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Baseball history topics that catch the author's fancy; working on a history of the Class D Far West League (1948-51)
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J.G. Preston
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The J.G. Preston Experience Baseball history and occasionally something else

English - Baseball, Baseball History
http://prestonjg.wordpress.com
The J.G. Preston Experience · 1Y ago

The man behind the accordion: Far West League outfielder Don Napoli

When Dave Eskenazi sent me the photo below, all he could tell me was that the players were from the Klamath Falls Gems of the Far West League and the man in the middle was pitcher/manager Hub Kittle. Thanks to a stroke of luck, I can now tell you the man with the accordion is [...]
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 1Y ago

Programs of the Far West League

I own just one FWL program, a Redding program from 1951.  But SABR member and collector of northwest baseball memorabilia Dave Eskenazi owns a few from Oregon teams that he allowed me to look at, scan, and share here.  The cover of a Klamath Falls program from 1950 was mostly a photo of Bob Rittenbe
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 1Y ago

Faces of the Far West League

Time to share some FWL-related images I’ve gathered.  Unless otherwise noted, these are courtesy of the collection of Dave Eskenazi of Seattle, who has an amazing collection of baseball memorabilia from the Pacific Northwest and was generous enough to share some of it with me. Lou Vezilich played th
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 1Y ago

When Julian Wera committed suicide, much to the surprise of Julian Wera

The business manager for the Oroville Red Sox during the Far West League's first season was Julian Wera, a former professional infielder and a member of the famed 1927 New York Yankees. At least that's what he had led everyone to believe, until he took his own life at the end of the season and news
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

The shootings of J.C. Dunn

After my earlier post about 1950s minor leaguer J.C. Dunn, SABR member Kevin Johnson of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, came to my aide with a valuable reference tool:  the digital archives of The Oklahoman, Oklahoma City’s major newspaper.  There’s a fee involved, but you get access to scans of stories fro
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

Letterhead of The Far West League

I recently sent a query to Seattle Rainiers scholar, collector and SABR member Dave Eskenazi to see if he had any information or materials about Spencer Harris, the longtime Seattle resident and former Rainier about whom I’ve written in an earlier post.  In his response, Dave asked, “Are you the Far
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

The night a minor league game was suspended when the manager was shot

This was one of those filler items in the minor league stats section of the 1958 Sporting News Baseball Guide: GAME HALTED–ARDMORE MANAGER SHOT BY FAN Fans attending a Sooner State League game at Ponca City, August 8, 1957, witnessed a bizarre incident.  In the second inning that evening one of the
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

Spencer Harris, hit king/basketball player

I’ve updated my earlier post on the minor leagues’ all-time hit leader, Spencer Harris, after Seattle librarian Bo Kinney passed on news stories from the 1920s with information about Harris’ activities as a basketball player and referee, even as he was playing pro baseball.  My extensive search for
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

Random notes from the Far West League, August 1948

As I scrolled through microfilm of the Marysville Appeal-Democrat from the summer of 1948, looking for information about Spencer Harris (see previous post), I came across some other tidbits worth sharing.  I haven’t prepared these in depth, because my time at the California State Library was limited
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The J.G. Preston Experience · 2Y ago

The minor leagues’ hit champion in the Far West League

In the first part of my Who’s Who of The Far West League, I mentioned that minor league baseball’s all-time hits leader, Spencer Harris (also referred to as Spence Harris), ended his 28-year playing career as player/manager at Marysville during the FWL’s first season in 1948.  I went through the Mar
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