1925

1924     1925     1926


1925 Governor’s Cup Series

Game One: San Francisco 6, Portland 1   at San Francisco, Tue., Oct. 6, 1925

The Seals took a gamble, holding back 20-game winner Bill Holland for Game Two and giving the ball to Ping Gardner (11-9, 3.82) for the opener. Facing the league's perennial leader in wins, Bullet Rogan (27-6, 3.51), Gardner proved he was the man for the job, frustrating the Beavers for the better part of eight innings. The Seals broke open a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the fourth. With two outs third baseman Willie Kamm singled. Center fielder Gene Valla followed by lining one off third baseman Bud Connolly’s glove; the official scorer ruled the tough chance an error. Rogan then gave catcher Sam Agnew an intentional pass to face Gardner, and the Seals’ hurler made him pay, bouncing a hard grounder between the diving Connolly and shortstop Bill Riggins to plate two. Second baseman Newt Allen followed with a two-run single of his own. The rattled Rogan then walked right fielder Paul Waner and yielded a run-scoring single to shortstop Dick Lundy before finally retiring left fielder Lefty O’Doul to end the five-run frame. Rogan pitched the remainder of the game in his usual dominant fashion; he outlasted Gardner, who gave way to Bill Drake with two outs in the eighth, but the Beavers were unable to put together a threat, and the Seals took a 1-0 advantage.

Game Two: San Francisco 11, Portland 2   at San Francisco, Wed., Oct. 7, 1925

Holland took the hill for San Francisco opposite Wayne Carr (12-12, 3.48). The first indication that it might not be Carr’s day appeared when the very first batter he faced, Allen, homered to left to give the Seals a 1-0 lead. The second hitter, Waner, drew a base on balls, and the third, Lundy, singled. O’Doul then delivered an RBI single and first baseman Frank Brower ripped a two-run double down the left field line. Carr retired the next three hitters in order but one of them, Valla, hit a deep enough drive to allow another run to score and it was 5-0 in favor of San Francisco after one inning. The appreciative Holland took advantage of the early cushion and poured in strikes all afternoon, scattering eight hits and striking out seven. The Seals added runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh en route to an 11-2 laugher and a 2-0 series lead.

Game Three: Portland 4, San Francisco 1   at Portland, Fri., Oct. 9, 1925

The Beavers were desperate for a clutch performance and 38-year old Paul Fittery (15-7, 3.90) gave it to them. As the Seals’ Dave Brown (8-6, 3.66) turned in a fine performance himself, this was the first tight game of the series. Searching for a formula that would produce some offense, the Beavers tried their third different leadoff hitter in as many games, left fielder George Quellich. Quellich matched Allen’s feat of the previous contest, homering to start the bottom of the first. Allen himself got the Seals even with an RBI-double in the fourth and from there the two starting pitchers dominated. The Seals had the best chance to break the tie when their first two hitters in the eighth inning reached base, but Fittery induced two ground balls that resulted in three outs. In the bottom of the ninth Riggins led off with a double and Brown opted to intentionally walk center fielder Oscar Charleston to set up a double play, but the twin-killing never came; instead right fielder Bob Meusel’s three-run game-winning blast sent the home crowd home happy with a satisfying and much-needed 4-1 triumph.

Game Four: Portland 3, San Francisco 0   at Portland, Sat., Oct. 10, 1925

Rogan returned to the hill for Portland to take on Ken Douglas (15-10, 3.85). This time he turned in a more typical performance, masterfully shutting down the Seals with a four-hit shutout. Douglas was not as effective, yielding a run-scoring grounder to second baseman Bingo DeMoss, a solo homer to Quellich and an RBI double to Charleston. The Seals never really threatened; after scoring 18 runs in the first 18 innings of the series, they had scored just one in the next 18. The series was tied, 2-2, and the momentum seemed to be with Portland.

