History of baseball in Portland, Oregon
Encyclopedia
Portland
, Oregon
has been home to many baseball
teams, dating back to the 19th century.
was founded in Portland, when on May 28, 1866, the Pioneer Baseball Club of East Portland was created. Known as a gentleman's group at the time, it was composed of merchants, doctors, lawyers and farmers from rural Portland. Professional players were not allowed to be part of the club. In fact, members had to pay dues in order to be a part of the club. Over the next year many clubs were created throughout the Portland area.
The Pioneers of East Portland invited clubs from throughout the region to a meeting in February 1868 to form what became The Oregon, Washington and Idaho Territories Association of Base Ball Players. The association consisted of five founding clubs, the Pioneers, the Portland Spartans, the Highland Baseball Club, the Clackamas Club of Oregon City
and the Occidentals of Vancouver, WA, who adopted rules that were slightly modified from those approved by the National Association of Base Ball Players
in 1863.
. It helped organize the first professional league in the region, the Pacific Northwest League
. This league consisted of teams from Portland, Seattle
, Tacoma
and Spokane
, and began attracting players from around the nation.
In 1891 the Webfeet won the league championship, playing teams from as far as the California League, which included Sacramento
, San Francisco
, and San Jose
. This version of the Pacific Northwest League folded in the second half of the 1892 season due to the onset of a nationwide economic depression known as the Panic of 1893
.
An attempt was made in 1896 to restart the Pacific Northwest League, which was alternately known as the New Pacific League. Portland fielded a team in again in the league, this time going by the name of the Portland Gladiators
. The season only lasted through June, but the Gladiators did end up winning the league championship with a 19-9 record.
Another new team gained notoriety in Portland in 1886, the Portland Monograms. Consisting largely of neighborhood kids from Central and North Central High Schools, this team was very successful. After defeating teams from Oregon, they went on to win against the Washington State Championship team from Tacoma, earning them the right to go to San Francisco to play the California Champions in a game called the Pacific Tournament. The Monograms played two games against the California Champions, tying the first 12-12 and losing the second 16-14.
. This year also saw the second resurrection of the Pacific Northwest League. A group of area businessmen, spearheaded by William H. Lucas, also created the Portland Baseball Club and put together a team to play in the Pacific Northwest League, calling them the Webfooters. This team included Joe Tinker
, and went on to win the League Championship in their first season.
Following the creation of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in 1901 (renamed Minor League Baseball in 1999), the PNL, and thus the Portland Webfoots
, became a Class B league beginning in the 1902 season. In 1902 the team finished fourth in the league.
On December 10, 1902, Henry Harris, the owner of the California League's San Francisco team announced that the Pacific Northwest League team from Portland and a new team from Seattle were joining with the California League to create the Pacific Coast League
.
The Pacific Northwest League attempted to compete against the new Pacific Coast League in their inaugural year. Replacing the team they lost in Portland, as well as placing teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco, they renamed themselves the Pacific National League. The new team in Portland that year, the Green Gages, only played until July 1 when they moved to Salt Lake City, and changed their name to the Elders. Four other teams from the league stopped playing altogether before the end of the season, leaving only four teams in the league. By the end of the 1905, the old Pacific Northwest/National League was gone for good.
The PCL continued on though, as did the Portland Baseball Club. After the 1904 season, the PCL joined the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, thus making Portland a Class A league team (now called AAA Baseball). Also after the 1904 season, Portland outfielder Walter McCredie
and his uncle Judge William McCredie
purchased the team. The new owners changed the name of the team the Giants for the 1905 season, and Walter became the teams manager while continuing to play. As a result of a newspaper contest, the team was renamed the Beavers (Oregon
is the "Beaver State") in time for the 1906 season. The newly named Portland Beavers won their first PCL pennant in 1906, finishing 19½ games over runner-up Seattle
. Also in 1906 Beavers player Mike Mitchell
led the league in home runs, setting a league record for the least home runs hit by a league leader, hitting it out only six times.
The Beavers finished last in 1907 and second in 1908 and 1909. In 1910 Portland won another pennant being led by the pitching of Vean Gregg
and Gene Krapp
. Gregg finished the season with a 32-18 record and 14 shutout
s while Krapp had a 29-16 record for the season. Portland repeated at PCL champs in 1911 fielding four 20 game winning pitchers. In 1912, Judge McCredie helped get a new 12,000 seat grandstand built at Vaughn Street Park. His obituary later read that the ballpark was "the sensation of baseball, because it inaugurated a minor league precedent of providing individual grandstand seats, which fellow magnates called an extravagance and a dangerous innovation." 1912 also saw a small change in the classification of leagues from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, as they made the top tier league AA which the PCL, and the Portland Beavers, moved into from the previous top tier Class A league.
During the 1910s the Beavers developed some working relationships with other teams. From 1911 to 1914 the Portland Beavers had their own farm team who played in the Northwest League (renamed the Pacific Coast International League in 1918). The Class B team shared the use of Vaughn Street Park and was known as the Portland Pippins in 1911, but changed their name to the Portland Colts
in 1912. During the 1914 season the Colts moved to the Seattle area and finished their last season as the Ballard Pippins before folding. Portland also had an informal relationship with the Cleveland Indians
through much of the 1910s that saw many future major league stars come through Portland to fine tune their skills.
In 1913 and 1914 Portland played well, winning the pennant in both seasons. Though the 1915 Beavers featured Stan Coveleski
, the team didn't fare too well, and started into a tailspin that would last for over a decade. The year also marked the end of their relationship with the Cleveland Indians. With America’s entry into World War I
, restrictions were placed on travel, such that the Beavers withdrew from the PCL for the 1918 season, playing instead in the Class B Pacific Coast International League. The team was known as the Portland Buckaroos and finished their shortened season (play was stopped on July 7 due to the War) in second place 1½ games back of Seattle. Ironically, the PCL ceased play just a week later as they too were unable to continue play due to the travel restrictions.
