The Portland Rosebuds, sometimes called the Portland Roses, were a baseball team owned by

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

. The Rosebuds were part of the West Coast Baseball Association, a

Negro league The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans and, to a lesser extent, Latin Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be ...

headed by

Abe Saperstein Abraham Michael Saperstein (; July 4, 1902 – March 15, 1966) was the founder, owner and earliest coach of the Harlem Globetrotters. Saperstein was a leading figure in black basketball and baseball from the 1920s through the 1950s, primarily bef ...

, the owner of the

Harlem Globetrotters The Harlem Globetrotters are an American exhibition basketball team. They combine athleticism, theater, and comedy in their style of play. Created in 1926 by Tommy Brookins in Chicago, Illinois, the team adopted the name ''Harlem'' because of i ...

. The Rosebuds played the

Seattle Steelheads The Seattle Steelheads were a Negro league baseball team from Seattle, Washington. Owned by Abe Saperstein, they were also known as the Harlem Globetrotters and Cincinnati Crescents, though occasionally the teams split and played each other. F ...

on their opening day, May 12, 1946 at

Dudley Field FirstBank Stadium (formerly Dudley Field and Vanderbilt Stadium) is a American football, football stadium located in Nashville, Tennessee. Completed in 1922 as the first stadium in the American South, South to be used exclusively for college foo ...

El Paso, Texas El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the county seat, seat of El Paso County, Texas, El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau w ...

. They followed opening day with two more days of games in El Paso and one in nearby

Ciudad Juárez Ciudad Juárez ( ; ''Juarez City''. ) is the most populous city in the Mexican state of Chihuahua. It is commonly referred to as Juárez and was known as El Paso del Norte (''The Pass of the North'') until 1888. Juárez is the seat of the Ju� ...

. The league was disbanded after only two months.

History

The Portland Rosebuds were a part of an all black baseball league, the West Coast Baseball Association. Previously in 1936, Jesse Owens had made an attempt at promoting another negro league team, but was unsuccessful. When Owens helped start the West Coast Baseball League in 1946, his team, the Portland Rosebuds, was one of six teams in the league. Other teams in the league included the

Oakland Larks The Oakland Larks were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the Un ...

San Francisco Sea Lions The San Francisco Sea Lions were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in San Francisco, California, in 1946. Following the collapse of the league, the Sea Lions played as an independent barnstorming team. D ...

San Diego Tigers The San Diego Tigers were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the ...

, and the

Los Angeles White Sox The Los Angeles White Sox were a Negro league baseball team in the West Coast Negro Baseball League, based in Los Angeles, California, in 1946. References Negro league baseball teams White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American profe ...

. The West Coast Baseball League was created as result of black players being banned from organized leagues. It was one of the last negro leagues to exist and the only one on the West Coast. Abe Saperstein, who famously founded the Harlem Globetrotters, served as the president of the league. Jesse Owens was named vice president of the league.

Season

The Portland Rosebuds made their debut in El Paso, Texas, on May 12, 1946, against the Seattle Steelheads. There were a total of three West Coast Baseball League games played in El Paso. Owens played a major role in the promotion of these games and was said to have run against racehorses in between double headers. He also used these appearances to verbalize the importance of education being a ticket to a better life. The Portland Rosebuds played their home games at

Vaughn Street Park Vaughn Street Park was a baseball park in the northwest United States, located in Portland, Oregon. Opened in 1901, it lasted for over a half century and was torn down in 1956. Its primary tenant was the Portland Beavers of the Pacific Coast ...

, home stadium of the local

Portland Beavers The Portland Beavers was the name of separate minor league baseball teams, which represented Portland, Oregon, in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). The team was established in 1903, the first year of the PCL. Franchise history Many baseball teams ...

. Negro Southern League veteran

Wesley Barrow Wesley "Big Train" Barrow (November 13, 1900 – December 24, 1965) was an American Negro league player and manager in the 1940s who was once regarded as "one of the best developers of Negro talent in the South." Early life and playing career We ...

was at the helm as manager. On June 4, 1946, the Portland Rosebuds played their first home game at Vaughn Street park against the Los Angeles White Sox. There were 1,500 fans in attendance. By the end of June, the Rosebuds were in second place in the league.

Roster

None of the players on the team would go on to play in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

Disbandment

It was previously announced that The West Coast Baseball Association would play a full 110-game schedule. However, despite having a strong standing in the league, attendance and news coverage for games suffered. The West Coast Baseball Association, along with the Portland Rosebuds were disbanded in July 1946.

References

{{Negro League teams 1946 disestablishments in Oregon 1946 establishments in Oregon African-American history in Portland, Oregon Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Negro league baseball teams Rosebuds Baseball in Portland, Oregon Baseball teams disestablished in 1946 Baseball teams established in 1946