Game Five: Portland 10, San Francisco 0   at Portland, Sun., Oct. 11, 1925

Carr made the most of his chance for redemption following his Game Two fiasco, shutting out the Seals on three hits for 7.1 innings before giving way to Jesse Winters (3-3), 4.55). The Beavers also rediscovered the high-powered offense that carried them through the regular season. They began scoring early and continued to score often throughout the game. DeMoss began the onslaught with a second inning RBI-single off Gardner, and the Beavers plated another run in the third when catcher Mickey Cochrane hit a sacrifice fly following a Charleston triple. Left fielder Bill Bagwell’s two-run single in the fourth made it 4-0, and the Beavers put it away with a three-run seventh that featured an RBI-double by Carr and run-scoring singles by Charleston and Cochrane. Carr was still going strong in the late innings but a 50-minute rain delay in the eighth prompted manager Walt McCredie to give him the rest of the day off. Winters retired the last five hitters in order and the Beavers hit the road a win away from the crown.

Game Six: Portland 3, San Francisco 1   at San Francisco, Tue., Oct. 13, 1925

The Seals turned to their ace, Holland, while the Beavers handed the ball to the revitalized Fittery. The two spent most of the day getting in and out of trouble but Fittery proved the more resourceful. Holland was in deep water from the get-go, giving up a lead-off double to Bagwell and an RBI-single to Charleston. Charleston then stole second and Cochrane hit six foul balls before Holland finally threw ball four, but the aggressive Charleston bailed Holland of the inning by getting thrown out trying to steal third. The Seals had a chance to knot the score in the fourth. Right fielder Adolph Schinkle doubled, and with two outs Kamm lined a single to left, but Bagwell’s throw home was on the mark and Cochrane applied the tag to retire the side. In the fifth Bagwell doubled DeMoss home and Charleston singled home Bagwell and the Beavers led by three. The Seals rallied in the sixth, putting runners on the corners with two outs for Brower. The slugging first baseman came through, lining a base hit through the middle to score center fielder George Shively, but the Seals were again victimized by a perfect peg from an outfielder as Charleston gunned down Schinkle on an ill-advised attempt to reach third. San Francisco also brought the tying run to the plate in the seventh, eighth, and ninth innings but came up empty each time. Fittery earned a shutout and Series MVP honors and the resilient Beavers earned their second league title.


Update: 10/5/25

The 1925 PCL regular season is in the books. It was another wild finish.

Vernon’s 8-7 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday eliminated the Angels from postseason contention. The following day Portland punched their ticket to the Governor’s Cup Series by defeating Seattle 6-5. On Friday the Angels’ 4-0 victory over the Tigers took Vernon out of the race, giving San Francisco a postseason berth.

None of that was too surprising; the Beavers and Seals have been front-runners for weeks. But with the Beavers holding a two-game lead over the Seals at the start of the week, they were a huge favorite to secure home-field advantage for the Governor’s Cup Series. However, Portland dropped four out of six to Seattle while the Seals were beating Oakland five times in six games. The Seals caught the Beavers on Friday and passed them on Saturday, with both teams winning on the final day of the season. The Seals finished 89-65, one game better than Portland.

Vernon finished in third place, four games behind San Francisco. Los Angeles finished fourth, 10 games out. Seattle posted their first winning season in four years and came in fifth, 11 games out. Salt Lake City finished 17 games out, Oakland finished 22 back and Sacramento trailed by 31.

The final Player of the Week was Seattle’s rookie sensation Babe Herman, who hit .600 with a pair of home runs and eight runs batted in.

George Grantham of Salt Lake City was the batting champion at .379, besting Portland’s Mickey Cochrane (.370) and Los Angeles’ Turkey Stearnes (.362). Stearnes took the home run title with 44, while Salt Lake City’s Tony Lazzeri bashed 36 and Los Angeles’ Jack Fournier and Salt Lake City’s Johnny Frederick tied for third with 31. Lazzeri paced the circuit in runs batted in with 159; Frederick drove in 152 while Cochrane plated 147. Cool Papa Bell of Vernon topped the loop in stolen bases with 54; Clint Thomas of Oakland swiped 36 and Salt Lake City’s Cristobal Torriente pilfered 33.