Due to the Beaver's withdrawal from the PCL, the league offered Sacramento, California
a franchise to replace the Portland team, while the McCredie's continued to own the baseball club in Portland. The new team in Sacramento was known as the Sacramento Senators
, and could be considered a continuation of the original Portland Baseball Club.
who played with the Beavers for the 1922 season, paying him an unheard of minor league salary of $1000 per month. It wasn't long, though, before Klepper was in the middle of a dispute with Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
. Klepper had brought Seattle player-manager Bill Kenworthy down to manage the Beavers, but Seattle claimed Kenworthy was still under contract and that Klepper had tampered in the matter. Landis suspended Klepper until January 1, 1925 and declared Kenworthy ineligible to play or manage Portland until the 1924 season. According to the book "The Portland Beavers" by Kip Carlson and Paul Andresen, "The feisty Klepper went to court and had the decision overturned, supposedly the only time that Landis ever had a ruling reversed." Kenworthy did manage the Beavers in 1924, replacing popular player-manager Jim Middleton
. H]However he was fired mid-season, as he was not able to generate support from the players. The 1924 season was also noteworthy in that Mickey Cochrane
played on the team.
After the 1924 season, the Beavers officially became a farm team for a major league team when Philadelphia Athletics owners John and Tom Shibe purchased the Beavers as well as Vaughn Street Park. Despite having Duffy Lewis
on the team in 1925 (winning the PCL batting title), Elmer Smith in 1926 & 1927 (leading the PCL in home runs in 1926 and all of minor league baseball in home runs in 1927) and Ike Boone
in 1928, the Beavers continued to finish in the bottom half of the league.
Longtime head groundskeeper Rocky Benevento started working for the Beavers in 1927. Benevento was so popular with the fans that they took up a collection for him in 1956 to send him to the World Series
. Benevento retired at the end of the 1966 season and was given a new car. When Benevento died in 1969, The Oregonian
stated, "He adored kids...he loved baseball...and most of all he loved people." His funeral had an overflowing crowd that included Oregon Governor Tom McCall
. Benevento's stayed with the team 40 years, spanning 30 managerial changes and five ownership changes. While the former location of Vaughn Street Park in is now a parking lot, there is a plague honoring Benevento for his efforts in furthering baseball in Portland.
In 1929 the Beavers changed their name to the Portland Ducks, bearing a duck on their uniform, and were also occasionally known as the Portland Rosebuds. The name change didn't change the teams luck as they finished with a 90-112 record. Long time radio broadcaster Rollie Truitt also joined the team's staff, and worked for the team for 35 years, spanning 28 managerial changes and five ownership changes. Truitt would later be known as the "Dean of Pacific Coast League broadcasters." In 1930 the team reverted back to the Beavers name, but would occasionally be referred to as the Ducks for over decade. The highlight of the Beavers last-place 1930 season was William Rhiel's unassisted triple play, the last recorded in PCL history.
In 1931 team President Tom Turner bought the team from the Shibe brothers and the team took a turn for the positive. Ed Coleman
led the PCL in hits and runs batted in, and the team finished in third winning 100 games. The team continued to improve in 1932, winning Portland its first pennant since 1914. The team finished second in 1933. Turner brought Walter McCredie back to manager the team in 1934, but he died early in the season the team fell to the bottom half of the league.
Following the 1934 season, E. J. Shefter bought the team from Turner. The team improved in 1935 finishing one game over .500, and then won the pennant in 1936, finishing but 1½ games over runner-up Oakland
, then winning the postseason series to capture the crown. In 1937 the Beavers finished in fourth place, but made it to the playoffs defeating San Francisco in the first round before losing to the San Diego team featuring a young Ted Williams
. The team finished sixth in 1938 before finishing last place in 1939–1942. The 1940 team was so bad, finishing 56-122, that they were still 25 games behind the seventh place team (the league had eight teams at that time).
In 1943 William Klepper, with partner George Norgan buying a minority share, purchased the Beavers. The team came back that season with their first winning record since 1937. The management of the team began referring to the team as the "Lucky Beavers" and Vaugh Street Park was known as "Lucky Beaver Stadium." With the United States
firmly involved in World War II
, local radio station KXL sold over $300,000 in war bonds in 1943 to fund the building of a bomber for the war that would be dubbed "The Lucky Beaver." At the time, the available pool of baseball players in the nation was ravaged. Somehow though, the Beavers still moved up in the league, finishing second in 1944. In 1945 the Beavers brought another pennant to Portland being skippered by player-manager Marv Owen
. Despite winning the pennant, the team lost to San Francisco in the first round of the playoffs. To commemorate Portland's 1945 pennant win, Portland held a banquet at the Multnomah Hotel (now the downtown Portland Embassy Suites). Oregon Governor Earl Snell
presented a commemorative watch and gold and diamond
ring
to each player at the banquet. The watches were given to the players because L.H. Gregory of The Oregonian
requested fans donate money to a fund for the purpose. Gregory did this because he felt it was not right that no memento was given to the players from the 1936 championship team. Following the 1945 season, Norgan purchased Klepper's share of the team, becoming the teams new owner.
In 1946 the Beavers fell to the bottom half of the league finishing in seventh place, 41 games out of first. In 1947 Eddie Basinski
joined the Beavers, and they finished third, losing to the Los Angeles Angels
in the first round of the playoffs. The team drew a record of 421,000 fans that season. This record would stand for the Beavers until the 2001 season when AAA Baseball returned to Portland.
In 1948 the team finish fifth, followed by a sixth place finish in 1949. The 1949 season began the integration
of the Pacific Coast League as Frankie Austin and Luis Marques became Beavers. Beginning with the 1950 season the Beavers finished forth for four straight years. Clay Hopper
, who had been Jackie Robinson
's manager when he played for the Montreal Royals
in 1946, was named the teams manager in 1952. This year also marked the first year the Pacific Coast League, and the Portland Beavers, were classified by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues as an "Open League." The open league was a step above AAA, and was an attempted by the Pacific Coast League to be considered the third major league
.
