Tombstone
Born: 1977 – Northwest League expansion franchise
Affiliation Change: 1982 (Salem Angels)
First Game: June 17, 1977 (L 9-8 vs. Portland Mavericks)
Last Game: September 4, 1981 (W 7-0 vs. Bellingham Mariners)
Northwest League Championships: None
Stadia
1977: Holland Youth Park
1978-1981: Chemeketa Field
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners:
- 1977-1978: Carl Thompson & Noreen Thompson
- 1978-: Ben Yates, et al.
Major League Affiliation: Independent
Attendance
Background
The Salem Senators were an independent franchise (i.e. no Major League parent club) in the short-season Class A Northwest League. The Senators were a brand revival of Salem’s earlier Senators team, which played in the city from 1940 until 1960.
Stockton, California businessman Carl Thompson founded the team in 1977. Thompson and his wife Noreen owned several low-level minor league clubs in California and the Pacific Northwest during the 1970’s, typically running the clubs as independent teams not affiliated with a Major League organization. This arrangement conveniently allowed Thompson to appoint himself field manager.
Nickels & Dimes
The Thompsons’ operation was a ramshackle effort to put it mildly. The Sens’ shared a Little League field during their first season. Carl Thompson threatened to cancel a 1977 game over a dispute with the local Parrish Little League over who would pay $75 for liability insurance at Holland Youth Park. The game only proceeded after Northwest League Commissioner Bob Richmond forked over the seventy-five bucks himself. The Sens’ rarely drew more than a couple hundred fans a night.
Carl Thompson ran out of money midway through the Sens’ second season in the summer of 1978. He released a number of players, including the Northwest League batting leader, and made noises about folding the team mid-summer. He was soon forced to sell by the Northwest League. A local group led by mobile home dealer Ben Yates stepped up and backstopped the Sens through the end of the season.
Affiliation Change to Salem Angels
The Sens muddled along as an independent operation for five seasons through the summer of 1981. In 1982 the California Angels became Salem’s parent club and re-branded the ball club as the Salem Angels.
Only two Senators players ever advanced to the Major Leagues. Catcher Darryl Cias (Sens ’78) had a cup of coffee with the Oakland A’s in 1983. Infielder Sap Randall (Sens ’81) got into four games for the White Sox in 1988.
Links
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5 Responses
Not quite. After a few affiliation changes, the Salem team left for Yakima, Washington after the 1989 season; that team is now the Hillsboro Hops. The Volcanoes are the former Bellingham Giants, which moved to Salem-Keizer in 1997.
Thanks for the update – I’ll correct this.
AC
I played for that 1977 Salem Senators and I had alot of great memories from it.
Hi, Jerry. I am interested in player photos from this timeframe, both for the Senators and the Northwest League in general. Do you know where I might be able to find some?
Jerry I remember you in he outfield. My name is John Pettoello a pitcher. Also have great memories.