Southern California League Explained

Southern California League
Sport:Minor League Baseball
President:Jay Davidson (1913)
Inaugural:1886
Teams:6
Continent:or
Continents:-->
Folded:July 13, 1913
Most Champs:1
San Bernardino Grays (1899)
San Diego Bears (1913)
Classification:Independent (1886, 1899–1900)
Class D (1913)

The Southern California League was a minor league baseball league that played in the 1886, 1899, 1900 and 1913 seasons. The Class D level four–team Southern California League consisted of franchises based in California. The Southern California League permanently folded during the 1913 season.

History

An independent league called the Southern California League played in the 1886, 1899 and 1900 seasons.[1] [2] The 1886 teams are unknown.[3] The 1899 teams were the Los Angeles Angelenos, Los Angeles Merchants, San Bernardino Grays and San Diego Fullers. The San Bernardino Grays won the 1899 league championship. The 1900 teams were Azusa, Los Angeles, Los Angeles-Pacific and San Diego. No official league standings are known of the 1896 and 1900 seasons.[4] [5]

The Southern California League was formed for the 1913 season as a four–team Class D minor league under the direction of league president Jay Davidson.[6] The Southern California League began play in the 1913 season hosting franchises from Long Beach, California (Long Beach Beachcombers),[7] Pasadena, California (Pasadena Millionaires),[8] San Bernardino, California (San Bernardino Kittens) and San Diego, California (San Diego Bears).[9] [10] [11] [12] [13]

The San Bernardino Kittens were owned by player/owner and namesake, Kitty Brashear.[10] [6]

The Southern California League officially began play on April 22, 1913.[14] San Bernardino had a home opener crowd of 1,000 at Urbita Springs Park, where Mayor Joseph Bright threw out the ceremonial first pitch before San Bernardino defeated Long Beach 12–4 and begin a seven–game winning streak to start the season. Pasadena had attendance of 1,600 at their home opener. The Southern California League had scheduled Sunday double headers, with the first game being scheduled on Sunday morning. This led to disputes with local clergy in the host locales and schedules were rearranged. Teams began to struggle financially and president Jay Davidson suggested that each team issue stock.[10]

In 1913, Homer Miller and Blount, pitching for the Long Beach Beachcombers, threw consecutive Southern California League no-hitters against the San Diego Bears.[15]

The league was scheduled in a split–season format, with champions in each half of the season. Pasadena had a 15–38 record when the franchise moved to Santa Barbara on June 13, 1913 to become the Santa Barbara Barbareans. The San Diego Bears won the first half of the season. In the second half, the Santa Barbara Barbareans were leading the second half when the Southern California League permanently disbanded on July 23, 1913.[9] [14] The San Diego Bears (56–33) had the best overall record, followed by the San Bernardino Kittens (48–38), Long Beach Beachcombers (43–46) and Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans (27–57). During the season, the San Diego Bears had a 20–game winning streak that ended on the final day of league play.[16] [10] [5]

Southern California League teams

Team nameCity representedBallparkYear active
Long Beach Beachcombers Long Beach, CaliforniaConnor Park[17]
Los Angeles Angelenos 1899
Los Angeles Merchants 1899
Los Angeles, CaliforniaUnknown
Pasadena Millionaires Pasadena, CaliforniaUnknown
Santa Barbara BarbareansSanta Barbara, CaliforniaUnknown
San Bernardino Grays 1899
San Bernardino Kittens 1913
San Bernardino, CaliforniaUrbita Springs Park,
San Diego Fullers 1899
San Diego Bears 1913
San Diego, CaliforniaLeague Park/Connor Park[18] ,

Standings & statistics

1899 Southern California League

Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
San Bernardino Grays199.679George Cobb / Seth Hart
San Diego Fullers1810.6431.0J.M. Dodge / Patterson Spriggs
Los Angeles Angelenos1018.3579.0James Wooley / Charles Thomas
Los Angeles Merchants919.32110.0Gil Mead / Frank Gridley
Playoffs: None were held
Player statistics !Player!! Team!!Stat!! Tot!!!!Player!!Team!!Stat!!Tot
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoBA.418Mun ThurmanSan BernardinoW13
Sandy BarclaySan DiegoRuns43Kid CortadSan DiegoSO105
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoHits51Mun ThurmanSan BernardinoPCT.765 13–4
Elmer GibbsSan DiegoHR4
Babe WhalingSan Bernardino/
Los Angeles
HR4
Tom WorksSan DiegoHR4
[5] 1913 Southern California League
Team standingsWLPCTGBManagers
San Diego Bears5633.629Spencer Abbott / Dick Cooley
San Bernardino Kittens4838.5506.5Ed Householder / Kitty Brashear
Long Beach Beachcombers4346.4839.5Bull Durham /
Harry G. Connor / Jesse Stovall
Pasadena Millionaires /
Santa Barbara Barbareans
2757.38526.5
Pasadena (15–38) moved to Santa Barbara June 13
League folded July 23[16] [5]

Notable alumni

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 1900 Southern California League. Baseball-Reference.com.
  2. Web site: 1899 Southern California League. Baseball-Reference.com.
  3. Web site: 1886 Southern California League. Baseball-Reference.com.
  4. Web site: Southern California League (D) Encyclopedia and History. Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. Book: The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball . Lloyd . Johnson . Miles . Wolff . Third . . 2007 . 978-1932391176.
  6. Web site: 1913 San Bernardino Kittens Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  7. Web site: 1913 Long Beach Beachcombers Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  8. Web site: 1913 Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans Statistics. Baseball-Reference.com.
  9. Web site: 1913 Pasadena Millionaires/Santa Barbara Barbareans Roster on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  10. Web site: Here's a yarn about some baseball-playing Kittens. June 10, 2013.
  11. Web site: Professional Baseball in Los Angeles. www.laalmanac.com.
  12. Web site: Southern California League. Kevin. Reichard. November 5, 2008.
  13. Web site: KEISSER: Delving into LB baseball history can reveal gems. September 17, 2010.
  14. Web site: 1913 Southern California League (SCL) on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  15. Web site: Divide and Conquer, NL West: New Beginnings on the Frontier. March 29, 2011. Baseball Prospectus.
  16. Web site: 1913 Southern California League (SCL) Standings on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  17. Web site: Connor Park in Long Beach, CA history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.
  18. Web site: Connor Park in San Diego, CA history and teams on StatsCrew.com. www.statscrew.com.