Description
Book SynopsisFrom Albert Spalding, who settled in San Diego in the latter part of his life, to late Hall of Famers Ted Williams and Tony Gwynn, San Diego has been called home by some giants of baseball lore. But San Diego was also the minor league home of Johnny Ritchey, who broke the "color barrier" in the Pacific Coast League, and Bill "Chick" Starr, the former player turned owner who signed him. In 1909 San Diego was the site of a game between the "Japanese Base Ball Association"—an aspiring pro team of Japanese-born players—against the local California Winter League champions, while during a few months of 1946 a Negro League team known as the San Diego Tigers played there, all before expansion brought the National League to the West Coast. Of course, the PCL Padres were superseded by the NL Padres, who play there today. The NL Padres remain the only team in MLB without a no-hitter, but the PCL Padres had one, at least by 1938 rules. The Padres have had their heroes (Garvey and Gossage, Hoffman and Templeton) and their goats, as well as The Chicken, whom
The New York Times called "perhaps the most influential sports mascot in history." All of their stories and more from San Diego and environs are included in this issue of The National Pastime, to coincide with the national SABR convention taking place there in 2019.
Table of ContentsThe Guide to Spalding: San Diego, 1900–15
by Mark Souder
The Shared National Pastime: San Diego’s First Japanese Ball Game
by Robert K. Fitts
Charlie Schmutz: The First San Diego-Born Major Leaguer
by Bill Lamb
American Indian Baseball in Old North County: San Diego Heritage at Riverside’s Sherman Institute
by Tom Willman
No. 19, Ted Williams, LF, San Diego Padres
by Tom Larwin
Researching Ted Williams' Latino Roots
by Bill Nowlin
The Longest No-Hitter in San Diego Padres History: Dick Ward’s 1938 Extra-Inning Masterpiece
by Gordon J. Gattie
Bill Starr: The San Diego Padre who Batted for Ted Williams and Integrated the PCL
by Gary Sarnoff
The San Diego Tigers of the West Coast Negro Baseball League
by Leslie Heaphy
San Diego Breaks Pacific Coast League Color Barrier
by Alan Cohen
Baseball Burials in San Diego
by Fred Worth
Raw Materials: The Padres’ Expansion 30
by Mark Camps
San Diego Padres Near No-Hitters
by Steven M. Glassman
Profiles in Plumage: The San Diego Chicken
by John Racanelli
Alan Wiggins: A Tragic Hero
by Fred O. Rodgers
Rupe’s Troops, NoMás Monge, and Tempy Turns It Around: Part of the Padres Golden Era
by Brian P. Wood
Steve Garvey and the Most Iconic Moment in San Diego Sports History
by Kevin Mills
Tony Gwynn: Meeting Baseball’s Best Hitter
by Michael J. Schell
Relief Pitching and the San Diego Padres: A Half-Century of Excellence
by Wayne M. Towers, Ph.D.
The Silver Anniversary of Tony Gwynn’s Quest for .400
by Geoff Young