Plans for a new ballpark were announced by the team in 1953. Originally the team planned to build a new stadium at 82nd & Holgate in Southeast Portland. Due to the Korean War
, among other issues, the stadium never came to fruition. In 1954 the team dropped again to the bottom of the league. After the 1954 season the team went up for sale via public stock
, which resulted in 2,400 new owners for the 1955 season. With the change the Beavers rose to fifth place, only nine games back of first.
In 1956, the Beavers left Vaughn Street Park to move into 25,000-seat Multnomah Stadium, eventually renamed Civic Stadium
. Throughout most of the 1960s, the Beavers were the AAA affiliate of the American League Cleveland Indians, nurturing such future stars as "Sudden" Sam McDowell, Lou "Mad Dog" Piniella, and Luis "El Gigante" Tiant. Later major league affiliations included Minnesota and Philadelphia.
. The Class A Portland Mavericks
filled the void left by the departure of the Beavers. The Mavericks played in the short-season Northwest League
, with a schedule running from mid-June through August. They won four division titles in their five year history (second place in 1974), but never won the league championship.
to win the Northern Division title, then bested the Albuquerque Dukes
in the finals to capture the flag.
After the 1993 season, Beavers owner Joe Buzas moved the team to Salt Lake City, Utah
, where they became the Salt Lake Buzz, and later the Stingers. Their current nickname is the Bees
.
did eventually bring about the return of the short-season Northwest League
. Following their inaugural season in 1994, the Class A Bend Rockies relocated to the now available market of Portland in 1995. The Portland Rockies
played in the Rose City for the next six seasons and served an important role for the city, whose demand for a major league team was growing. Portland's support for the Rockies paved the way for the return of AAA baseball in 2001.
and San Diego Padres
swapped AAA teams. The Albuquerque Dukes (a charter franchise of the PCL under the name Los Angeles Angels) moved to Portland, becoming the Beavers, as the San Diego Padres affiliate. As part of the relocation agreement, Civic Stadium was renovated in 2000 and renamed PGE Park
. The Dodgers took control of the Padres' Las Vegas Stars, who would be renamed the 51's
. The Portland Rockies
would move up the Columbia River
to Pasco
and become the Tri-City Dust Devils
in 2001.
In 2007, owner Merritt Paulson
announced that he was considering changing the name of the team - to prevent confusion with the Oregon State University Beavers
, whose baseball team won the national championships in 2006 and 2007. Possible new names and logos were unveiled, and a vote was staged on the team website. "Portland Beavers" won the contest, and the team unveiled new logos and colors on January 29, 2008. The Beavers emphasized their connection to the three prior franchises with the notation "Est. 1903" on their primary logo. The team also brought back the name "Lucky Beavers" as part of a sleeve patch on their alternate jersey.
In 2009, the city of Portland was awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS)
expansion franchise for 2011, to be named the Portland Timbers
. The Portland City Council approved a $31 million agreement to renovate PGE Park to a soccer- and football-only stadium, with the condition that a new ballpark be built in Portland
for the Beavers by 2011.
Initial plans called for the new ballpark to be built at the site currently occupied by the Memorial Coliseum, which would have been torn down, but public outcry about demolishing a Portland landmark led Portland mayor Sam Adams to propose a second site in the Rose Quarter
area north of Memorial Coliseum. The site, however, proved to be too small. Another location in the Lents
neighborhood in southeast Portland was also rejected due to objections from neighbors.
In June 2009, the Portland City Council voted to separate the soccer and baseball projects, allowing renovation of PGE Park to proceed without completed plans for a baseball stadium in place. Other locations in the Portland area were considered for the ballpark, including a vacant terminal at the Port of Portland
, Delta Park
, the Portland Expo Center
, Portland Meadows
, the Westwood Corporation Heliport
site, a building owned by Portland Public Schools near the Rose Quarter, and suburban locations in Beaverton
, Clackamas
, and Vancouver, Washington
. None of these sites progressed past initial discussions.
With no suitable Portland location available, in July 2010, Paulson announced that he was putting the team up for sale and relocation, and the Beavers played their last game in Portland on September 6, 2010, beating the Las Vegas 51s
6-5 before a sellout crowd. Padres owner Jeff Moorad
formed a group to buy the team and talked of moving its home games to the Lake Elsinore Diamond
in Lake Elsinore, California
until a new stadium in Escondido could be built. Eventually, the group decided to move the team temporarily to Tucson, rename them the Tucson Padres, and then move again to Escondido when the new ballpark is built.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
has been home to many baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
teams, dating back to the 19th century.
Early Portland Baseball: 1866–1883
The first organized baseball team on record in the Pacific NorthwestPacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in northwestern North America, bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains on the east. Definitions of the region vary and there is no commonly agreed upon boundary, even among Pacific Northwesterners. A common concept of the...
was founded in Portland, when on May 28, 1866, the Pioneer Baseball Club of East Portland was created. Known as a gentleman's group at the time, it was composed of merchants, doctors, lawyers and farmers from rural Portland. Professional players were not allowed to be part of the club. In fact, members had to pay dues in order to be a part of the club. Over the next year many clubs were created throughout the Portland area.
The Pioneers of East Portland invited clubs from throughout the region to a meeting in February 1868 to form what became The Oregon, Washington and Idaho Territories Association of Base Ball Players. The association consisted of five founding clubs, the Pioneers, the Portland Spartans, the Highland Baseball Club, the Clackamas Club of Oregon City
Oregon City, Oregon
Oregon City was the first city in the United States west of the Rocky Mountains to be incorporated. It is the county seat of Clackamas County, Oregon...
and the Occidentals of Vancouver, WA, who adopted rules that were slightly modified from those approved by the National Association of Base Ball Players
National Association of Base Ball Players
The National Association of Base Ball Players was the first organization governing American baseball. The first, 1857 convention of sixteen New York City clubs...
in 1863.
Professional Baseball in Portland: 1883–1901
In 1884 Joe Buchtel, a player/manager for the Pioneers who is regarded as being largely responsible for making baseball popular in Oregon during the 20th century, started a new team in Portland, the Willamettes of East Portland. In 1890 this team became the Portland WebfeetPortland Webfeet
The Portland Webfeet were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest League. They were located in Portland, Oregon and played at Columbia Park. They were active from to ....
