Classification | Class B (1922, 1937–1942; 1946–1951) Class A (1952–1954) |
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Sport | Minor League Baseball |
Inaugural season | 1922, 1937 |
Ceased | 1954 |
Replaced by | Northwest League |
President | Roger Peck (1937) F.H. Knickerbocker (1938–1939) Stanley A. Webster (1940) Robert Abel (1941–1954) |
No. of teams | 13 |
Country | Canada United States |
Most titles | 4 Spokane Indians Vancouver Capilanos |
Related competitions | Western Canada League Pacific Coast International League |
Official website | northwestleague.com |
The Western International League was a mid- to higher-level minor league baseball circuit in the Pacific Northwest United States and western Canada that operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. In 1955, the Western International League evolved to become the Northwest League, which is still playing today.
Informally known as the "Willy" loop, [1] [2] The Western International League operated in 1922, 1937 to 1942, and 1946 to 1954. [3] [4] In 1955, the league changed its name to become the Northwest League, [5] and operated through 2019 as a Class A-Short Season loop under that name. In the minor league reorganization of 2021, most Northwest League teams became members of the High-A West circuit, before resuming the former name in 2022
The WIL consisted of teams in the U.S. states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, and the Canadian provinces of British Columbia and Alberta. [1] It was a Class B league through 1951 and was upgraded to Class A in 1952. In its final season in 1954, it started with ten teams in Calgary, Edmonton, Lewiston, Salem, Spokane, Kennewick – Richland – Pasco (playing as "Tri-City"), Vancouver, Victoria, Wenatchee, and Yakima. [6] Three teams did not finish the season (Spokane, Victoria, Calgary). [7] The final champion was the Vancouver Capilanos, who swept the Lewiston Broncs in four games. Vancouver was the first half champion while third-year Lewiston won the second half. [8]
Throughout much of the 1930s and 1940s, its teams were largely unaffiliated with major league farm systems and provided talent to the strong Pacific Coast League of the era.
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The Northwest League is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Northwestern United States and Western Canada. A Class A Short Season league for most of its history, the league was promoted to High-A as part of Major League Baseball's 2021 reorganization of the minor leagues. The league operated as the High-A West in 2021, then resumed its original moniker in 2022.
The Big Sky Conference (BSC), is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the NCAA's Division I with football competing in the Football Championship Subdivision. As of 2023, full member institutions are located in the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Two affiliate members from California are football–only participants.
The Spokane Indians are a Minor League Baseball team located in Spokane Valley, the city immediately east of Spokane, Washington, in the Pacific Northwest. The Indians are members of the High-A Northwest League (NWL) as an affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Spokane plays its home games at Avista Stadium, which opened in 1958 and has a seating capacity of 6,752.
Kenneth Marvin Schrom is a former major league baseball pitcher and current minor league executive.
Dorsett Vandeventer "Tubby" Graves was a college head coach in baseball, football, and basketball, and a player of football and baseball.
The Idaho Vandals are the intercollegiate athletic teams representing the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho. The Vandals compete at the NCAA Division I level as a member of the Big Sky Conference.
Bailey–Brayton Field is a college baseball stadium in the northwest United States, on the campus of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington. It is the home field of the Washington State Cougars of the Pac-12 Conference, and is located on the east side of the WSU campus, just southeast of Beasley Coliseum. The approximate elevation of the north-aligned diamond is 2,550 feet (775 m) above sea level and its seating capacity is 3,500.
The Lewiston Broncs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Lewiston, Idaho, and played from 1952 through 1974. Locally, the team was known as "Lewis-Clark" to include the adjacent twin city of Clarkston, Washington. The team's ballpark was Bengal Field, a few blocks southeast of the high school.
The Tri-City Atoms were a minor league baseball team located in Kennewick, Washington. The Tri-Cities in southeastern Washington, which include Kennewick, Richland, and Pasco, fielded a number of minor league teams in the Northwest League and its predecessor, the Western International League, from 1955 to 1974.
Edward Jones "Bud" Riley Jr. was an American college football coach who served as an assistant coach at the University of Idaho and Oregon State University.
The Wenatchee Chiefs were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Wenatchee, Washington.
The Washington State Cougars baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of Washington State University, located in Pullman, Washington. The Cougars' home venue is Bailey–Brayton Field, first opened 43 years ago for the 1980 season and located on the university's campus.
The Gonzaga Bulldogs baseball team is the varsity intercollegiate baseball program of Gonzaga University, located in Spokane, Washington, United States. The NCAA Division I program has been a member of the West Coast Conference since 1996 and its home venue is Washington Trust Field and Patterson Baseball Complex, opened on Gonzaga's campus in 2007.
The Idaho Vandals baseball team was the varsity intercollegiate baseball team of the University of Idaho, located in Moscow, Idaho.
The Yakima Bears were a minor league baseball team in the northwest United States, located in Yakima, Washington. The Bears competed at the Class A Short Season level as members of the Northwest League from 1990 to 2012. Following the 2012 season, the franchise relocated to Hillsboro, Oregon, and became Hillsboro Hops.
Bengal Field is an outdoor athletic stadium in the northwest United States, located in Lewiston, Idaho. Opened 89 years ago in 1934 as a multi-sport athletic field, it is currently the football stadium for Lewiston High School, formerly located a few blocks to the northwest. The natural grass field runs conventionally north-south, with the main grandstand on the west sideline. The elevation of the field is approximately 860 feet (260 m) above sea level.
The 1975 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1975 NCAA Division I football season. The Vandals were led by second-year head coach Ed Troxel and were members of the Big Sky Conference, then in Division II. They played their home games at the Kibbie Dome, an indoor facility on campus in Moscow, Idaho.
The 1953 Idaho Vandals football team represented the University of Idaho in the 1953 college football season. The Vandals were led by third-year head coach Raymond A. Curfman and were members of the Pacific Coast Conference. Home games were played on campus at Neale Stadium in Moscow, with two games in Boise at old Bronco Stadium at Boise Junior College.
The Gonzaga–Idaho rivalry was the football game between Gonzaga University and the University of Idaho. The respective campuses, in Spokane, Washington, and Moscow, Idaho, are approximately ninety miles (145 km) apart.
The Northern Pacific Conference (Nor-Pac) was formed for baseball for the 1975 season and comprised the NCAA programs in the Northwest not in the Pacific-8 Conference. The Big Sky Conference had dropped sponsorship of the sport after the 1974 season, and its three remaining baseball programs joined Portland State, Portland, Seattle U., and Puget Sound. An eighth team, Eastern Washington, was added after the 1979 season.