1985
Pacific Coast League (AAA )... Manager : Bill Dancy ... 68-74, 3rd place ... Attendance: 188,042.
Stone returned to Portland and played in 67 games ( 252 AB’s ) with a .329 batting average, 16 doubles, 8 triples and 34 stolen bases
22 year old outfielder Chris James hit .316 in 507 AB’s with 35 doubles, 11 home runs and 73 RBIs ... he would play in 10 big league seasons with the Phillies, Padres, Indians, Giants, Astros, Rangers, Red Sox and Royals from 1986 to 1995
1986
Pacific Coast League (AAA )... Manager : Bill Dancy ... 68-73, 4th place ... Attendance: 138,677.
27 year old outfielder Milt Thompson hit .348 in 41 games ( 161 AB’s ) with 20 stolen bases ... he would play in 13 big league seasons from 1984 to 1996 with the Braves, Phillies, Cardinals, Astros, Dodgers and Rockies and was the lefty part of the LF platoon combination with Pete Incaviglia for the 1993 NL Champion Phillies ... he’s also a really good dude ... come to Phantasy Camp and you’ll find out 🤓
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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