Portland’s Bullet Rogan was the league’s winningest pitcher with 27 triumphs; John Donaldson of Los Angeles won 25 and Bill Holland of San Francisco won 20. Frank Shellenback of Vernon took the ERA crown with a 2.75 mark while Wayne Carr of Portland finished at 3.48 and Rogan at 3.51. The strikeout king was Willie Foster of Sacramento, who fanned 160; Rogan was next with 152 and Holland followed with 150.

San Francisco hosts Portland in Game One of the Governor’s Cup Series tomorrow.


Update: 9/28/25

Portland needs one more victory or one loss by Vernon to clinch a return to the Governor’s Cup Series after a one-year layoff. The Beavers took five out of six from Sacramento and sit atop the league standings board at 86-62. They play their final six games at home against Seattle.

The Rainiers will have nothing to play for except pride and a chance to record their first winning season since 1921. They were eliminated from post-season consideration with their 1-0 loss to San Francisco on Sunday. Seattle has lost eight straight.





Bell

The Seals are riding high, winners of six in a row. Their sweep of Seattle brought them within two games of Portland. They also lead Vernon by four games, so a split with Oakland in their final six-game set will clinch a Governor’s Cup Series berth for San Francisco.

The Tigers and Angels are just about out of gas. Vernon, at 80-68, has the best shot at a miracle since they lead Los Angeles by two games. To have any realistic shot at all one of these teams will have to sweep the other in their final series at Wrigley Field. Even that will be for nought if the Seals are able to persevere at home against the Oaks.

Vernon’s Cool Papa Bell is the Player of the Week. The Tigers’ 22-year old center fielder hit .478 this week, raising his season mark to .437. He has 11 home runs and 46 RBIs and leads the league with 51 stolen bases.


Update: 9/21/25






Manger

The tightest race right now is the one for second place; San Francisco and Vernon have just completed their season series, and with the Tigers taking three of the last five, they’ve pulled within two games of the Seals. San Francisco begins a five-game joust at home against Seattle on Wednesday before hosting Oakland in a six-game set to wrap up the regular season, while Vernon heads to Salt Lake City for a five-game set and then heads back to Southern California to take on Los Angeles at Wrigley Field.

Los Angeles and Seattle are still clinging to their slim post-season hopes. The Angels fought Portland to a draw in their recent six-game series, thus failing to gain on the first-place Beavers, but they picked up a game on the Seals and trail them by four. Meanwhile the Rainiers dropped three in a row at home against eighth-place Sacramento to fall a game behind the Angels and five behind the Seals. Seattle begins what may be a must-sweep series at San Francisco on Wednesday.

Two teams—Salt Lake City and Oakland—were eliminated from post-season consideration on Saturday, but the Bees’ fans can at least celebrate the accomplishment of third baseman Joe Manger, who was named the Player of the Week. Manger hit .583 with three home runs and eleven runs batted in, raising his season’s average to .304. Manger has 14 round-trippers this year.


Update: 9/14/25





Waner

Nobody’s resting easy just yet, but the top two teams put a little more distance between themselves and their challengers, and the quest to displace them is now that much more difficult.

San Francisco dropped a 4-3 decision at Vernon on Monday, allowing the Tigers to edge to within a game of the second-place Seals. But the Tigers were not able to build on their success, winning just one of the next five games against Portland while the Seals were winning four out of five at Salt Lake City. Vernon now trails San Francisco by four games. The good news for the Tigers is they’ll get one more five-game crack at the Seals beginning Wednesday.

The Beavers have a two-and-a-half game lead over the Seals and are in control of their own fate, as the two clubs have no more head-to-head matchups. The Beavers can increase their six and a half-game lead over third-place Vernon with a win today.

Los Angeles is five games behind the Seals and Seattle trails them by five and a half. The Rainiers have games left against both the Seals and Beavers, but their margin for error is very thin at this point. They probably need at least one sweep to stay in it. 

Paul Waner of San Francisco took Player of the Week honors on the heels of his devastating .619 performance. The 22 year-old is hitting .351 this year, scoring 88 runs while vying for playing time in a crowded Seals outfield.


