Portland Beavers (1978-1993)
May 14, 2020
Pacific Coast League (1978-1993) Born: 1978 – PCL expansion franchise Moved: 1993 (Salt Lake Buzz) First Game: April 15, 1978 (W 3-2, L 5-4 @ Salt
Category: Pacific Coast League
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Phoenix Firebirds
May 13, 2020
Phoenix was the host of the San Francisco Giants’ top farm club for 32 seasons from 1966 until 1997. The Pacific Coast League club was known as the Phoenix Giants from 1966 through the 1985 season. In the early years, San Francisco owned their Phoenix affiliate directly, but a series of independent owners took over the franchise beginning in 1973. The last of these owners, Martin Stone, changed the team’s name to the Firebrids in 1986. The Firebirds were displaced by the arrival of Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks and the franchise moved to Tucson in 1998.
Tacoma Giants
December 22, 2019
Pro baseball returned to Tacoma, Washington in the summer of 1960 with the transfer of the Pacific Coast League’s Phoenix Giants. Though the Tacoma Giants would last just six years before returning to Phoenix, the team produced a trio of future Hall of Famers: Juan Marichal, Willie McCovey & Gaylord Perry.
Omaha Royals / Omaha Golden Spikes
March 23, 2018
Omaha, Nebraska has hosted the top farm club of the Kansas City Royals since the Major League club’s inception in 1969. Initially known as the Omaha Royals, the Class AAA club won four league championships of the American Association, including back-to-back titles in their first two seasons in 1969 and 1970. The Royals survived the closure of the American Association, joining the Pacific Coast League in 1998. From 1999 until 2001, the team was briefly known as the “Golden Spikes” before returning to the Royals nickname. In 2011, the club re-branded as the Omaha Storm Chasers while simultaneously moving into the new $36M Werner Park.
Oklahoma City 89ers
December 22, 2017
The “89ers” (1962-1997) is the best known appellation of Oklahoma City’s long-running Class AAA minor league baseball team. The team’s name derives from the Land Rush of 1889, the same frenzied appropriation and settlement of Native American lands that inspired the University of Oklahoma’s “Sooners” nickname. Following the 1997 season, the 89ers changed leagues, stadiums and names all at once. The franchise became the Oklahoma RedHawks in 1998 and, after another re-brand in 2015, plays on today as the Oklahoma City Dodgers.