. It helped organize the first professional league in the region, the Pacific Northwest League
Pacific Northwest League
The Pacific Northwest League was a professional Minor League Baseball league based in the Pacific Northwest. It was the first professional baseball league ever in the region.-Founding:...
. This league consisted of teams from Portland, Seattle
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
, Tacoma
Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to...
and Spokane
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, and began attracting players from around the nation.
In 1891 the Webfeet won the league championship, playing teams from as far as the California League, which included Sacramento
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, San Francisco
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, and San Jose
San Jose, California
San Jose is the third-largest city in California, the tenth-largest in the U.S., and the county seat of Santa Clara County which is located at the southern end of San Francisco Bay...
. This version of the Pacific Northwest League folded in the second half of the 1892 season due to the onset of a nationwide economic depression known as the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
.
An attempt was made in 1896 to restart the Pacific Northwest League, which was alternately known as the New Pacific League. Portland fielded a team in again in the league, this time going by the name of the Portland Gladiators
Portland Gladiators
The Portland Gladiators were a Minor League Baseball team in the New Pacific League. They were based in Portland, Oregon and only lasted one season, in , before the league folded in mid-season. They ended up wining the championship game. One notable player for the Gladiators was Charlie...
. The season only lasted through June, but the Gladiators did end up winning the league championship with a 19-9 record.
Another new team gained notoriety in Portland in 1886, the Portland Monograms. Consisting largely of neighborhood kids from Central and North Central High Schools, this team was very successful. After defeating teams from Oregon, they went on to win against the Washington State Championship team from Tacoma, earning them the right to go to San Francisco to play the California Champions in a game called the Pacific Tournament. The Monograms played two games against the California Champions, tying the first 12-12 and losing the second 16-14.
A New Era In Portland Baseball: 1901–1902
In the spring of 1901 a new baseball park was constructed at NW Vaughn Street and NW 24th Avenue that would become known as Vaughn Street ParkVaughn Street Park
Vaughn Street Park was a baseball park located in Portland, Oregon. It opened in 1901, and was torn down in 1956. Its primary tenant was the Portland Beavers Pacific Coast League team...
. This year also saw the second resurrection of the Pacific Northwest League. A group of area businessmen, spearheaded by William H. Lucas, also created the Portland Baseball Club and put together a team to play in the Pacific Northwest League, calling them the Webfooters. This team included Joe Tinker
Joe Tinker
Joseph Bert Tinker was a Major League Baseball player and manager. He is best known for his years with the Chicago Cubs dynasty which won four pennants between 1906 and 1910; and for his feud with double play partner Johnny Evers. Tinker was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in...
, and went on to win the League Championship in their first season.
Following the creation of the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues in 1901 (renamed Minor League Baseball in 1999), the PNL, and thus the Portland Webfoots
Portland Webfoots
The Portland Webfoots were a Minor League Baseball team in the Pacific Northwest League. They were based in Portland, Oregon and were active for only two years, and...
, became a Class B league beginning in the 1902 season. In 1902 the team finished fourth in the league.
On December 10, 1902, Henry Harris, the owner of the California League's San Francisco team announced that the Pacific Northwest League team from Portland and a new team from Seattle were joining with the California League to create the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
.
Pacific Coast League: 1903–1917
The Portland Baseball Club began play in the PCL in 1903, being known as the Portland Browns. Portland finished fifth in the league at the end of the 1903 season. In 1904 the Portland team, finished the season with a 74-136 record, setting a PCL record for the most losses in a season.The Pacific Northwest League attempted to compete against the new Pacific Coast League in their inaugural year. Replacing the team they lost in Portland, as well as placing teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco, they renamed themselves the Pacific National League. The new team in Portland that year, the Green Gages, only played until July 1 when they moved to Salt Lake City, and changed their name to the Elders. Four other teams from the league stopped playing altogether before the end of the season, leaving only four teams in the league. By the end of the 1905, the old Pacific Northwest/National League was gone for good.
The PCL continued on though, as did the Portland Baseball Club. After the 1904 season, the PCL joined the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, thus making Portland a Class A league team (now called AAA Baseball). Also after the 1904 season, Portland outfielder Walter McCredie
Walt McCredie
Walter Henry McCredie , was a professional baseball player who played outfield for the Brooklyn Superbas during the baseball season...
and his uncle Judge William McCredie
William W. McCredie
William Wallace "W. W." McCredie was a U.S. Representative from Washington.-Biography:Born in Montrose, Pennsylvania, McCredie moved to Iowa with his parents, who settled on a farm near Manchester in Delaware County...
purchased the team. The new owners changed the name of the team the Giants for the 1905 season, and Walter became the teams manager while continuing to play. As a result of a newspaper contest, the team was renamed the Beavers (Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
is the "Beaver State") in time for the 1906 season. The newly named Portland Beavers won their first PCL pennant in 1906, finishing 19½ games over runner-up Seattle
Seattle Rainiers
The Seattle Rainiers, originally named the Seattle Indians and also known as the Seattle Angels, were a minor league baseball team in Seattle, Washington, that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903-06 and 1919-68...
. Also in 1906 Beavers player Mike Mitchell
Mike Mitchell (baseball)
Michael Francis Mitchell was an outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1907 to 1914. He played for the Cincinnati Reds, Chicago Cubs, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Washington Senators. Known for his powerful throwing arm, Mitchell was also a decent hitter who led the National League in triples twice...
led the league in home runs, setting a league record for the least home runs hit by a league leader, hitting it out only six times.
The Beavers finished last in 1907 and second in 1908 and 1909. In 1910 Portland won another pennant being led by the pitching of Vean Gregg
Vean Gregg
Sylveanus Augustus "Vean" Gregg was born April 13, 1885, in Chehalis, Washington. For three years, the left-hander was one of the most dominant pitchers in the major leagues....
and Gene Krapp
Gene Krapp
Eugene Hamlet Krapp was a pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1911 to 1915. He played for the Cleveland Naps and Buffalo Buffeds/Blues.-Biography:...