Update: 9/7/25






Cannady

The Seattle Rainiers, winners of seven straight, are still playing like a team with something to play for, and they’re now a first-division club, having slipped past Los Angeles this weekend. The Angels took the first three games at Portland but dropped the next two and now sit one game behind the Rainiers, who are a win away from sweeping Sacramento. Seattle trails San Francisco by four games and Vernon by two.

The Seals and Tigers wrap up their six-game set today. Vernon has taken the last two contests and three of the first five, gaining a game on the Seals in the process.

The Beavers still lead San Francisco by two games, and will gain a split with the Halos if they can beat them in their finale today. They begin a crucial six-game set at home against Vernon on Thursday.

Sacramento is officially out of the race. The hapless Solons have lost six straight and are 13 games behind seventh-place Salt Lake City.

Walter Cannady is the Player of the Week. The Rainiers’ 23-year old keystone sacker hit .583 with two home runs, eight runs driven in and nine runs scored. On the year Cannady is hitting .333 with 10 homers and 70 RBI.


Update: 8/31/25





Cochrane

Mickey Cochrane of Portland hit .706 this week. making him an obvious choice for Player of the Week honors. His teammates didn’t do so bad themselves, winning four and losing two and taking over sole possession of first place on Saturday. Cochrane is hitting .361 (fourth in the league) with 16 homers (tied for 12th) and 117 RBI (third). He leads the league in on-base percentage (.452) and is looking like a pretty solid candidate for Most Valuable Player. The Beavers are 72-53 and lead San Francisco by one game.

The Seals had a break-even week but their timing was poor, with both Portland and Vernon going 4-2. The Tigers trail the Seals by just four games. The two teams haven't met since the July 2nd; they begin a six-game set on Wednesday at Washington Park and will meet again two weeks later for five games at Recreation Park.

Los Angeles and Seattle are seeing their pennant hopes fade. The Angels now trail San Francisco by seven games and the Rainiers are a game behind the Halos. Oakland, Salt Lake City, and Sacramento all have formidable double-figure deficits to overcome and are looking towards next season.


Update: 8/24/25

San Francisco’s hot streak came to an abrupt end as the Seals dropped four straight in Los Angeles. The sudden losing streak left them with a slim one-game lead over second-place Portland as the Beavers arrived in town for a crucial five-game set. The Seals took the first meeting to give themselves some breathing room but it was to be their only victory this week, as Portland came back to take the next two games to forge a tie at the top of the standings. The clubs will battle it out today and again tomorrow to conclude their season’s series.

At least three clubs are still hanging around the periphery of the race, each a winning streak away from making things interesting. Vernon trails the leaders by five games. The Angels are right behind them, six games out, and Seattle is just a game behind Los Angeles.

The Player of the Week was Salt Lake City’s George Grantham. The slugging first baseman hit .577 (15-26) this week, raising his season’s average to .374. Grantham is currently a handful of plate appearances short of qualifying for the batting title, but he trails league-leader George Scales of Los Angeles by just two points. He’s hit 16 home runs and driven in 68.


Update: 8/17/25






Brazill

If San Francisco Seals fans weren’t already feeling pennant fever before this week, they should be now.

The Seals have won ten straight, and now lead second-place Portland by three and a half games. It’s their largest lead this season, and now is a good time to have it, because the Beavers and the third-place Vernon Tigers are also hot, both winners of five straight. The Seals will begin a series at home against the Beavers this Friday; the five-game set will be the clubs’ final regular-season meeting. San Francisco will play Vernon eleven times in September.

Portland, in spite of finishing the week with a five game winning streak, lost ground on the Seals and were unable to prevent the third-place Tigers from gaining ground on them. The Beavers maintain a three and a half game edge on Vernon. Beavers third baseman Frank Brazill was the Player of the Week, hitting a blistering .536 with three home runs and 13 runs driven in. The slugger has 17 home runs and 91 RBI this season to compliment his .324 average.


