Category talk:Baseball leagues in California
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First Professional baseball leagues in California
[edit]In the 1880s/90s-early 1900s, the first "California Winter League" or "California Baseball League" composed of 4-6 teams:
The 1885/86 "California League" was solely in the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California with two teams each in San Francisco, one in Oakland, California and one in San Jose, California, but I don't have team names and season stats available.
The 1887 Pacific Coast League- includes the "San Francisco Damianas" played opponents: the "San Francisco A&G's", the "san Francisco Mission Reds" and the "Oakland Seals", but in 1888/89-1890/91 period: a San Francisco team played against Oakland, Sacramento and San Jose. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?id=b9a2fd43
In 1898, the second "Pacific coast League" based entirely in the northern half of California, but no teams in Southern California.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?id=48645564
The first "California League" based across California:
The Los Angeles Rabbits (1895)/Angels, Oakland Oaks/Golden Staters/Steelers also in Sacramento and Stockton, San Diego Padres also in Riverside and San Bernardino, San Francisco Seals/Gulls/Captains, San Francisco Mission Reds, and San Jose Senors/Californians/Spaniards.
I believe teams existed in the cities of Alameda, California, Lodi, California, Napa, California and Vallejo, California but can't find their names or not much information, other than Richmond, California had the Victorians and the Trojans ball clubs.
They played out-of-league games with the Sacramento Irish/Green/Lucky Colts, Salinas Packers, Santa Cruz Pippins, Santa Clara Titans, Santa Rosa Blue Roses, and Stockton "Mudville" Nine(rs) found in Casey Jones in the turn-of-the-century (1900) American folklore.
Source: http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?code=CAWL&class=Wtr
The Fresno (Raisins/Redbirds/Cardinals/Bees) and Santa Barbara, California (Bears/Blues/Browns/Boomers) were organized baseball clubs in the late 1890s.
The Vernon Tigers and Pasadena Roses are two "firsts" in Los Angeles when it came to sports, especially in baseball for the L.A. area in the early 1900s.
Records for the 1957 California Winter League, they hosted games in Los Angeles with Long Beach, California; San Diego; Riverside, California; San Bernardino, California; Orange County, California and Santa Barbara/Ventura, California.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?code=SCWL&class=Wtr
And one more was the 1914-15 and 1950's Imperial Valley (winter) League for the Imperial Valley with some connections with teams in Arizona; northern Mexico; Las Vegas, Nevada and elsewhere in Southern California namely the San Diego and Inland Empire (California) regions. Teams like the Brawley Bulls, El Centro Imperials, Yuma Indians and Yuma Panthers are well known.
http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/league.cgi?code=IMPV&class=Wtr
The Nisei Baseball Project has information on 20th century baseball teams made up of Japanese Americans, concentrated in largely Asian American sections, neighborhoods and communities across the state and West Coast of the United States namely in two towns such as Salinas, California and San Jose, California came to mind.
In the mid-century (1920s/30s, 40s and 50s, and ending in the 1960s or 70s) in times of discrimination and limited access to the major leagues, some all-Black/African-American, Latino/Mexican American (with visiting Mexican national baseball teams), White ethnic (i.e. Jewish religious organizations) and women's (the "Pony League"); and even all-senior citizens and all-wheelchair bound/disabled teams or leagues were formed in this state as well: For example, Palm Springs, California had some of these games.