The Western Tri-State League was a professional baseball league, which was formed in 1912, and disbanded in 1914. It was a Class D league. Over its three-year existence, the league featured six teams from six different cities in Oregon, Idaho, and Washington. Two teams, the

Pendleton Buckaroos The Pendleton Buckaroos were a minor league baseball team based in Pendleton, Oregon. The Buckaroos were preceded by Pendleton teams that played as members of the Pacific Interstate League in 1891 and Inland Empire League in 1902 and 1908. The Buc ...

, and the

Walla Walla Bears The Walla Walla Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Walla Walla, Washington. The Bears were members of the Class A short-season Northwest League and were affiliated with the Philadelphia Phillies. ...

, spent all three seasons in the league. The Pendleton Buckaroos won two league championships, the first coming in 1912, and the other in 1914. The Walla Walla Bears won the first-half league championship in 1913, while the

Boise Irrigators Boise (, , ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho and is the county seat of Ada County. On the Boise River in southwestern Idaho, it is east of the Oregon border and north of the Nevada border. The downtown area' ...

were the second half champions. In 1913, the league opened with six teams, two more than the previous year. However, early into the league, two teams were dropped due to financial strains. In 1915, the league folded. Initially, it was attributed to financial difficulties. However, it was later said to be issues with the relations of team owners.

League history

1912 season

In 1912, the Western Tri-State League was recognized by the National Association of Professional Baseball Leagues, and classified as a Class D league. The league president was W. N. Sweet. The league opened with four teams: the

, who represented Boise, Idaho; the La Grande Pippins, who represented La Grande, Oregon; the

, who represented Pendleton, Oregon; and the

, who represented Walla Walla, Washington. At the end of the 1912 season, the Pendleton Buckaroos won the league championship with a .622 winning percentage. Four players in the Western Tri-State League that season would eventually go on to play in Major League Baseball. Those players were Bob Smith, and Carl Mays of the Boise Irrigators; and Bob Jones, and

Paul Strand Paul Strand (October 16, 1890 – March 31, 1976) was an American photographer and filmmaker who, along with fellow modernist photographers like Alfred Stieglitz and Edward Weston, helped establish photography as an art form in the 20th century. ...

of the Walla Walla Bears.

1913 season

At the start of the 1913 season, it was announced that there would be an addition of two teams to the Western Tri-State League. Those teams were the Baker City Golddiggers, of Baker City, Oregon; and the North Yakima Braves, of Yakima, Washington. Furthermore, the La Grande club changed their name from the Pippins to the Spuds. The league had considered adding a team in Spokane, Washington, but ruled it out until the 1914 season. W. N. Sweet returned as the league president. Early in the year, it was announced that two teams would be dropped from the league, to make it more economically effective to run the circuit. The teams that were cut were the newly formed Baker City Golddiggers, and the established Pendleton Buckaroos. In May, it was announced by league officials that the league's season would be split up into two halves. The intention of this move was to stimulate interests, and lower the cost of operation. 1913 Walla Walla Bears

The Walla Walla Bears finished the first half of the season in first place with a

record A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

of 45–20. They were followed by the Boise Irrigators (40–23) in second, the Pendleton Buckaroos in third (31–29), and the North Yakima Braves (30–34) in fourth. During the second half of the season, the Boise club took home the pennant, finishing with a 32–22 record. They were followed by the second-place North Yakima club (27–27), the third-place Walla Walla club (26–28), and the fourth-place Pendleton club (23–31). Eight players who spent the 1913 season in the Western Tri-State League went on to play in Major League Baseball. Those players were

Con Starkel Conrad Starkel (November 16, 1880 – January 19, 1933), was a professional baseball player who played pitcher in the Major Leagues in 1906. He would play in one game for the Washington Senators. External links 1880 births 1933 deaths W ...

of the Baker City club;

Dad Clark Alfred Robert "Dad" Clark (July 16, 1873 – July 26, 1956) was a professional baseball player. Clark played part of one season in Major League Baseball for the Chicago Orphans The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team b ...

, and

Steve Melter Stephen Blasius Melter (January 2, 1886 - January 28, 1962) was an American pitcher in Major League Baseball who appeared in 23 games, all but one in relief, for the St. Louis Cardinals in 1909 Events January–February * Jan ...

of the Boise club;

Milo Netzel Miles Albion Netzel (May 12, 1886 – March 18, 1938) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played for one season. He played in ten games for the Cleveland Naps during the 1909 Cleveland Naps season The 1909 Cleveland Naps se ...

of the North Yakima club; Howie Haworth, and Don Rader of the Pendleton club; and Elmer Leonard, and

Earl Sheely Earl Homer Sheely (February 12, 1893 – September 16, 1952) was a first baseman for the Chicago White Sox (1921–27), Pittsburgh Pirates (1929) and Boston Braves (1931). Sheely finished sixth in voting for the 1925 American League MVP, playin ...

of the Walla Walla club.

1914 season, and disbanding

Before the start of the 1914 season, it was announced that the Boise Irrigators were leaving the Western Tri-State League, and joining the

Union Association The Union Association was a league in Major League Baseball which lasted for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelve teams who were in the Association at some poi ...

. Therefore, W. N. Sweet, the president of the league, and president of the Boise club resigned his post. Before the start of the season, L. M. Brown, the secretary of the Western Tri-State League, announced that the league would be adopting a 98-game schedule, and that they would be adding another team due to the absence of Boise. Over a dozen requests were sent to secretary Brown requesting a baseball team. Brown selected Baker City, Oregon as the location for the new franchise. Local reports speculated that the 1914 season would be the league's most successful. In Walla Walla, Washington, the cities

public schools Public school may refer to: *State school (known as a public school in many countries), a no-fee school, publicly funded and operated by the government *Public school (United Kingdom), certain elite fee-charging independent schools in England and ...

were dismissed early, and admitted to the Walla Walla Bears game for free. There was also a

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, float (parade), floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually ce ...

, which led to the ball park. Attendance for all of the clubs

opening day Opening Day is the day on which professional baseball leagues begin their regular season. For Major League Baseball (MLB) and most of the American minor leagues, this day typically falls during the first week of April, although in recent years ...

games were record-breaking that year. The Pendleton Walla Walla, Washington Minor League City Encyclopedia won the league title that season with a 59–37 record. In second place were the Walla Walla Bears with a record of 53–43. Behind them were the Baker City Miners with a 44–52 record. The North Yakima Braves, with a record of 36–50, finished last. Four players in the league that season had an MLB appearance some time in their professional career. Those players were: Ray French, and

Suds Sutherland Harvey Scott "Suds" Sutherland (February 20, 1894 – May 11, 1972) was a professional baseball player from 1914 to 1927. He played a portion of the 1921 season in Major League Baseball as a pitcher and outfielder for the Detroit Tigers. Sutherla ...

of the Baker City club;

Ed Mensor Edward Mensor (November 7, 1885 – April 20, 1970) was an outfielder 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 the Pendleton club; and

of the Walla Walla club. Before the start of the 1915 season, the Western Tri-State League failed to raise enough money to operate their league, effectively ending the league. League president R. W. Ritner later stated that the failure of the league was due to the North Yakama, and Walla Walla clubs who did not want to work together.

Teams

References

{{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States 1912 establishments in the United States 1914 disestablishments in the United States Sports leagues established in 1912 Baseball leagues in Idaho Baseball leagues in Oregon Baseball leagues in Washington (state) Sports leagues disestablished in 1914