. Gregg finished the season with a 32-18 record and 14 shutout
Shutout
In team sports, a shutout refers to a game in which one team prevents the opposing team from scoring. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball....
s while Krapp had a 29-16 record for the season. Portland repeated at PCL champs in 1911 fielding four 20 game winning pitchers. In 1912, Judge McCredie helped get a new 12,000 seat grandstand built at Vaughn Street Park. His obituary later read that the ballpark was "the sensation of baseball, because it inaugurated a minor league precedent of providing individual grandstand seats, which fellow magnates called an extravagance and a dangerous innovation." 1912 also saw a small change in the classification of leagues from the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, as they made the top tier league AA which the PCL, and the Portland Beavers, moved into from the previous top tier Class A league.
During the 1910s the Beavers developed some working relationships with other teams. From 1911 to 1914 the Portland Beavers had their own farm team who played in the Northwest League (renamed the Pacific Coast International League in 1918). The Class B team shared the use of Vaughn Street Park and was known as the Portland Pippins in 1911, but changed their name to the Portland Colts
Portland Colts
The Portland Colts were a Minor League Baseball team based in Portland, Oregon. They were a part of the Northwestern League and in they were known as the Portland Pippins. The served as a farm team for the Portland Beavers in the 1910s...
in 1912. During the 1914 season the Colts moved to the Seattle area and finished their last season as the Ballard Pippins before folding. Portland also had an informal relationship with the Cleveland Indians
Cleveland Indians
The Cleveland Indians are a professional baseball team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are in the Central Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Since , they have played in Progressive Field. The team's spring training facility is in Goodyear, Arizona...
through much of the 1910s that saw many future major league stars come through Portland to fine tune their skills.
In 1913 and 1914 Portland played well, winning the pennant in both seasons. Though the 1915 Beavers featured Stan Coveleski
Stan Coveleski
Stanley Anthony Coveleski was a Major League Baseball player during the 1910s and 1920s. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969....
, the team didn't fare too well, and started into a tailspin that would last for over a decade. The year also marked the end of their relationship with the Cleveland Indians. With America’s entry into World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, restrictions were placed on travel, such that the Beavers withdrew from the PCL for the 1918 season, playing instead in the Class B Pacific Coast International League. The team was known as the Portland Buckaroos and finished their shortened season (play was stopped on July 7 due to the War) in second place 1½ games back of Seattle. Ironically, the PCL ceased play just a week later as they too were unable to continue play due to the travel restrictions.
Due to the Beaver's withdrawal from the PCL, the league offered Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
a franchise to replace the Portland team, while the McCredie's continued to own the baseball club in Portland. The new team in Sacramento was known as the Sacramento Senators
Sacramento Solons
The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in Sacramento, California. They played in the Pacific Coast League during several periods . The current Sacramento River Cats began play in 2000...
, and could be considered a continuation of the original Portland Baseball Club.
Return to the Pacific Coast League: 1919–1972
With the McCredies still at the helm, Portland was offered the opportunity to become an expansion franchise and re-entered the PCL in 1919. The team finished in seventh place, only ahead of last place Seattle who was also an expansion team that year. Portland finished in last place in 1920 and again in 1921. After the 1921 season, the McCredies sold the team to Walter Klepper who had been president of the Seattle team. Klepper brought in Jim ThorpeJim Thorpe
Jacobus Franciscus "Jim" Thorpe * Gerasimo and Whiteley. pg. 28 * americaslibrary.gov, accessed April 23, 2007. was an American athlete of mixed ancestry...
who played with the Beavers for the 1922 season, paying him an unheard of minor league salary of $1000 per month. It wasn't long, though, before Klepper was in the middle of a dispute with Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis
Kenesaw Mountain Landis was an American jurist who served as a federal judge from 1905 to 1922 and as the first Commissioner of Baseball from 1920 until his death...
. Klepper had brought Seattle player-manager Bill Kenworthy down to manage the Beavers, but Seattle claimed Kenworthy was still under contract and that Klepper had tampered in the matter. Landis suspended Klepper until January 1, 1925 and declared Kenworthy ineligible to play or manage Portland until the 1924 season. According to the book "The Portland Beavers" by Kip Carlson and Paul Andresen, "The feisty Klepper went to court and had the decision overturned, supposedly the only time that Landis ever had a ruling reversed." Kenworthy did manage the Beavers in 1924, replacing popular player-manager Jim Middleton
Jim Middleton
James Blaine "Rifle Jim" Middleton was a professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher over parts of two seasons with the New York Giants and Detroit Tigers...
. H]However he was fired mid-season, as he was not able to generate support from the players. The 1924 season was also noteworthy in that Mickey Cochrane
Mickey Cochrane
Gordon Stanley "Mickey" Cochrane was a professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics and Detroit Tigers...
played on the team.
After the 1924 season, the Beavers officially became a farm team for a major league team when Philadelphia Athletics owners John and Tom Shibe purchased the Beavers as well as Vaughn Street Park. Despite having Duffy Lewis
Duffy Lewis
George Edward "Duffy" Lewis , born in San Francisco, California, was a left fielder and left-handed batter who played Major League Baseball for the Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees and Washington Senators...
on the team in 1925 (winning the PCL batting title), Elmer Smith in 1926 & 1927 (leading the PCL in home runs in 1926 and all of minor league baseball in home runs in 1927) and Ike Boone
Ike Boone
Isaac Morgan Boone was a right fielder in Major League Baseball. Boone batted left-handed and threw right-handed. He was born in Samantha, Alabama...
in 1928, the Beavers continued to finish in the bottom half of the league.
Longtime head groundskeeper Rocky Benevento started working for the Beavers in 1927. Benevento was so popular with the fans that they took up a collection for him in 1956 to send him to the World Series
World Series
The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...
. Benevento retired at the end of the 1966 season and was given a new car. When Benevento died in 1969, The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
stated, "He adored kids...he loved baseball...and most of all he loved people." His funeral had an overflowing crowd that included Oregon Governor Tom McCall
Tom McCall
Thomas Lawson McCall was an American politician and journalist in the state of Oregon. A Republican, he was the 30th Governor of Oregon from 1967 to 1975. A native of Massachusetts, he grew up there and in Central Oregon before attending the University of Oregon...