Update: 8/10/25





Herman

At the beginning of the season many observers believed the Seattle Rainiers had made vast improvements to their club during the winter and some predicted the team was ready to compete for a championship. But after the newly-acquired Ken Williams went down with a hip injury in April the Rainiers resumed their usual sub-.500 pattern and all but their most optimistic fans wrote them off.

But while the Rainiers have struggled for most of the season to reach .500, they’ve stayed very close to that mark the whole time, and in a season where no team seems poised to distance themselves from the pack, Seattle has always been one hot streak away from being a serious contender.

That hot streak has finally arrived. The Rainiers have won seven straight and nine out of their last ten, and are now just four and a half games out of a post season berth. Leading the charge was rookie sensation Babe Herman, who hit .562 with two home runs and nine runs batted in this week. The outfielder is hitting a robust .347 this season, with 15 home runs and 78 RBI.

San Francisco took over sole possession of first place and now leads Portland by two games. Vernon and Seattle are tied for third, six and a half games behind the Seals, and Los Angeles is now eight back.


Update: 8/3/25






Padron

The week was dominated by the also-rans; all four second-division clubs posted winning records as Salt Lake City won five out of six and Seattle, Oakland, and even last-place Sacramento all went 4-2. Portland muddled through a lackluster .500 week, and it was enough to get them a share of first place, since San Francisco, Vernon and Los Angeles all fizzled. The Beavers and Seals, at 55-44, lead the Tigers by two games and the Angels by four.

Seattle’s Juan Padron was the Player of the Week. The southpaw threw back-to-back shutouts against the Seals and Tigers to raise his record to 7-6 while lowering his ERA to 3.84. Padron got off to a poor start this season, his first in a Rainiers uniform, but he’s red hot now, having won his last five decisions.

The trade deadline came and went, and no PCL team made a deal with any other PCL team. But there was some activity, as San Francisco made two trades, dealing catcher Pete Ricci to the Philadelphia Athletics for pitcher Dick Moudy and sending outfielder Lee King to the Cincinnati Reds for pitcher Herb McQuaid. Los Angeles traded outfielder Cedric Durst to Washington for pitcher Rube Yarrison, and Sacramento dealt infielders Don Brown and Rod Murphy to the New York Giants for pitcher Rudy Kallio and infielder John Monroe.


Update: 7/27/25

San Francisco began the week with a loss in the crucial series finale against Portland, dropping the Seals a game behind the Beavers. After that inauspicious beginning, they rolled to five straight road wins over Seattle, and sit once again unopposed at the top of the league standings. They lead Portland by two games, Vernon by three and a half, and Los Angeles by four.

Shortstop Dick Lundy helped the Seals to their second consecutive 5-1 week, grabbing Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. King Richard hit .464 with a pair of homers, twelve runs batted in, and eight runs scored. He's hitting .353 for the season.

Sacramento has had an extremely disappointing year and are still in last place, but the Solons are at least making things difficult for some of the contenders. In their last two series they’ve battled the Angels to a draw and taken three out of five from the Beavers. They’ll try to continue the trend this week when they meet the Seals.


Update: 7/20/25





Suttles

Vernon beat Los Angeles in their series finale and then downed Oakland in three of the first five games of a six game set. Meanwhile Portland and San Francisco were each winning three and losing three, so there’s a three-way tie for first place. The top clubs have identical 49-38 records.

The Angels have fallen three games back, and Seattle trails by six. The Beavers and Seals play the last game of their series today, so one of them will be a game back after the final out.

Oaks left fielder Mule Suttles was the Player of the Week with 15 hits in 25 at bats, a .600 percentage. On the season Suttles is carrying a hefty .372 average, good for third in the league. He also has 15 home runs and 63 RBI.


Update: 7/13/25






Bagwell

Shades of 1921-1922? The top two teams in the league right now are the two that faced off in the first two Governor’s Cup Series after the PCL declared itself a major league. “Still a lot of baseball to be played,” as the saying goes, but fans in San Francisco and Portland think the present situation is good as it stands.

The first-place Seals took four out of six from Oakland while the Beavers beat Seattle five times in six tries, so Portland picked up a game on the leaders. The Beavers also slipped by the two Southern California clubs. Vernon took four out of six from Los Angeles, so the Tigers trail the Beavers by one game while the Angels trail them by two.

