The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

circuit in the

Pacific Northwest The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Tho ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

and

western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942 and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League evolved to become the

Northwest League The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

, which is still playing today.

History

Informally known as the "Willy" loop, it operated in 1922, 1937–1942, and 1946–1954. In 1955, the league changed its name to the

, and operated through 2019 as a

Class A-Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (cre ...

loop under that name. In the minor league reorganization of 2021, most Northwest League teams became members of the

High-A West The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Basebal ...

circuit, before resuming the former name in 2022 The WIL consisted of teams in the U.S. states of

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

, and

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyomi ...

, and the Canadian provinces of

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

and

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. It was a Class B league through

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

and was upgraded to Class A in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. In its final season in 1954, it started with ten teams in Calgary,

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city ancho ...

, Lewiston, Salem,

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 ...

Kennewick Kennewick () is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the C ...

– Richland– Pasco (playing as " Tri-City"),

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 ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Wenatchee Wenatchee ( ) is the county seat and largest city of Chelan County, Washington, United States. The population within the city limits in 2010 was 31,925, and was estimated to have increased to 34,360 as of 2019. Located in the north-central part ...

, and

Yakima Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...

. Three teams did not finish the season (Spokane, Victoria, Calgary). The final champion was the Vancouver Capilanos, who swept the

Lewiston Broncs {{Infobox Minor League Baseball , name = Lewiston Broncs , firstseason =1921 , lastseason =1974 , allyears =1921, 1937, 1939, 1952–1974 , city =Lewiston, Idaho , logo = , caplogo = , past class level = Short-seaso ...

in four games. Vancouver was the first half champion while third-year Lewiston won the second half. Throughout much of the 1930s and 1940s, its teams were largely unaffiliated with major league farm systems and provided talent to the strong Pacific Coast League of the era.

Cities represented

Bellingham, WA Bellingham ( ) is the most populous city in, and county seat of Whatcom County in the U.S. state of Washington. It lies south of the U.S.–Canada border in between two major cities of the Pacific Northwest: Vancouver, British Columbia (loc ...

: Bellingham Chinooks 1938–1939 * Bremerton, WA: Bremerton Bluejackets 1946–1949 *

Calgary, AB Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, making ...

: Calgary Bronchos 1922; Calgary Stampeders 1953–1954 *

Edmonton, AB Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Centr ...

: Edmonton Eskimos 1922, 1953–1954 *

Kennewick, WA Kennewick () is a city in Benton County in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located along the southwest bank of the Columbia River, just southeast of the confluence of the Columbia and Yakima rivers and across from the confluence of the C ...

, Richland, WA & Pasco, WA: Tri-City Braves 1950–1954 * Lewiston, ID:

1937; Lewiston Broncs 1952–1954 *

Salem, OR Salem ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of Oregon, and the county seat of Marion County, Oregon, Marion County. It is located in the center of the Willamette Valley alongside the Willamette River, which runs north through the city. The river ...

Salem Senators The Salem Senators are the longest lasting name used by several minor league baseball teams based in Salem in the U.S. state of Oregon. The team name derived from Salem being the capital of Oregon. The team was founded in 1940. The current incar ...

1940–1942, 1946–1954 *

Spokane, WA 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 Canad ...

: Spokane Hawks 1937–1939;

Spokane Indians The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Color ...

1940–1942, 1946-1954 *

Tacoma, WA Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Par ...

: Tacoma Tigers 1922, 1937–1942, 1946–1951 *

Vancouver, BC Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

: Vancouver Beavers 1922; Vancouver Maple Leafs 1937–1938; Vancouver Capilanos 1939–1942, 1946–1954 *

Victoria, BC Victoria is the capital city of the Canadian province of British Columbia, on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of 91,867, and the Greater Victoria area has a population of 397,237. The ...

Victoria Athletics The Victoria Athletics were a Western International League baseball team based in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada that existed from 1946 to 1951. From 1947 to 1949, they were affiliated with the New York Yankees. They played their home games at R ...

1946–1951;

Victoria Tyees The Victoria Tyees were a minor league baseball team based in Victoria, British Columbia. They originally played in the Class B (baseball), Class B level Northwest International League in 1919. From 1952 to 1954, a team of the same name played in th ...

1952–1954 * Wenatchee, WA:

Wenatchee Chiefs The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington. Founded in 1937, the team was a part of the Class B Western International League through 1954, although the team did not oper ...

1937–1941, 1946–1954 * Yakima, WA: Yakima Pippins 1937–1941; Yakima Stars 1946–1947;

Yakima Packers Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uninco ...

1948;

Yakima Bears The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season, ...

1949–1954

League champions

*1923 Calgary Bronchos *1937 Tacoma Tigers *1938 Bellingham Chinooks *1939 Tacoma Tigers *1940 Tacoma Tigers *1941

*1942 Vancouver Capilanos *1946

*1947 Vancouver Capilanos *1948

*1949 Vancouver Capilanos *1950

*1951

*1952

*1953

*1954 Vancouver Capilanos

References

* {{Professional Baseball Defunct minor baseball leagues in the United States Defunct baseball leagues in Canada Baseball leagues in Washington (state) Baseball leagues in Idaho Baseball leagues in Oregon Sports leagues established in 1922 Sports leagues disestablished in 1922 Sports leagues established in 1937 Sports leagues disestablished in 1942 Sports leagues established in 1946 Sports leagues disestablished in 1954