. Benevento's stayed with the team 40 years, spanning 30 managerial changes and five ownership changes. While the former location of Vaughn Street Park in is now a parking lot, there is a plague honoring Benevento for his efforts in furthering baseball in Portland.
In 1929 the Beavers changed their name to the Portland Ducks, bearing a duck on their uniform, and were also occasionally known as the Portland Rosebuds. The name change didn't change the teams luck as they finished with a 90-112 record. Long time radio broadcaster Rollie Truitt also joined the team's staff, and worked for the team for 35 years, spanning 28 managerial changes and five ownership changes. Truitt would later be known as the "Dean of Pacific Coast League broadcasters." In 1930 the team reverted back to the Beavers name, but would occasionally be referred to as the Ducks for over decade. The highlight of the Beavers last-place 1930 season was William Rhiel's unassisted triple play, the last recorded in PCL history.
In 1931 team President Tom Turner bought the team from the Shibe brothers and the team took a turn for the positive. Ed Coleman
Ed Coleman (baseball)
Parke Edward Coleman is a former professional baseball player who played Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics from 1932–1935 and the St. Louis Browns from 1935–1936...
led the PCL in hits and runs batted in, and the team finished in third winning 100 games. The team continued to improve in 1932, winning Portland its first pennant since 1914. The team finished second in 1933. Turner brought Walter McCredie back to manager the team in 1934, but he died early in the season the team fell to the bottom half of the league.
Following the 1934 season, E. J. Shefter bought the team from Turner. The team improved in 1935 finishing one game over .500, and then won the pennant in 1936, finishing but 1½ games over runner-up Oakland
Oakland Oaks (PCL)
The Oakland Oaks were a minor league baseball team in Oakland, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1955, after which the club transferred to Vancouver, British Columbia...
, then winning the postseason series to capture the crown. In 1937 the Beavers finished in fourth place, but made it to the playoffs defeating San Francisco in the first round before losing to the San Diego team featuring a young Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
. The team finished sixth in 1938 before finishing last place in 1939–1942. The 1940 team was so bad, finishing 56-122, that they were still 25 games behind the seventh place team (the league had eight teams at that time).
In 1943 William Klepper, with partner George Norgan buying a minority share, purchased the Beavers. The team came back that season with their first winning record since 1937. The management of the team began referring to the team as the "Lucky Beavers" and Vaugh Street Park was known as "Lucky Beaver Stadium." With the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
firmly involved in World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, local radio station KXL sold over $300,000 in war bonds in 1943 to fund the building of a bomber for the war that would be dubbed "The Lucky Beaver." At the time, the available pool of baseball players in the nation was ravaged. Somehow though, the Beavers still moved up in the league, finishing second in 1944. In 1945 the Beavers brought another pennant to Portland being skippered by player-manager Marv Owen
Marv Owen
Marvin James Owen was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. He played nine seasons in the American League with the Detroit Tigers , Chicago White Sox , and Boston Red Sox ....
. Despite winning the pennant, the team lost to San Francisco in the first round of the playoffs. To commemorate Portland's 1945 pennant win, Portland held a banquet at the Multnomah Hotel (now the downtown Portland Embassy Suites). Oregon Governor Earl Snell
Earl Snell
Earl Willcox Snell was an Oregon businessman American Republican politician, serving in the Oregon House of Representatives, as the Oregon Secretary of State, and as the 23rd Governor of Oregon....
presented a commemorative watch and gold and diamond
Diamond
In mineralogy, diamond is an allotrope of carbon, where the carbon atoms are arranged in a variation of the face-centered cubic crystal structure called a diamond lattice. Diamond is less stable than graphite, but the conversion rate from diamond to graphite is negligible at ambient conditions...
ring
Championship ring
A championship ring is a ring presented to members of winning teams in professional sports leagues, and—in North America—college tournaments. In recent years, it has become common for American, and Canadian high schools to give championship rings to teams that win the state or provincial...
to each player at the banquet. The watches were given to the players because L.H. Gregory of The Oregonian
The Oregonian
The Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
requested fans donate money to a fund for the purpose. Gregory did this because he felt it was not right that no memento was given to the players from the 1936 championship team. Following the 1945 season, Norgan purchased Klepper's share of the team, becoming the teams new owner.
In 1946 the Beavers fell to the bottom half of the league finishing in seventh place, 41 games out of first. In 1947 Eddie Basinski
Eddie Basinski
Edwin Frank Basinski is a former infielder in Major League Baseball. 'Eddie' played from 1944-1947 with the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates....
joined the Beavers, and they finished third, losing to the Los Angeles Angels
Los Angeles Angels (PCL)
The Los Angeles Angels were a team based in Los Angeles, California that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 through 1957, after which they transferred to Spokane, Washington to become the Spokane Indians. Los Angeles would later become the host city to a Major League Baseball team, the...
in the first round of the playoffs. The team drew a record of 421,000 fans that season. This record would stand for the Beavers until the 2001 season when AAA Baseball returned to Portland.
In 1948 the team finish fifth, followed by a sixth place finish in 1949. The 1949 season began the integration
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
of the Pacific Coast League as Frankie Austin and Luis Marques became Beavers. Beginning with the 1950 season the Beavers finished forth for four straight years. Clay Hopper
Clay Hopper
Robert Clay Hopper was a player and manager in minor league baseball....
, who had been Jackie Robinson
Jackie Robinson
Jack Roosevelt "Jackie" Robinson was the first black Major League Baseball player of the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line when he debuted with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947...
's manager when he played for the Montreal Royals
Montreal Royals
The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec, that existed from 1897–1917 and from 1928–60 as a member of the International League and its progenitor, the original Eastern League...
in 1946, was named the teams manager in 1952. This year also marked the first year the Pacific Coast League, and the Portland Beavers, were classified by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues as an "Open League." The open league was a step above AAA, and was an attempted by the Pacific Coast League to be considered the third major league
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
.
