The National Pastime, 2019: Pacific Ghosts: San Diego Baseball History (National Pastime: A Review of Baseball History Book 49)

From 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 Of course, the PCL Padres were superseded by the NL Padres, who play there today.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.

Table of contents:

The 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