Today we look at the original Portland Beavers baseball team of 1906-1972, the first and most enduring of three clubs to play under the Bevos name in the storied Pacific Coast League. When the team finally moved away to Spokane, Washington in early 1973, Portland became the last of the original six PCL cities of 1903 to lose its minor league baseball franchise. The second version of the Beavers would return to Portland’s Civic Stadium in 1978.
The Pacific Coast League’s Portland Beavers of 2001 to 2010 were the last of four editions of the Beavers to compete in the historic Class AAA circuit dating back to the early 20th century. The latter day Beavers arrived in 2001 as part of an ambitious $38.5 million overhaul of Portland’s aging Civic Stadium. This edition of the Beavers served as the top farm club of the San Diego Padres for all ten seasons of their existence. The team was displaced in 2011 when PGE Park was converted into a soccer-specific stadium for the purpose of bringing Major League Soccer to Portland. The Pacific Coast League baseball franchise moved away to Tucson, Arizona in 2011 as a result.
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
The Portland Loggers were a One-Year Wonder in the minor Continental Football League during the autumn of 1969. The Loggers formed in August 1969, with less than three weeks to get organized before their home opener at Civic Stadium on August 24th. The Loggers inherited the contracts of the CoFL’s defunct Orange County Ramblers club. The Ramblers had played in the league’s championship game in both the 1967 and 1968 seasons. The Loggers’ last-minute formation showed when a puny gathering of just 2,316 fans turned out for the team’s Portland debut victory. The Loggers would win just two more games all season, en route to a 3-9 last place finish.
The 1989-1990 Portland Timbers of the Western Soccer League were the first of several efforts to revive the name, logo and colors of the original Timbers (1975-1982) of the North American Soccer League. The club’s top player was 19-year old goalkeeper Kasey Keller, who won the Western Soccer League’s Most Valuable Player Award as a teenager on an amateur contract during the 1989 season. This version of the Timbers went out of business in 1990 after two seasons of play.
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