Plans for a new ballpark were announced by the team in 1953. Originally the team planned to build a new stadium at 82nd & Holgate in Southeast Portland. Due to the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
, among other issues, the stadium never came to fruition. In 1954 the team dropped again to the bottom of the league. After the 1954 season the team went up for sale via public stock
Stock
The capital stock of a business entity represents the original capital paid into or invested in the business by its founders. It serves as a security for the creditors of a business since it cannot be withdrawn to the detriment of the creditors...
, which resulted in 2,400 new owners for the 1955 season. With the change the Beavers rose to fifth place, only nine games back of first.
In 1956, the Beavers left Vaughn Street Park to move into 25,000-seat Multnomah Stadium, eventually renamed Civic Stadium
PGE Park
Jeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football...
. Throughout most of the 1960s, the Beavers were the AAA affiliate of the American League Cleveland Indians, nurturing such future stars as "Sudden" Sam McDowell, Lou "Mad Dog" Piniella, and Luis "El Gigante" Tiant. Later major league affiliations included Minnesota and Philadelphia.
Independent Baseball in Portland: 1973–1977
After 1972, in which the Beavers drew fewer than 92,000 fans for the entire season, the team left Portland for SpokaneSpokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
. The Class A Portland Mavericks
Portland Mavericks
The Portland Mavericks were a minor league baseball team in Portland, Oregon, United States. They began play in the Class A Northwest League in 1973 after the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League moved to Spokane, Washington. The Mavericks were owned by ex-minor league player and television...
filled the void left by the departure of the Beavers. The Mavericks played in the short-season Northwest League
Northwest League
The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
, with a schedule running from mid-June through August. They won four division titles in their five year history (second place in 1974), but never won the league championship.
AAA Returns to Portland: 1978–1993
The PCL expanded in 1978 and added a new team in Portland, calling themselves the Beavers. The new Beavers played in Civic Stadium through 1992. In 1983, the Beavers won the PCL pennant, the first for Portland in 47 years. Though finishing fourth overall that year, the Beavers defeated the Edmonton TrappersEdmonton Trappers
The Edmonton Trappers were a minor league baseball team in the Pacific Coast League, ending with the 2004 season. Home games were played at Telus Field in downtown Edmonton, Alberta, Canada....
to win the Northern Division title, then bested the Albuquerque Dukes
Albuquerque Dukes
The Albuquerque Dukes were a minor league baseball team based in Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA.-History:The first Dukes team was formed in 1915 as part of the Class-D Rio Grande Association. The team finished in third place with a 32-25 record. Frank Huelman was the league leader in home runs,...
in the finals to capture the flag.
After the 1993 season, Beavers owner Joe Buzas moved the team to Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City, Utah
Salt Lake City is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Utah. The name of the city is often shortened to Salt Lake or SLC. With a population of 186,440 as of the 2010 Census, the city lies in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a total population of 1,124,197...
, where they became the Salt Lake Buzz, and later the Stingers. Their current nickname is the Bees
Salt Lake Bees
The Salt Lake Bees are a Pacific Coast League minor league baseball team based in Salt Lake City, Utah. The Bees serve as the Triple-A affiliate of Major League Baseball's Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. They play their home games at Spring Mobile Ballpark, known to fans as the Apiary, which was...
.
Northwest League Baseball: 1994–2000
For the first time since 1899, Portland was without a baseball team for the 1994 season. The departure of the PCLPacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
did eventually bring about the return of the short-season Northwest League
Northwest League
The Northwest League of Professional Baseball is a Class A-Short Season minor baseball league. The league is the descendant of the Western International League which ran as a class B league from 1937-1951 and class A from 1952-1954...
. Following their inaugural season in 1994, the Class A Bend Rockies relocated to the now available market of Portland in 1995. The Portland Rockies
Portland Rockies
The Portland Rockies were a minor-league baseball team that played in Portland, Oregon from 1995-2000. They were a rookie league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Their name and logo mimicked the mountain theme of the Colorado club, even though Portland is not located in the Rocky Mountains...
played in the Rose City for the next six seasons and served an important role for the city, whose demand for a major league team was growing. Portland's support for the Rockies paved the way for the return of AAA baseball in 2001.
The Beavers Return: 2000–2010
Following the 2000 season, the Los Angeles DodgersLos Angeles Dodgers
The Los Angeles Dodgers are a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles, California. The Dodgers are members of Major League Baseball's National League West Division. Established in 1883, the team originated in Brooklyn, New York, where it was known by a number of nicknames before becoming...
and San Diego Padres
San Diego Padres
The San Diego Padres are a Major League Baseball team based in San Diego, California. They play in the National League Western Division. Founded in 1969, the Padres have won the National League Pennant twice, in 1984 and 1998, losing in the World Series both times...
swapped AAA teams. The Albuquerque Dukes (a charter franchise of the PCL under the name Los Angeles Angels) moved to Portland, becoming the Beavers, as the San Diego Padres affiliate. As part of the relocation agreement, Civic Stadium was renovated in 2000 and renamed PGE Park
PGE Park
Jeld-Wen Field is an outdoor sports stadium located in Portland, Oregon, United States that is used primarily for soccer and American football...
. The Dodgers took control of the Padres' Las Vegas Stars, who would be renamed the 51's
Las Vegas 51s
The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...
. The Portland Rockies
Portland Rockies
The Portland Rockies were a minor-league baseball team that played in Portland, Oregon from 1995-2000. They were a rookie league affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Their name and logo mimicked the mountain theme of the Colorado club, even though Portland is not located in the Rocky Mountains...
would move up the Columbia River
Columbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
to Pasco
Pasco, Washington
Pasco is a city in and the county seat of Franklin County, Washington, United States.Pasco is one of three cities that make up the Tri-Cities region of the state of Washington...
and become the Tri-City Dust Devils
Tri-City Dust Devils
The Tri-City Dust Devils are a minor league baseball team in Pasco, Washington, United States. The Dust Devils are a Short-Season A classification team in the Northwest League and have been a farm team of the Colorado Rockies since their inception in 2001. The Devils play home games at Gesa...
in 2001.
