Salt Lake City Bees

Last updated
Salt Lake City Bees
Minor league affiliations
Previous classes
  • Class-AAA (1958–1965, 1970–1984)
  • Rookie-level (1967–1969)
  • Class-C (1916–1928, 1939–1957)
  • Class-AA (1915–1925)
  • Class-D (1911–1914)
Previous leagues
Major league affiliations
Previous teams
Minor league titles
League titles 6 (1948, 1946, 1953, 1959, 1971, 1979)
Team data
Previous names
  • Salt Lake City Gulls (1975–1984)
  • Salt Lake City Angels (1971–1974)
  • Salt Lake City Giants (1967–1968)
  • Salt Lake City Bees (1915–1928, 1939–1942, 1946–1965, 1969–1970)
  • Salt Lake City Skyscrapers (1911–1914)
Ballpark Derks Field

The Salt Lake City Bees was a primary moniker of the minor league baseball teams, based in Salt Lake City, Utah between 1911 and 1970 under various names. After minor league baseball first began in Salt Lake City in 1900, the Bees were long-time members of both the Pacific Coast League and Pioneer League. The Salt Lake Bees played their home games at Derks Field.

Contents

History

Salt Lake hosted two teams in the 1900 Independent Utah-Idaho Intermountain League, the Rio Grande Rios and Short Line Shorts. [1] [2] They were followed by the Salt Lake City White Wings in the 1901 Class D Inter-Mountain League, a team in the 1902 Utah State League and the Salt Lake City Elders (1903-1904)/Salt Lake Fruit Pickers (1905) of the Pacific National League. [3] [4] The 1909 Salt Lake City Mormons played in the Inter-Mountain League and the 1909 Salt Lake City Cubs played in the Montana State League [5]

The direct predecessor to the Bees were the Salt Lake City Skyscrapers that played in the class-D Union Association from 1911–1914. The Association folded after the 1914 season. However, in 1915, the San Francisco Missions were sold to Utah businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane who moved the team to Salt Lake City. The club was named the Bees from 1915–1925. Due to the high altitude and the dimensions of the club's Bonneville Park stadium, the Bees recorded some of the best batting records in the PCL during this period. [6]

The club was named the Bees name from 1915–1925. However Lane moved the team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Originally they were known as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars.

The Bees' baseball was still available though in the city with Salt Lake City's team in the Utah–Idaho League from 1926–1928. The team won its first title in their final 1928 season. In 1939 the third incarnation of the Bees was formed and played in the Pioneer League, winning titles in 1946 and 1953. The city returned to the Pacific Coast league from 1958–1965, winning the league title in 1959.

From 1967–1968, the city was represented by the Salt Lake City Giants, who again played in the Pioneer League, now a rookie-level class league. The team was affiliated with the San Francisco Giants [ citation needed ] The team played the 1969 and 1970 seasons renamed as the Bees.

After their 1969, the club returned to Triple-A status and the Pacific Coast League. In 1971 the club was renamed the Salt Lake City Angels, when they became the affiliate of the California Angels through the 1974 season. In their first season as the Angels, the club won the southern division of the Pacific Coast League with a 78-68 record. The team would then go on to defeat the Tacoma Twins 3 games to 1 to claim the league pennant. The team was renamed the Salt Lake City Gulls in 1975 but remained as the Angels' top affiliate through the 1981 season. In 1979, the team were able to sweep the Hawaii Islanders and capture their final league title.

In 1982, The Gulls switched to the Seattle Mariners organization. Following the 1984 season, the team was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, and became the Calgary Cannons in 1985.[ citation needed ]

The current minor league team in the city, the Salt Lake Buzz chose their name in part to pay homage to the Bees heritage. In November 2005, the Buzz, now the Salt Lake Stingers, changed their name to the Salt Lake Bees, reviving the name once again.

