The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903-1957

261 Pages·2011·5.89 MB·English

by  Richard Beverage

The Los Angeles
Angels of the
Pacific Coast League

The Los Angeles
Angels of the
Pacific Coast League
A History, 1903–1957
R B
ICHARD EVERAGE
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
Frontispiece:These maps were given to members of the
Auto Club of Southern California (courtesy Dick Dobbins).
LIBRARYOFCONGRESSCATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATIONDATA
Beverage, Richard E.
The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League :
a history, 1903–1957 / Richard Beverage.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7864-6520-0
softcover : 50# alkaline paper
1. Los Angeles Angels (Baseball team)—History.
2. Pacific Coast League—History.
I. Title.
GV875.A6B484 2011 796.357'640979494—dc23 2011033872
BRITISHLIBRARYCATALOGUINGDATAAREAVAILABLE
© 2011Richard Beverage. All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying
or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system,
without permission in writing from the publisher.
Front cover: The 1926 Angels. Front row (left to right): Les Holmes,
Rube Yarrison, Bert Read, Jigger Statz, Ray Dwyer, Ray Jacobs.
Middle row: Batboy, Whitey Glazner, Wally Hood, Gale Staley,
Marty Krug, Clyde “Pea Ridge” Day, Johnny Mitchell (holding
Russell Krug), Frank Brazill. Back row: Moe Genser, Wayne
Wright, Ralph Stroud, Art Jahn, Elmer Jacobs, Art Weis, Truck
Hannah, Gus Sandberg (courtesy Mark Macrae);
cover design by David K. Landis (Shake It Loose Graphics)
Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Box 611, Jefferson, North Carolina 28640
www.mcfarlandpub.com
To the memory of my dear son, Jerry Beverage,
who left this world on April 8, 2011.
We were privileged to have him
for as long as we did.
This page intentionally left blank
Table of Contents
Preface 1
1. The Early Years of the Pacific Coast League 5
2. A New Ball Park and New Owners 7
3. World War I and Another Angels Championship 10
4. The War Is Over and the Tigers Win Twice 12
5. An Angels Pennant and a New Owner 19
6. A New Management Team Takes Over as Red Leaves 22
7. A New Ballpark and a Pennant to Follow 30
8. A Collapse and the Angels Rebuild 39
9. Night Baseball Is Introduced as the Depression Begins 48
10. Depression Baseball 57
11. The Yankees of the West 61
12. The Streak Is Broken and the Stars Leave Town 74
13. Truck Hannah Takes the Helm 83
14. Hannah Is Out and Statz Is In 91
15. As World War II Beckons, the Angels Flounder 101
16. Disaster in Sacramento 107
17. Wartime Baseball and Two Pennants 112
18. A Third Major League? Meanwhile, the Angels Win
Another Pennant 123
19. Decline and Fall 135
20. The Angels Fall to the Bottom 142
21. Smilin’ Stan in Charge 153
22. Bill Sweeney Is Back in Town 166
23. Sgt. Bilko and His Gang 171
24. Dodger Blue 183
vii
viii Table of Contents
Epilogue 188
Appendix A: All-Time Los Angeles Angeles Roster 191
Appendix B: Team Batting, Fielding and Pitching 200
Appendix C: Individual Batting and Pitching, by Season
and Career 207
Appendix D: Managers and Their Records 239
Appendix E: Paid Attendance 240
Bibliography 241
Index 243
Preface
As these words are written, it is difficult to imagine the thriving cities of the Pacific
Coast without major league baseball. The territory was first opened to the National League
when the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants migrated west in 1958. They settled in
Los Angeles and San Francisco, respectively, and were soon followed by other major league
clubs in Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego and Seattle. A generation of baseball fans has
grown up knowing only these teams and the National and American Leagues. They can be
excused for thinking that there is nothing else in the baseball spectrum. But once upon a
time the world of the national pastime was very different.
Long before the arrival of the two Eastern teams made our national game truly national,
professional baseball was thriving in the West in the form of the Pacific Coast League (PCL).
While only a minor league in name, the PCL was anything but that in reality. During its
prime years, the league featured future members of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in
Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Tony Lazzeri, Ernie Lombardi, Earl
Averill, Bobby Doerr and Joe Gordon. Each of these players made his professional debut
in the Pacific Coast League. Other major league stars—Dom DiMaggio, Wally Berger,
Lefty O’Doul, Willie Kamm, and Bob and Irish Meusel, among others—were developed
in the PCL as well. The quality of play was also enhanced by veteran major leaguers who
were in the twilight of their careers. Sam Crawford, for instance, played three years in the
Coast League after a long Hall of Fame career with Cincinnati and Detroit. And then there
were the local legends—men who did not enjoy long major league careers but were superb
players nevertheless, such as Buzz Arlett, Jigger Statz and Frank Shellenback. You will find
their names in this book, and you will see the names of many more, men whose names
might be unfamiliar to you. They all contributed to making the Pacific Coast League the
great league that it was.
The PCL featured intense rivalries that were the equal of anything the major leagues
had to offer. Competition between the Los Angeles Angels and Hollywood Stars and the
Oakland Oaks and San Francisco Seals was every bit as fierce as the legendary Giant-Dodger
confrontations in the East. Other mainstays of the league were the Seattle Rainiers, Portland
Beavers, Sacramento Solons and, after 1935, the San Diego Padres. The arrival of the major
league clubs and the ones that followed merely continued the fine baseball that Coast League
fans were used to and had enjoyed in the past.
This book tells the story of what was perhaps the premier franchise in the Pacific Coast
League, the Los Angeles Angels. It focuses on the glory years of the league, 1919 through
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