Pacific Coast League: A Minor League History [Paperback]

Bill O'Neal (Author), Melissa Roberts (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1990

This colorful title reflects on the nearly 100-year history of baseball's greatest minor league. The list of stars who have played in this league reads like a who's who of baseball Hall of Famers. 2 cassettes.

--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 356 pages
• Publisher: Eakin Press; 1st edition (June 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0890157766
• ISBN-13: 978-0890157763
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,073,887 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars PCL Aficianado, August 28, 2001

By 

Roger Clark (Los Altos, CA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pacific Coast League: A Minor League History (Paperback)

My first experience with the PCL was in 1955 when my father took me to an Oakland Oaks vs. L.A. Angels game at the old Oaks ballpark in Emeryville. I was immediately "hooked" on Coast League ball and I spent the rest of the summer with my buddies attending as many games as possible. Unfortunately not too many other fans went to the games so at the end of the season the Oaks moved to Vancouver. My team moved away before I really got to know them but the memories of that one summer still spark an interest in the old Coast League to this very day. Bill O'Neal's book is well written as it chronicles the history of the Coast League decade by decade. For someone like myself who was exposed to Coast League ball for such a short period of time, Mr. O'Neal's book fills in a lot of the history that I missed out on. The statistics throughout the book are impressive and in my opinion the most complete of any book I have read on the PCL. One other area of the book that I found to be unique was the section that discusses all of the cities that had PCL franchises. I didn't realize there were so many. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the history of the PCL and our baseball heritage on the West Coast.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great History of the PCL!, May 23, 2000

By 

Todd Hawley (San Francisco CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pacific Coast League: A Minor League History (Paperback)

There are now several excellent books out that document the history of this league. This book, which was among the first is no exception. The PCL during its first half century signed and "farmed out" its own players and sometimes made money by "selling" the contracts of some players to interested major league teams.

This book describes the league's history decade by decade through the late 1980's. It also discusses the PCL's attempt to become the "third major league" in the early 1950's, only to have that dream dashed forever when major league baseball "moved" to California in 1958, and how the league eventually "rebounded" in the 1980's.

The book also talks about some of the PCL's greatest teams, including the 1934 Los Angeles Angels (who some claim was the best minor league team ever), some of the great San Francisco Seals teams, the 1948 Oakland Oaks team, etc.

The book finishes with an extensive section of individual PCL yearly leaders. This book is a fascinating read. Any baseball history and or minor league fans will find it enjoyable.