The Nyquist Trophy
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P.C.L.
bigwigs discuss retirement, enshrinement, and
disappear-ance options on the league’s most
tangible historic artifact. |
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Real life
Beginning in 1928 the Pacific Coast League champion was
awarded a trophy called the Governors’ Cup. Sometimes
there would be no postseason series; the Cup would just go
to the team with the best regular season record. Other
years the top two teams would play a series (usually
best-of seven) for the Cup. Beginning in 1936 the playoffs
were expanded to include four teams—half the league—with a
best-of-seven semifinal leading up to a best-of-seven
final.
Occasionally the league ran into financial struggles that
led to the shortening or even cancellation of the
postseason. 1954 was the last year the original Governors’
Cup was awarded, as Oakland defeated San Francisco in a
quick best-of-three tilt.
In classic bush league fashion, the original Governors’
Cup, placed in a Los Angeles museum sometime after 1954,
was stolen and was never recovered. The league has adopted
various championship awards and postseason formats since.
The Redux
We chose 1921 as the start date of our league—seven
seasons before the real-life Governor’s Cup came into
existence—but we thought it was a cool-sounding name, so
from 1921 to 1927 the winner of our best-of-seven league
championship series was considered the Governor’s Cup
champion.
On November 18, 2017, we lost our good friend Eric
Nyquist, one of the founding members of our league.
Besides being one of the most genuinely positive and
friendly people you could ever meet, Eric was a passionate
baseball fan and history buff, and we believe he would
have appreciated the re-christening of our championship
award to honor him. Beginning with our 1928 season, our
league's highest honor is known as the Nyquist Trophy.
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