The Beavers’ Bill Bagwell was the Player of the Week. The left fielder hit a scorching .684 with two home runs and six runs batted in. Bagwell has a .323 average for the season to go along with ten homers and 35 RBI.


Update: 7/6/25





Lundy

In another highly competitive week, six teams won three and lost three. Those six teams are looking up at a new league leader.

San Francisco won five and lost one, while Vernon lost five and won one. As a result, the Seals, who began the week two games behind the Tigers, are now two games ahead of them and back in first place.

Seals’ shortstop Dick Lundy was instrumental in the club’s surge. Lundy hit .520 with a home run and six runs batted in to take Player of the Week honors. Lundy’s season average now stands at .350.

Los Angeles is still a game out of first, and Portland is still two back. The Beavers are now tied for third place with the Tigers.


Update: 6/29/25






Grantham

The 1925 pennant race may turn out to be just as exciting and dramatic as last year’s. Vernon, while going 3-4 this week, did just enough to finish the week alone in first place, at 40-29. Los Angeles trails them by a game after edging Seattle in a five-game set and then splitting two games against Portland, who took four out of five from the Tigers at Washington Park and are now tied with San Francisco, two games out of first. The Seals had a brief stay in first but lost to the Tigers twice over the weekend to fall two back.

Seattle is six games back; Oakland trails by eight, and Salt Lake City by nine. Sacramento is mired in a horrendous slump and trails by sixteen.

George Grantham of the Bees missed over a month after suffering two different injuries, but the hard-hitting first baseman is making up for lost time. Grantham is this week’s Player of the Week after hitting .435 with three home runs, four runs batted in and seven runs scored. He’s hitting .328 with nine home runs in limited action this year.


Update: 6/22/25

Vernon was at San Francisco for a six-game set, presenting the Tigers with an excellent opportunity to extend their lead, or the Seals with an excellent opportunity to close the gap. Neither happened; the clubs split the series. Los Angeles and Portland also split their six-game series, so the top four teams in the circuit remain exactly where they were this time last week: the Tigers in first place, with the Angels and Seals tied for second and trailing by two games, and the Beavers in fourth place, four games out.

The Seattle Rainiers aren't standing pat, though: they’ve been slowly creeping up in the standings, and are now in fifth place, seven game behind Vernon but just five behind the Angels and Seals. The Rainiers are 8-2 in their last ten games.

Turkey Stearnes of Los Angeles was the Player of the Week. The Halos’ star right fielder took the honor for the third time this year, hitting .519 with two home runs and nine RBI. He leads the league with 19 home runs.


Update: 6/15/25





Johnson

The Portland Beavers had the most successful week, winning their finale against San Francisco and five out of six against Sacramento. They remain in fourth place, but the 6-1 run put them back over .500, just four games out of first.

They’re still looking up at the same three teams, but something has changed. The Vernon Tigers are now in first place, with a two-game cushion over San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Tigers spent the week in Salt Lake City, and as often happens, the series produced the Player of the Week. This time around it’s outfielder/first baseman Heavy Johnson, the Tigers’ premier offensive threat the past five seasons. Johnson hit .545 against the Bees, belting two home runs and scoring eight times while driving in seven. For the year, Johnson is hitting a robust .362 with six homers and 44 RBI.


Update: 6/8/25






Fournier

The Seals split the last two games of their series with Los Angeles, and then took four out of five against Portland. San Francisco’s 5-2 record was the best in the league this week, and their 30-19 record is the best this season. They lead Vernon by a half-game and the Angels by a game-and-a-half after the two Southland clubs went 5-3. So far the Seals have been doing it more with pitching and defense than with hitting, but outfielders Paul Waner and Lefty O’Doul were swinging the sticks with authority this week. Waner had three 4-hit games and O’Doul had a five-hit game.

