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

Northwest League Baseball--The Walla Walla Islanders

Walla Walla would get Minor League Baseball in 1969, the same year Major League Baseball first came to the Seattle (The Pilots).  At first, the Walla Walla Bears were affiliated with Philadelphia. When that tie ended, Walla Walla began an unusual affiliation with a Pacific Coast League team, The Hawaii Islanders.  The season before, Hawaii had the Bend Rainbows in the Northwest League. In the picture above, actor Kurt Russell, who at the time was appearing in Disney films, was trying to make a second career as a baseball player.  Tom Trebelhorn, would later have success as a manager in the "bigs".  Team Owner, Verne Russell (no relation to Kurt) is also pictured on the left in a tie.  The team played at Borleske Stadium.  It was a great place to spend a summer evening. 
The next season,  the team would begin a long affiliation with the San Diego Padres.

The Battered Bastards Of Baseball--Review

This documentary, available only on Netflix, tells the story of the Portland Mavericks.   It was compelling to me, for one thing, because I got to watch the team a number of times. The Northwest League was and still is a Class A minor league group consisting of cities in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho.   Bing Russell was a largely unknown movie actor who had played character roles in the movies.  He also played Sherriff Clem on Bonanza.  His son was Kurt Russell, at the time, an up and coming movie actor who had a summer job playing pro baseball in the Northwest League.  Kurt had just played for the Walla Walla Islanders, in the one year that Walla Walla had a weird affiliation with the Hawaii Islanders.  Before Walla Walla, he played for the Bend Rainbows. 
Bing Russell (a former bat boy for the New York Yankees) decided he wanted to own a baseball team, so for the price of around $500, he was able to gain the rites to a Northwest League.  He ran the team as an independent, meaning that it would not be affiliated with any Major League club.  He would have to pay the player out of his own pocket. 
The documentary shows how Russell was able to do the impossible. put together a rag tag team of players from open try-outs who could not only compete with major league affiliated teams but beat them on a regular basis.  But more incredibly, he was able to set many minor league attendance records.  When you consider that Portland, a showcase city with NBA basketball was in a league with cities like Medford, Lewiston, and Walla Walla, was packing it's stadium it really amazing.  What's even more amazing is that the Pacific Coast League, the class AAA league had abandoned Portland.
It's clear that Russell was a master promoter  with all sorts of gimmicks.  More traditional clubs hated the Mavericks.  They burned the book on baseball etiquette. Many of the Maverick players were rejected by the major leagues and had a chip on their shoulder.
One thing the documentary pointed out was that it is hard for Minor League teams to connect with their cities because players seldom to for a longer than a season because they often move up the farm chain or get cut.   The Mavericks, as an independent team, often held on to players for well over a season, fostering familiarity with the fans.
The documentary is narrated by former players, including Kurt Russell, who himself was with the Mavericks for a short time.  Also contributing is the former president of the Northwest League and a couple of Portland sports writers.

Walla Walla's Top All Time Sports Broadcasters

I was asked by a friend to name the top 5 Walla Walla sports announcers.  Having not lived in Walla Walla in the last 22 years, I picked 5 who stood out in my memory, they are:

1. Roy Elia--Local guy, did sports reports on KHIT-XT-97.
2. Verne Russell--Owner of KUJ, play by play man for Walla Walla Phillies, Islanders, Padres.
3. Bevan Roth--KTEL  Wa Hi Blue Devil Football and Basketball.
4. Bud Bowman KTEL Wa Hi teacher and Bevan's sidekick on local sports broadcasts.
5. Larry Weir  KUJ, KTEL  Play by play Wa Hi Sports, then I believe, became announcer for EWU.
Honorable mention Pat Gillette, Chuck Boyk, Mike Cherry,Dana Wagner, Sherm Mitchell. Anyone you wish to add?

KUJ Owner Verne Russell

Verne Russell was well known in Walla Walla for owning KUJ and the Walla Walla Padres (before that, Islanders, Phillies) Northwest League baseball team. His picture was featured in the Bygone Walla Walla blog.

Russell's iconic sign-off can be found by clicking here.

Kurt Russell--Baseball Player

While Kurt Russell was breaking into the motion picture business, he also played minor league baseball. Russell played for Walla Walla Islanders in the Northwest League in the early 70s. Of course he has became a big movie star and has been with Goldie Hawn for many years in one of Hollywood's longest romances.