Showing posts with label Walla Walla Baseball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Walla Walla Baseball. Show all posts

Saturday, May 23, 2020

Walla Walla Bears Featured In Bygone Walla Walla Blog

In 1969,  Walla Walla got it's own Northwest League franchise.  It would be a Single A affiliate of  the Philadelphia Phillies.  For the first season only, it was known as the Walla Walla Bears.  For the second season, I believe, it would be known as the Walla Walla Phillies.   
It was real exciting to have a pro baseball team in little Walla Walla.  There were "lucky number" contests throughout the game. I never got the lucky number, but that's a different story. There were many promotional nights, including fireworks on the 4th Of July. 
Incidentally,  I remember the GM of the team was Gene Langley, whose daughter had recently been crowned Miss Oregon and had been a runner up in the Miss America Pageant. 
The team would eventually be known as the Walla Walla Islanders for one season and then it would begin a long running affiliation with the San Diego Padres and be known as the Walla Walla Padres.
Joe Drazan has a feature in his Bygone Walla Walla blog.  Click here

Wednesday, March 07, 2018

1969--Professional Baseball Comes To Walla Walla

In 1969, Walla Walla was granted a Northwest League Franchise.  The team was a Class A farm club for the Philadelphia Phillies.  They started as the Walla Walla Bears, but the next season, they became the Walla Walla Phillies.  Their tie with the Phillies meant that many potential Major Leaguers were with the team.