The Sacramento Solons were a minor league baseball team based in

Sacramento, California ) , image_map = Sacramento County California Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Sacramento Highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250x200px , map_caption = Location within Sacramento C ...

. They played in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

during several periods (1903, 1905, 1909–1914, 1918–1960, 1974–1976). The current

Sacramento River Cats The Sacramento River Cats are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and are the Triple-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants. Prior to 2015, the River Cats were the Triple-A affiliate of the Oakland Athletics for 15 ...

began play in 2000.

Nickname

The team derived its name from Sacramento's status as

capital Capital may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** List of national capital cities * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Economics and social sciences * Capital (economics), the durable produced goods used f ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

Solon Solon ( grc-gre, Σόλων; BC) was an Athenian statesman, constitutional lawmaker and poet. He is remembered particularly for his efforts to legislate against political, economic and moral decline in Archaic Athens.Aristotle ''Politics'' ...

was an early Greek lawmaker and the term "solons" was often used by journalists as a synonym for "senators." Solon Huntington was a prominent Sacramento businessman during the 19th century, though less famous than his brother (

Collis Huntington Collis Potter Huntington (October 22, 1821 – August 13, 1900) was an American industrialist and railway magnate. He was one of the Big Four of western railroading (along with Leland Stanford, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker) who invested ...

) and son ( Henry Huntington).The team was also known at times as the Sacramento Sacts, an abbreviation of the name of the city, and the Sacramento Senators. During 1913-1914, when

Harry Wolverton Harry Sterling Wolverton (December 6, 1873 – February 4, 1937), nicknamed "Fighting Harry", was an American professional baseball player. He played all or part of nine seasons in Major League Baseball from 1898 through 1905 and 1912. He pla ...

managed the team, San Francisco newspapers often tagged them the Wolves, a nickname which continued when they moved to San Francisco and became the

Mission Mission (from Latin ''missio'' "the act of sending out") may refer to: Organised activities Religion *Christian mission, an organized effort to spread Christianity *Mission (LDS Church), an administrative area of The Church of Jesus Christ of ...

team.

Early years

A Sacramento team played 1900–1902 in 1899–1902 iteration of the

California League The California League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in California. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A following Major Leag ...

. This team was called the Senators, but also the Gilt Edges. That team then became a charter member to the

(PCL) in 1903, called the Sacramento Solons (also known as the Sacts or the Senators). Other teams forming the PCL were the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

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 ...

, Oakland Oaks, San Francisco Seals and

Seattle Indians Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

. Although the Solons finished second in the inaugural year, attendance was not good and the team moved to Tacoma for the 1904 season, renamed the Tacoma Tigers. The Tigers won the PCL pennant in 1904 and won the first half of the split 1905 season before falling off so dramatically in the second half that the team was returned to Sacramento to finish out the season, where it lost the postseason series to the Angels. The Sacramento team moved to

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

in 1906, renamed the Fresno Raisin Eaters, then returned to Sacramento in 1907, where it played in the California League for the next three seasons. The Solons returned to the PCL in 1909, but were mired in the second division for the next few years. In 1914, attendance was so bad that the Solons moved to San Francisco in the middle of the season, finishing out the year as the

San Francisco Missions The Mission Reds were a minor league baseball team located in San Francisco, California, that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1926 through 1937. First Missions team In early September of 1914, the failed Sacramento Solons team moved ...

. The team was sold to

Salt Lake City Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...

businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane after that season and moved there for the 1915 season, renamed the

Salt Lake City Bees The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time ...

Heyday

When

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

dropped out of the league after the 1917 season, a new Sacramento franchise was admitted to the PCL in 1918. For most of its existence, the Sacramento team finished in the second division, but there were a few bright spots. Originally known as the Senators, the team was purchased by

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

in 1935 and renamed the Sacramento Solons. Rickey's close friend and business partner

Philip Bartelme Philip George Bartelme (August 16, 1876 – May 3, 1954), also known as P.G. Bartelme and sometimes spelled "Barthelme", was the second athletic director of the University of Michigan, holding the position from 1909 to 1921. Bartelme is credited wi ...

served as the Solons' president from 1936 to 1944. The Solons finished first in 1937 but lost the postseason series to the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. In 1942 the Solons won their first – and only – Pacific Coast League pennant. These were the glory years of the

, during which it was unrivaled for the attention of West Coast baseball fans. The Solons drew reasonably well when featured opponents included teams from Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco and

Oakland Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third largest city overall in the Bay A ...