Turkey Stearnes of the Angels also had a five-hit game, but his teammate, first baseman Jack Fournier, swung the hottest bat of all, taking Player of the Week honors after hitting .433 with four home runs, seven runs batted in, and ten runs scored. Fournier, hitting .362 this season, has hit 13 home runs. Stearnes leads the league with 14.

Fourth-place Portland is now a game under .500 and trails the Seals by six. Salt Lake City is a half-game behind them. Seattle, Oakland, and Sacramento all had losing records this week to fall further behind the leaders.


Update: 6/1/25

The Vernon Tigers, winners of 10 of their last 13 games, have caught San Francisco and now sit aside the Seals atop the league standings. The Tigers have been winning the close ones, and are 10-4 in one-run games, including three single-tally victories this week. Getting the big hit when it counts has allowed the Tigers to compile a 25-17 record while being outscored by their opponents, 206-191.





Holloway

Los Angeles battled the opposition to a draw this week and the Angels remain a game out of first, while Portland is now three-and-a-half games back after a rough week that saw them lose six straight after topping the Seals on Monday.

The Salt Lake City Bees were the victors in five of those games, and are now just three games under .500 and five-and-a-half out of first. They were aided by a tremendous performance by Player of the Week Crush Holloway, who hit .581 while driving in ten runs. The 28 year-old left fielder is hitting .391 for the season with five home runs and 32 RBI.

Oakland and Seattle are a game behind the Bees at 19-24, and Sacramento is in the cellar with a 16-26 record.


Update: 5/25/25






Kelly

In any highly-competitive venture, a single lapse will enable your competitors to descend upon you like wolves.

Consider the San Francisco Seals, the top dogs in the Pacific Coast League for nearly a month. While they still boast a best-in-circuit record of 22-14, their lackluster 2-4 performance this week has them feeling like they're surrounded. Vernon went 5-1, and Portland and Los Angeles each went 4-2, and now the Seals’ lead over all three teams is down to a single game. A most immediate concern is the Beavers, who beat them three times in a row this weekend and can sweep their way into first place with victories today and tomorrow.

At 16-20, the Seattle Rainiers are still looking at the pennant race from a distance, but they are having no difficulty collecting Player of the Week awards. This time around it’s first baseman George Kelly, who hit a sizzling .542 with twelve runs batted in as his team split six games against San Francisco and Salt Lake City. Kelly is the club’s third recipient of the honor this season.


Update: 5/18/25

After a lackluster 3-8 start, the two-time champion Angels are rolling and have moved into a second-place tie with Portland at 17-13. While nearly the whole team has been on an offensive tear, right fielder Turkey Stearnes stands out. Stearnes picked up his second Player of the Week award this week, hitting .591 with four home runs, nine runs batted in, and seven runs scored. Stearnes is a challenger in all three Triple Crown categories in the young season: with a .413 batting average he is a smidgen behind Salt Lake City’s Cristobal Torriente, and he trails Seattle’s Chick Hafey by a single RBI (35-34). The slugging Halo has no peer in the home run race however, leading all challengers with 13 home runs, five more than any other player in the loop. He hit just 10 all last year. The Angels’ new home, Wrigley Field, is looking like a real home run haven: the only two other players in the league with at least eight home runs are Stearnes’ teammates, George Scales and Jack Fournier.

Scales and Seattle’s George Kelly each had 21-game hitting streaks snapped this week. Scales is hitting .408 and Kelly is hitting .333.

San Francisco remains at the top of the standings at 20-10; behind the Angels and Beavers are the Vernon Tigers at 16-14. The other four clubs are all at least four games under .500.


Update: 5/11/25





Torriente

Salt Lake City cooled San Francisco down a bit, but the Seals ended up 4-2 for the week after splitting the final four meetings of their six-game set with the Bees and then taking the first two games of their next sixer at Sacramento. At 17-7, the Seals lead second-place Vernon (14-11) by three-and-a-half games.

The Tigers are enjoying their tour of the Pacific Northwest, having taken four out of six at Portland and the first three games of a six-game series at Seattle. Los Angeles (13-11) has surged into third place after a 4-1 week. Portland rounds out the first division with a 12-12 ledger.

