Vancouver Mounties

Vancouver Mounties
Vancouver Mounties
Vancouver, British Columbia ;
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes	Triple-A (1958–1962; 1965–1969); Open (1956–1957);
League	Pacific Coast League (1956–1962; 1965–1969)
Major league affiliations
Previous teams	Seattle Pilots and Montreal Expos (1969); Kansas City/Oakland Athletics (1965–1968); Minnesota Twins (1962); Milwaukee Braves (1961); Baltimore Orioles (1956–1960);
Team data
Previous names	Vancouver Mounties (1956–1962; 1965–1969)
Previous parks	Capilano Stadium

The Vancouver Mounties were a high-level

Capilano Stadium. During the Mounties' first two seasons, 1956–57, the PCL still was a member of an experimental organized baseball ranking, the Open Classification, as it made a bid for Major League status. However, in 1958 the PCL reverted to Triple-A when the Dodgers and Giants moved to California

.

With their two terms during the 1950s and 1960s, Mounties were the first and second of Vancouver's three Triple-A baseball teams. The city had previously hosted numerous clubs at lower levels, including the Horse Doctors (1905; 1907),

farm club of Sick's PCL Seattle Rainiers and named after his Vancouver brewery. Sick also built Capilano Stadium, which opened in 1951.^[1]

History

The Mounties were affiliated with a number of Major League Baseball parent clubs: the Baltimore Orioles, Milwaukee Braves, Minnesota Twins, the Athletics of both Kansas City and Oakland, and as a co-op club working with the expansion Seattle Pilots and Montreal Expos in 1969.^[2]^[3]
The first edition of the Mounties was created after the 1955 season when the Oakland Oaks, a PCL member since 1903, relocated because of falling attendance and a dilapidated home stadium. But the 1956 Mounties, a last-place team, drew only 53,000 fans—almost a third of the Oaks' home gate during their last year in the San Francisco Bay Area.^[4] However, a contending team in 1957 caused a spike in attendance to over 300,000 fans, tops in the Pacific Coast League. This pattern continued through 1962: Vancouver fans supported the Mounties during years when they ranked high in the PCL standings, and stayed away when the team was at the bottom.
In 1962, the Mounties finished seventh in the eight-team league in both win–loss record (72–79) and attendance (88,000).
American Association folded its tent completely. Four of the Association's six franchises survived, including the Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers
, which joined the 1963 Pacific Coast League—where it displaced the Mounties and inherited their Twins' affiliation and playing roster.
However, this same franchise would struggle in Dallas in 1964 and return the PCL to Vancouver the following season to become the second edition of the Mounties. Attendance held at between 120,000 and 140,000 fans for competitive, but non-playoff, clubs from 1965 to 1967, but below .500 seasons in both 1968 and 1969 dropped fan support to 83,000, then 63,000 paying customers.
Angels
.
Vancouver was without professional baseball in the 1970s until 1978, when it received an expansion PCL franchise, the Vancouver Canadians, owned by Harry Ornest. After 22 seasons, the club moved south after 1999 to Sacramento and became the River Cats. They were immediately replaced by the current Canadians franchise in 2000, in the High-A (formerly Class-A short season) Northwest League.

Notable alumni

George Bamberger, manager and longtime MLB pitching coach

Sal Bando, All-Star third baseman

Jim Bouton, pitcher, author of landmark book Ball Four; his two-week stint with the club in April 1969 forms part of the book

Ed Charles, third baseman, 1969 "Miracle Mets'

Hall of Fame
executive

Bobby Knoop, All-Star second baseman

Tony La Russa, Hall of Fame manager who racked up over 2,900 wins in 35 MLB seasons

Charley Lau, influential hitting coach

Denis Menke, All-Star shortstop

Lefty O'Doul, manager; at age 59, during his term as skipper of the 1956 Mounties, O'Doul (who batted .349 in 970 MLB games over 11 seasons), tripled as a pinch hitter in his lone at bat — the last hit of his baseball career

Blue Moon Odom, All-Star pitcher

Brooks Robinson, Hall of Fame third baseman

Yearly record

Year Record Finish
Full Season Attendance Manager Postseason

1956 67–98 Eighth 52,893 Lefty O'Doul No playoffs held

1957 97–70 Second 306,145 Charlie Metro No playoffs held

1958 79–73 Third 245,590 Charlie Metro No playoffs held

1968 82–69 Second 238,970 Charlie Metro No playoffs held

1960 68–84 Seventh 144,278 George Staller No playoffs held

1961 87–67 Second 200,143 Billy Hitchcock No playoffs held

1962 72–79 Seventh 88,075 Jack McKeon No playoffs held

1965 77–69 Third
(West Division) 124,048 Haywood Sullivan
Bobby Hofman DNQ

1966 77–71 Second
(West Division) 121,482 Mickey Vernon DNQ

1967 77–69 Third
(West Division) 143,541 Mickey Vernon DNQ

1968 58–88 Sixth
(West Division) 82,028 Mickey Vernon DNQ

1969 77–71 Second (tied)
(North Division) 62,666 Bob Lemon DNQ

See also

Vancouver Beavers

Vancouver Canadians

References

The Vancouver Sun
, 2014.06.14

^ "Mountie club slates battle for franchise". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 7 December 1962.

^ Empey, Dave (9 April 1969). "It's an itch of impatience". Vancouver Sun.

^
ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3
.

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Vancouver_Mounties&oldid=1179883225"

[1] The Vancouver Sun
, 2014.06.14

[2] "Mountie club slates battle for franchise". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 7 December 1962.

[3] Empey, Dave (9 April 1969). "It's an itch of impatience". Vancouver Sun.

[rankin-4] 
ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3
.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]