. However, in 1957, the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...

and

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

moved to California, forcing the aforementioned teams to move to

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the largest city and county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It is in eastern Washington, along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south of the Ca ...

Phoenix Phoenix most often refers to: * Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore * Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States Phoenix may also refer to: Mythology Greek mythological figures * Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...

and

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, respectively. Although the Solons were not immediately displaced, the close proximity of the

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...

(just over an hour to the south) also took its toll on attendance. After the 1960 season, the team was sold and moved to

Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the island ...

and renamed the

Hawaii Islanders The Hawaii Islanders were a minor league baseball team based in Honolulu, Hawaii, that played in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 27 seasons from 1961 through 1987. Originally an affiliate of the Kansas City Athletics, the Islanders played ...

for 1961. The franchise became the

Colorado Springs Sky Sox The Colorado Springs Sky Sox were a Minor League Baseball team in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The team played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and was the Triple-A affiliate of the major league Milwaukee Brewers (2015–2018), Colorado Rockie ...

later moved to San Antonio as the

San Antonio Missions The San Antonio Missions are a Minor League Baseball team of the Texas League and the Double-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres. They are located in San Antonio, Texas, and are named for the Spanish missions around which the city was founded. ...

in 2019.

Minor league return

The third version of the Sacramento Solons began during the AAA realignment in 1969 as the

Eugene Emeralds The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their ...

. After the 1973 season, it was determined that Eugene was too small to support PCL baseball, and the team was moved to Sacramento for the 1974 season, taking the name of its predecessor teams, the Sacramento Solons. The Solons' old stadium, Edmonds Field, had long since been demolished. The only available facility was 23,500-seat Hughes Stadium, a football facility, the dimensions of which made the stadium a hitter's paradise. Left field, in particular, was less than the regulation minimum 250 feet from home plate. Despite two consecutive last place finishes, the Solons led the PCL in attendance due to the home run barrage. The Solons changed affiliations and the Texas Rangers refused to allow their top prospects to play in the decrepit Hughes Stadium with its bandbox dimensions. The Solons' owners "leased" the team to San Jose for the 1977 and 1978 seasons, when the team was known as the

San Jose Missions The San Jose Missions were a minor league baseball team located in San Jose, California. The Missions played from 1977 to 1978 as members of the AAA Pacific Coast League. The Missions name returned in 1979 under a new franchise that played in the ...

, in hopes of obtaining a new baseball-only facility. After two seasons of dismal attendance in San Jose, the team was sold and moved to

Ogden, Utah Ogden is a city in and the county seat of Weber County, Utah, United States, approximately east of the Great Salt Lake and north of Salt Lake City. The population was 87,321 in 2020, according to the US Census Bureau, making it Utah's eighth ...

, for the 1979 season. The Pacific Coast League returned to the capital city in 2000 when a group of area businessmen led by majority owner Art Savage purchased the

Vancouver Canadians The Vancouver Canadians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Vancouver, British Columbia. They are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the Toronto Blue Jays. The Canadians play their home games at Nat Bailey Stadium. ...

of the PCL and moved the team to Sacramento. Foregoing the traditional name of Sacramento baseball teams, the owners named the team the

. Unlike their predecessors, who were often troubled at the box office, the River Cats have been among the leaders in Minor League Baseball attendance since their return to Sacramento, and leading all minor league teams in attendance for their first nine consecutive years in Sacramento. The River Cats took up residence at the newly built

Raley Field Sutter Health Park is the home ballpark of the Sacramento River Cats Minor League Baseball team, which is a member of the Pacific Coast League. Known as Raley Field from 2000 to 2019, the facility was built on the site of old warehouses and rail ...

, which was constructed specifically for baseball.

Affiliations

The Solons were affiliated with the following major league teams:

References

*O'Neal, Bill. ''The Pacific Coast League 1903–1988.'' Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. . *Snelling, Dennis. ''The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903–1957'' McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. .

External links

{{commons category
Sacramento Solons History
Baseball teams in Sacramento, California 01 Professional baseball teams in California 01 Defunct baseball teams in California Defunct California League teams Defunct California Players League teams Defunct California State League teams Defunct Pacific Coast League teams Baseball teams established in 1903 Baseball teams disestablished in 1976 Milwaukee Brewers minor league affiliates Milwaukee Braves minor league affiliates Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates Chicago White Sox minor league affiliates St. Louis Cardinals minor league affiliates Texas Rangers minor league affiliates