Baseball in Tacoma-Pierce County

by Marc H. Blau

The Tacoma-Pierce County area has enjoyed a rich tradition of baseball from the sandlot beginnings in 1874, to the first professional game at the "Eleventh Street Ball Grounds" in 1890, to the "100 Day Wonder" known as Cheney Stadium, which was opened in the spring of 1960. While Tacoma has laid claim to six Pacific Coast League championships since the 1904-1905 season, it was the players who competed in the City, Valley, Sunset, Community, Timber, Commercial, Industrial, and Shipbuilders leagues that formed the backbone of the sport. Among notables that have dotted local rosters or competed in the major leagues are Ron Cey, "Indian" Bob Johnson, Mike Blowers, Jon Lester, Steve Whitaker, and Doug Sisk, as well as Baseball Hall of Famers Walter Johnson, Joe McGinnity, Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, and Willie McCovey.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Sports

128 pages, Paperback

First published April 18, 2011

Reviews

[Kris Dersch]

For me the mark of success for a book like this is: did it give me interesting tidbits that I kept coming back to in the days after reading it? The answer here was, absolutely. Meticulously researched and clearly written by someone who loves the sport and loves the region, this has just wonderful pics and details that will make anyone who has spent any time at all cheering on a Tacoma baseball team (in Cheney Stadium since 1960, that's where I spent my childhood) will enjoy this.

[Jane Irish Nelson]

Very interesting overview of the history of baseball in Tacoma and the surrounding area, lavishly illustrated. Anyone interested in the sport and the history of the Pierce County area should find this fascinating. Recommended.