News
Mariners to pay tribute to '39 Rainiers
Club will turn back the clock to honor PCL champions
Mike Hunt (left) and Alan Strange were the Rainiers' top sluggers in 1939. (David Eskenazi)
By Jim Street / MLB.com
04/30/09 1:29 PM ET
SEATTLE -- The first month of the regular season has shown that power could play a smaller role in the Mariners' success in 2009 than pitching, defense, speed and timely hitting. After 22 games, the Mariners are next-to-last in home runs in the American League, but they are third in wins to the Blue Jays and Red Sox. It's early, but if this trend continues, you might be watching a distant relative of another Seattle professional baseball team -- the 1939 Seattle Rainiers. If that's the case, it seems appropriate that the Mariners organization is turning the clock back 70 years to salute a team that relied on pitching, defense and timely hitting to capture the first of three consecutive Pacific Coast League championships, something that had not happened since the Vernon (Calif.) Tigers in 1918-20. The first year of the Rainiers dynasty will be front-and-center at Safeco Field on Saturday night, when the Mariners play the Athletics in a "Turn Back the Clock" game in the middle of a three-game series. The first 20,000 fans entering Safeco will receive a replica Rainiers cap. The Mariners will wear replica uniforms from the '39 Rainiers, while the Athletics will do the same for the '39 Oaks, a team that finished seventh in the eight-team league that season. And what a season that was for the local nine, which played single games on Tuesday through Saturday and double-headers every Sunday -- 174 games in all. They posted a 101-73 record and had five players with at least a .300 batting average: Alan Strange, .335; George Archie, .330; Edo Vanni , .325; Gilly Campbell, .313; and Joe Coscarart, .300. The Rainiers also had five pitchers with at least 16 wins: Hal Turpin, 23-10; Dick Barrett, 22-15; Les Webber, 17-7; Paul Gregory, 18-11; and Bill Walker, 16-18. "The pitching on that team was fantastic," said Dave Eskenazi, a Seattle-based baseball historian who will throw the ceremonial first pitch prior to Saturday night's game. "It was all about pitching, defense, speed and timely hitting." The only power to speak of in '39 came from Mike Hunt, who hit 15 home runs in 371 at-bats. Shortstop Alan Strange, who played for the St. Louis Browns and Washington Senators before and after a short stint with the Rainiers, was second with eight home runs in 666 at-bats. "There was a combination of youth and experience," Eskenazi said. The youngest player on the team was 18-year-old Bruce Stockman (he had four at-bats all season) and the oldest were the 35-year-old Walker and Jo-Jo Morrisey, who batted .296 in 365 at-bats. It just might be the only professional team in history to have two players called "Jo Jo" on the same roster. Sparkplug outfielder Jo Jo White, who played for the Detroit Tigers from 1932-38 and helped the AL team win the World Series in '35, led the Rainiers and the PCL with 47 stolen bases in '39. White wrapped up his big league career in 1943-44 with the A's and Reds. Small-ball worked well for the Rainiers, managed by Jack Lelivelt. The concept was well-received by the fans. From 1939 through '54, the Rainiers led all Minor League teams in attendance -- and topped three or four Major League franchises as well. Besides the championship run from 1939-41, the Rainiers also won PCL titles in '51 and '55. Local beer baron Emil Sick purchased the team in '38 and filled the roster with local high school talent, including teenage sensation Fred Hutchinson. The right-hander won his 19th game of the season on his 19th birthday that season and finished the season with 25 victories. The Tigers purchased Hutchinson's contract for $50,000 and four players, including Archie and White. Though Hutchinson wasn't around for the championship season in '39, he received much of the credit because the Rainiers received so much talent in the trade with the Tigers. Archie, in fact, was selected as the PCL's Most Valuable Player the following season, receiving more votes than Lou Novikoff of the Los Angeles Angels. Novikoff led the league in batting average (.363), home runs (41), and RBIs (171), but he apparently lacked baseball instincts. Legend has it that Novikoff, nicknamed "The Mad Russian," once tried to steal third when the bases were loaded, saying that he had gotten a good jump on the pitcher. As far as anyone knows, none of the Rainiers attempted to steal a base that already was occupied. The Oakland Oaks were a charter member of the PFL when it was founded in 1903. Among the notable Oaks over the history of the franchise, which ended in 1955 when the team was sold and moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, included managers Casey Stengel and Mel Ott, and players George Bamberger, Vince DiMaggio, Ernie Lombardi, Billy Martin, Cookie Lavagetto and Smead Jolley. Jolley had a lifetime Minor League batting average of .367 in over 8,300 at-bats during a 16-year career. The Oaks team in 1939 posted a 78-98 record, but won championships in 1912, '27, '48 and '50.Jim Street is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
