old memories still linger in Rainier Valley

Growing up in Seattle during the 40's and 50's, we had no major league team.  So I dreamed of actually sitting in the Cleveland stands when Bobby Feller pitched.  Ted Williams was my all-time most favorite player, but New York(the team we all loved to hate) was always star studded and hard not to follow.  Until Brooklyn and New York Giants thumbed their noses at their loyal fans and belatedly took the advise of Horace Greeley,(some would argue it was John B. L. Soule), who said, "Go West young man, go West!", and totally destroyed the triple A Pacific Coast League, by plopping down in San Francisco and Los Angeles.  

  The Pacific Coast League should have had the foresight to declare themselves a third major league, but baseball politics kept it from happening until it was too late. 

So I rooted for teams that had my favorites playing for them.  Ron Santo(Cubbies), Sammy White(Red Sox), Jungle Jim Riviera(White Sox), were just a few who come to mind. 

Some of the greats played ball in the Coast League, either as they were coming up or down from the Majors.  Satch Paige, the greatest of all baseball pitchers bar none, played half a season for the Seattle Rainiers prior to returning to Kansas City sometime in the 50's.  I eagerly paid my 50 cents to sit in the left field bleachers and cheer on this giant of a baseball legend. 

And we had our own colorful characters, fellows who were almost good enough to "go up" but never quite made it.  Hot shot little Schuster the Rooster who would delight the kids in the left field bleachers by leaping up, grabbing the fence and crowing after an exceptionally fine play.  Or, Kewpie Dick Barret, a decent enough pitcher with a head exactly like the cute little doll.  Seattle boasted managers with names like, Roger Hornsby, Freddie Hutchinson and JoJo White. 

But all of that went away when the boys from the Big Apple decided to do like Johnny Appleseed and spread their seed to the West Coast. 

Later Seattle had a brief one year plunge into the Majors, with the ill fated Pilots.  This was strictly a money making scheme pulled off by the Soriano Brothers.  No plans for a major league field, the team took over the falling down Sick's Stadium, home of the Rainiers, and put in one wonderful season.  Even though I'd become totally blind, there I sat in my old left field bleacher seat yelling my head off on opening day.  We went to at least a dozen games and finally believed we'd hit the big time. 

It was a short ride.  One year and the team was off to Milwaukee. 

But the memories still linger around Rainier Valley.  I swear that whenever I walk past the place where the old ball yard sat, I can hear the stomping of many young feet on those old splintery bleacher benches.  And Leo Lasson saying, "Back, back, back, and it's over the fence". 

 

Curious Carl