In 2007, owner Merritt Paulson
Merritt Paulson
Henry Merritt Paulson III is the majority owner of Peregrine Sports, LLC which owns the Portland Timbers, a Major League Soccer team based in Portland, Oregon.-Personal:...
announced that he was considering changing the name of the team - to prevent confusion with the Oregon State University Beavers
Oregon State Beavers
The Oregon State Beavers is a name shared by all sports teams at Oregon State University in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers are part of the Pacific-12 Conference . Oregon State's mascot is Benny the Beaver...
, whose baseball team won the national championships in 2006 and 2007. Possible new names and logos were unveiled, and a vote was staged on the team website. "Portland Beavers" won the contest, and the team unveiled new logos and colors on January 29, 2008. The Beavers emphasized their connection to the three prior franchises with the notation "Est. 1903" on their primary logo. The team also brought back the name "Lucky Beavers" as part of a sleeve patch on their alternate jersey.
In 2009, the city of Portland was awarded a Major League Soccer (MLS)
Major League Soccer
Major League Soccer is a professional soccer league based in the United States and sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation . The league is composed of 19 teams — 16 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada...
expansion franchise for 2011, to be named the Portland Timbers
Portland Timbers (MLS)
The Portland Timbers are an American professional soccer club based in Portland, Oregon that competes in Major League Soccer , the top professional soccer league in the United States and Canada....
. The Portland City Council approved a $31 million agreement to renovate PGE Park to a soccer- and football-only stadium, with the condition that a new ballpark be built in Portland
New Portland Ballpark
Portland Beavers Ballpark was a description of a new stadium in Portland, Oregon, or in an outlying city that was being planned for the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast League of Minor League Baseball...
for the Beavers by 2011.
Rose Quarter
The Rose Quarter is a 30 acre sports and entertainment district located in Portland's Lloyd District on the east bank of the Willamette River, just east of downtown. The Rose Quarter is bounded on the west by NE Interstate Avenue, on the north by NE Broadway and NE Weidler Streets, on the...
area north of Memorial Coliseum. The site, however, proved to be too small. Another location in the Lents
Lents, Portland, Oregon
The Lents neighborhood in the Southeast section of Portland, Oregon is bordered by SE Powell Blvd. on the north, the Clackamas County line or City of Portland line on the south , SE 82nd Ave. to the west, and roughly SE 112th on the east. The NE corner overlaps with the Powellhurst-Gilbert...
neighborhood in southeast Portland was also rejected due to objections from neighbors.
In June 2009, the Portland City Council voted to separate the soccer and baseball projects, allowing renovation of PGE Park to proceed without completed plans for a baseball stadium in place. Other locations in the Portland area were considered for the ballpark, including a vacant terminal at the Port of Portland
Port of Portland (Oregon)
The Port of Portland is the port district responsible for overseeing Portland International Airport, general aviation, and marine activities in the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area in the United States....
, Delta Park
Delta Park
Delta Park is a public municipal park complex in north Portland in the U.S. state of Oregon. It straddles Interstate 5 between the Columbia Slough on the south and the Columbia River on the north. The section east of the Interstate is known as East Delta Park, and to the west is West Delta Park...
, the Portland Expo Center
Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center
The Portland Metropolitan Exposition Center, usually referred to as the Expo Center, is a convention center located in the Kenton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. Opened in the early 1920s as a livestock exhibition and auction facility, the Expo Center now hosts over 100 events a year, including...
, Portland Meadows
Portland Meadows
Portland Meadows is an American horse racing venue in Portland, Oregon, owned by MI Developments Inc. since 2001. Built by William P. Kyne, who also built Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California, the facility opened on September 14, 1946....
, the Westwood Corporation Heliport
Westwood Corporation Heliport
Westwood Corporation Heliport is a private heliport located 1 mile south of Portland in Multnomah County, Oregon, USA....
site, a building owned by Portland Public Schools near the Rose Quarter, and suburban locations in Beaverton
Beaverton, Oregon
Beaverton is a city in Washington County, Oregon, United States, seven miles west of Portland in the Tualatin River Valley.As of the 2010 census, the population is 90,267. This makes it the second-largest city in the county and Oregon's sixth-largest city...
, Clackamas
Clackamas, Oregon
Clackamas was a census-designated place in Clackamas County, Oregon, United States. The population was 5,177 at the 2000 census. It is a suburb of Portland, Oregon.It is the location of Camp Withycombe, a military base...
, and Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver, Washington
Vancouver is a city on the north bank of the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington. Incorporated in 1857, it is the fourth largest city in the state with a 2010 census population of 161,791 as of April 1, 2010...
. None of these sites progressed past initial discussions.
With no suitable Portland location available, in July 2010, Paulson announced that he was putting the team up for sale and relocation, and the Beavers played their last game in Portland on September 6, 2010, beating the Las Vegas 51s
Las Vegas 51s
The Las Vegas 51s, formerly known as the Las Vegas Stars, are a minor league baseball team. They are the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. They play at Cashman Field in Las Vegas, Nevada. The team competes in the Pacific Coast League...
6-5 before a sellout crowd. Padres owner Jeff Moorad
Jeff Moorad
Jeff Moorad is a former sports agent and is currently lead owner of the San Diego Padres and part-owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks baseball team.He is an Assyrian American...
formed a group to buy the team and talked of moving its home games to the Lake Elsinore Diamond
Lake Elsinore Diamond
Lake Elsinore Diamond is a stadium in Lake Elsinore, California. It is primarily used for baseball and is the home field of the Lake Elsinore Storm minor league baseball team, a part of the California League. The field at the Lake Elsinore Diamond is named the Pete Lehr Field.-History:It was built...
in Lake Elsinore, California
Lake Elsinore, California
For the lake see Lake Elsinore.Lake Elsinore or LE is a city in western Riverside County, California. The population was 51,821 at the 2010 census...
until a new stadium in Escondido could be built. Eventually, the group decided to move the team temporarily to Tucson, rename them the Tucson Padres, and then move again to Escondido when the new ballpark is built.