Salt Lake City center fielder Cristobal Torriente was the Player of the Week, lighting up Seals and Angels pitchers to the tune of .630 (17 for 27) with three home runs and ten runs driven in. Torriente is hitting .436. He trails the Halos’ George Scales, who is hitting a blistering .455 and has a 20-game hitting streak.


Update: 5/4/25






Stearnes

Are the San Francisco Seals back? The 1921 PCL champs and 1922 runners-up have turned in back-to-back sub-.500 campaigns, but they’re off to a good start this season, leading the league with a 13-5 record. This week they completed a sweep of the Sacramento Solons before dropping the first two games of a six-game set against Salt Lake City; since second-place Portland was dropping a pair to Vernon at the same time, the Seals maintain a three-game lead over the Beavers. It’s early, but things are looking up in the City by the Bay.

Seattle is in third place, just a half-game behind Portland at 10-9, and Vernon is a half-game behind the Rainiers at 9-9.

Los Angeles right fielder Turkey Stearnes won Player of the Week honors, hitting five home runs and driving in twelve as the Angels inched closer to .500. Stearnes leads the league in round-trippers with 8, and is hitting .388. The Angels are 9-10 and in fifth place, four-and-half games behind San Francisco.


Update: 4/27/25





Hafey

For the second straight week, the Player of the Week was a Seattle Rainiers outfielder. This time, however, the honor came after a resoundingly successful week by the team. The Rainiers swept Oakland in five before falling to Vernon, so after a 5-1 week the club is 7-5, two games out of first place. Right fielder Chick Hafey hit for the cycle in the first game of Thursday's doubleheader, then went a modest two for four in the nightcap. The Berkeley-born slugger finished the week with a phenomenal 18 hits in 29 at-bats (.621), driving in 13 runs. The team received some bad news on Saturday, however; last week’s Player of the Week, newly-acquired left fielder Ken Williams, has a badly strained hip muscle, and may miss most of the season.

The Angels are winless in their new home after being swept by the Seals. San Francisco has taken over the top spot in the league with a 9-3 record, leading Portland (8-4) by a game and Sacramento and Seattle by two. Salt Lake City and Vernon are 5-7, and Los Angeles (4-8) and Oakland (3-9) are off to rough starts.


1925 Opening Week






Williams

The Portland Beavers took four out of six at Seattle, and by so doing are now the sole occupants of first place in the Pacific Coast League. As usual, their ace, Bullet Rogan, and their top hitting star, Oscar Charleston, led the way. Rogan won both his starts and fashioned a 1.50 ERA in 18 innings, while Charleston hit .462 with a triple and a double.

Curiously, Player of the Week honors went to a member of the only team in the league to post a losing record. Seattle’s Ken Williams, back in the league after a year with the St. Louis Browns, hit .476 with a double, a triple, two home runs and seven runs batted in. The Rainiers won’t remain under .500 for long if Williams continues to hit like that.

The other series were all splits, so Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, and Vernon are all tied for second place.


1924-1925 Off-season






Wrigley Field

The Angels completed their new home, 22,000-seat Wrigley Field, located at Avalon Boulevard and 42nd Place in south Los Angeles. The gorgeous new Spanish-styled ballpark’s Grand Opening will be April 20th as the Angels play host to the San Francisco Seals.

The Vernon Tigers, having balked at the Angels’ offer of tenancy at the new facility, will now have Washington Park all to themselves. Some observers feel the Angels deliberately set the rent too high to force the Tigers to stay put in the older, smaller facility.

The owners of the league’s seven coastal teams, weary of underwriting the expensive trips each club must make to Salt Lake City twice a year, continued to pressure the Bees to move, but no suitable location was found. The Bees will call The Crossroads of the West home for another season.

For a fifth consecutive off-season the PCL proposed a tri-league championship tournament with the American and National Leagues, and was turned down by the Eastern owners. The PCL’s owners continue to argue that full recognition as a major league is inevitable and would ultimately profit all three leagues, but such recognition does not appear to be forthcoming anytime soon.


1924     1925     1926

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