Oakland Oaks (PCL)
Oakland Oaks | |||||
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Minor league affiliations | |||||
Previous classes |
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League | Pacific Coast League (1903–1940 and 1942–1955) California League (1901 and 1941) | ||||
Major league affiliations | |||||
Previous teams | New York Yankees (1935–1937) | ||||
Minor league titles | |||||
League titles | 1912, 1927, 1948, 1950, 1954 | ||||
Team data | |||||
Previous names | Oakland Oaks (1903–1955) | ||||
Previous parks |
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The Oakland Oaks were a
Team history
Along with the
In their first year of competition, 1903, the team finished last, and finished either last or next to last place four more times before winning its first PCL pennant in 1912. The Oaks (or "Acorns" as they were also called) played their home games at Freeman's Park at 59th Street and
After the 1912 season, the Oaks opened their new stadium, named Oakland Ball Park (or simply Oaks Park) though it was located in the neighboring city of Emeryville at San Pablo and Park Avenues. In their first season at Oaks Park the Acorns finished last, and were mired in the second division for more than a decade.
In 1916, a struggling Oaks team made history by (inadvertently) breaking the professional baseball color line, as Jimmy Claxton pitched in both ends of a double-header on May 28, 1916. He was introduced to the team as an American Indian, but once the team discovered that his ancestry was both Native American and African, he was fired.[2] The Oaks were owned by PCL founding father J. Cal Ewing from 1903 until the 1920s. Ewing also owned the
In 1927, the Oaks won their first pennant at Oaks Park, finishing 120–75 (.615), 14+1⁄2 games over the runner-up Seals.
In 1943, a controlling interest in the Oaks was purchased by C. L. "Brick" Laws, who operated the team for its remaining seasons. In 1946, Laws hired
The 1948 Oaks were nicknamed the "Nine Old Men" in that many of the star players were older veterans, including Ernie Lombardi, Billy Raimondi, Cookie Lavagetto, Nick Etten and Catfish Metkovich.[3] There were younger players on the team as well, including rookie second baseman Billy Martin. Rooming with Martin and playing shortstop was Artie Wilson, the first black player on the Oaks since Jimmy Claxton was fired. Wilson won the PCL batting title with a .348 average and also led in stolen bases with 47.[4] In 1950, he led the PCL in runs with 168 and hits with 264, helping the Oaks to the 1950 PCL championship.
Stengel's success with the Oaks did not go unnoticed, and he became manager of the Yankees in 1949. Stengel was replaced by
Augie Galan replaced Ott as the Oaks' skipper in 1953, and the team stumbled to a 77–103 record and seventh place in the PCL.
After three seasons in charge of the Dodgers in Brooklyn, Chuck Dressen returned as Oaks manager in 1954. The Acorns finished third with an 85–82 record under Dressen, but won the postseason series to capture their last PCL pennant. In spite of this, attendance at the now-dilapidated Oaks Park had dropped dramatically.
Dressen returned to managing at the major-league level in 1955, taking over in the
Oaks Park was demolished in 1957, replaced by a
On October 18, 1967, twelve years after the Oaks played their last game in Emeryville, the
Notable Oaks players with MLB experience
- Buzz Arlett
- George Bamberger
- Charlie Beamon
- Gene Bearden
- Sam Bohne (originally "Sam Cohen")
- Roger Bowman
- Ernie Broglio
- Sam Chapman
- Bill Conroy
- Vince DiMaggio
- Chuck Dressen
- Augie Galan
- Billy Herman (HOF)
- Jackie Jensen
- Spider Jorgensen
- Harry Krause
- Ray Kremer
- Cookie Lavagetto
- Thornton Lee
- Ernie Lombardi (HOF)
- Billy Martin
- Hersh Martin
- Catfish Metkovich
- Joe Gordon (HOF)
- Johnny Ostrowski
- Mel Ott (HOF)
- Jackie Price
- Earl Rapp
- Jimmie Reese
- Bill Rigney
- Neill Sheridan
- Floyd Speer
- Casey Stengel (HOF)
- Jim Tobin
- Artie Wilson
- Chuck Workman
- Roy Zimmerman
Affiliations
The Oaks were independent of
Year | Affiliation(s) |
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1935–37 | New York Yankees |
Tributes
The Oakland Athletics have worn Oaks uniforms on occasion in a "1950s throwback night" promotion.[when?]
References
Notes
- ^ "PCL: Oakland Oaks". Ebbets Field Flannels.
- ^ a b "California baseball history. Oakland Oaks". california baseball.
- ^ "Oakland Oaks made PCL history with Casey Stengel". MiLB.com. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-12-30.
- ISBN 0-7867-1335-6.
Sources
- O'Neal, Bill. The Pacific Coast League 1903–1988. Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. ISBN 0-89015-776-6.
- Snelling, Dennis. The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903–1957 McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. ISBN 0-7864-0045-5.