Barbary Baseball

In the 1920s baseball fans flocked to minor league ballparks, making stars of players who would never wear a major league uniform. This was particularly true on the West Coast, where fans embraced the colorful Pacific Coast league as a third major league.
Owners’ meetings were rambunctious affairs where issues were sometimes settled with fists. In the stands, drinking and gambling went unchecked. On the field, players and umpires were as likely to trade punches as insults. But its rowdy style did not detract from the quality of the league. Talented players used the 200 game schedule and cozy, bandbox ballparks to produce unparalleled offensive fireworks. The rich history includes the first-ever listing of all players in the PCL during the 1920s.

Sacramento’s R. Scott Mackey is a member of the National Association of Baseball Writers and Broadcasters.

R. Scott Mackey
Format: softcover (6 x 9)
Pages: 237
Bibliographic Info: 48 photos, appendix, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2011 [1995]
pISBN: 978-0-7864-6709-9
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments      ix

Introduction      1

1. Rocked by Scandal      5

2. 1920—The PCL’S First Dynasty      15

3. 1921—The (Un) Lucky Beavers      29

4. 1922—The PCL as a Third Major League      43

5. 1923—Civil War      57

6. 1924—The Great Six—Day Bicycle Race      73

7. 1925—Team of the Decade      90

8. 1926—One for the Angels      108

9. 1927—A Buzz in Oakland      123

10. 1928—No Tears Due or Justified      141

11. 1929—The “Other Team” Shares the Glory      1589

12. In Their Own Words      178

13. The All—1920s Team      193

Appendix: The Players      197

Bibliography      213

Index      217

“all kinds of interesting information”—Yankees Magazine; “well-written…incredibly well researched…a necessary addition to every baseball library”—SABR Minor League Committee Newsletter; “well-researched…. Recommended”—Choice.