Notable players

Year-by-year record

Salt Lake City Angels cap logo SaltLakeCityAngels72.png
Salt Lake City Angels cap logo
YearLeagueRecordFinishManagerPlayoffs
Salt Lake City Skyscrapers
1911Union Association85-582nd Cliff Blankenship
1912Union Association77-612nd Art Weaver
1913Union Association75-472nd John McCloskey
1914Union Association52-342ndHarry HesterLost Finals to Ogden Canners 4-2
Salt Lake City Bees I
1915Pacific Coast League108-892ndCliff Blankenship
1916Pacific Coast League99-963rdCliff Blankenship
1917Pacific Coast League102-973rd Bill Bernhard
1918Pacific Coast League48-495th Walter McCredie
1919Pacific Coast League88-833rd Ed Herr
1920Pacific Coast League95-925th Ernie Johnson
1921Pacific Coast League73-1107th Gavvy Cravath
1922Pacific Coast League95-1064th Duffy Lewis
1923Pacific Coast League94-1055thDuffy Lewis
1924Pacific Coast League101-1005thDuffy Lewis
1925Pacific Coast League116-842nd Oscar Vitt
Salt Lake City Bees II
1926Utah–Idaho League52-705thBud Orr / Bert Whaling / Chet Chadbourne
1927Utah–Idaho League59-502nd Harry O'Neill
1928Utah–Idaho League68-491stBobby ColtrinWon League Championship vs. Boise Senators, 4-1
Salt Lake City Bees III
1939Pioneer League59-654th Eddie Mulligan
1940Pioneer League79-511st Tony Robello Lost first round
1941Pioneer League68-603rdTony RobelloLost first round
1942Pioneer League55-634th Andy Harrington
1946Pioneer League76-401st Joe Orengo League Champs
1947Pioneer League81-571st Tommy Thompson Lost League Finals
1948Pioneer League60-655thTommy Thompson
1949Pioneer League73-534thTommy ThompsonLost first round
1950Pioneer League55-706thEarl Bolyard / Robert White
1951Pioneer League84-521st Hub Kittle Lost first round
1952Pioneer League60-716thHub Kittle
1953Pioneer League69-624th Eddie Murphy / Burt Barkelew / Charlie Gassaway League Champs
1954Pioneer League78-531stCharlie GassawayLost League Finals
1955Pioneer League61-706th Bobby Sturgeon / Sven Jessen
1956Pioneer League70-622nd (tie) Frank Lucchesi
1957Pioneer League61-645th Cliff Dapper
1958Pacific Coast League77-775th Larry Shepard
1959Pacific Coast League85-691stLarry ShepardWon Championship
No playoffs
1960Pacific Coast League80-733rdLarry Shepard
1961Pacific Coast League67-878th Herman Franks/ Fred Fitzsimmons
1962Pacific Coast League81-732nd Bob Kennedy
1963Pacific Coast League73-859th El Tappe
1964Pacific Coast League58-989th Vedie Himsl
1965Pacific Coast League56-9110th Stan Hack
Salt Lake City Giants
1967Pioneer League25-414thHarvey Koepf
1968Pioneer League16-455thRay Malgradi
Salt Lake City Bees IV
1969Pioneer League38-334th Dave Garcia
1970Pacific Coast League44-998th Don Zimmer
Salt Lake City Angels
1971Pacific Coast League78-682nd Del Rice Won Championship vs. Tacoma Twins, 3-1
1972Pacific Coast League80-683rd Les Moss
1973Pacific Coast League79-653rdLes Moss
1974Pacific Coast League69-735th Norm Sherry
Salt Lake City Gulls
1975Pacific Coast League80-642nd Norm Sherry Lost Championship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 4-2
1976Pacific Coast League90-541st Jimy Williams Lost Championship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 3-2
1977Pacific Coast League74-653rdJimy Williams
1978Pacific Coast League72-655th Deron Johnson Lost Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 3-0
1979Pacific Coast League80-682ndJimy WilliamsWon Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 2-0
Won Championship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 3-0
1980Pacific Coast League77-654th Moose Stubing
1981Pacific Coast League63-716thMoose Stubing
1982Pacific Coast League73-704th Bobby Floyd Lost Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 2-0
1983Pacific Coast League67-757thBobby Floyd
1984Pacific Coast League74-662ndBobby FloydLost Semifinals vs. Edmonton Trappers, 3-2

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References

  1. ↑ "1900 Rio Grande Rios Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  2. ↑ "1900 Short Line Shorts Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  3. ↑ "1905 Salt Lake City Fruit Pickers Roster on StatsCrew.com". www.statscrew.com.
  4. ↑ "1901 Inter-Mountain League". Baseball-Reference.com.
  5. ↑ "1909 Salt Lake City Cubs minor league baseball Roster on StatsCrew.com".
  6. ↑ Preston, J.G. "A bit about Salt Lake City's Bonneville Park in the 1920s". prestonjg.wordpress.com. Retrieved 23 March 2017.

See also

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