1920 Vernon Tigers season
| 1920 Vernon Tigers | |
|---|---|
| League | Pacific Coast League |
| Ballpark | Maier Park, Washington Park |
| City | Vernon, California |
| Record | 110–88 |
| League place | 1st |
| Owners | E. R. Maier |
| Managers | Bill Essick |
The 1920 Vernon Tigers season was the 12th season in the history of the Vernon Tigers baseball team. Playing in the Pacific Coast League (PCL), the team compiled a 110–88 record and won the PCL pennant.[1] Vernon compiled the best record in the PCL for a third consecutive seasons under manager Bill Essick.
The Tigers' championship was marred by revelations during the 1920 season of a gambling scandal involving first baseman Babe Borton. Borton admitted paying money during the 1919 pennant race to three players on the Salt Lake City Bees to throw games against the Tigers. Borton claimed that bribes had also been paid by a teammate to Portland and Seattle players, that the bribes were paid out of a pool of money funded by numerous teammates, and that the bribes were instigated by Vernor manager Bill Essick. Borton was released by the Tigers in August 1920 and never again played professional baseball.[2][3][4] Borton was charged by a Los Angeles grand jury in December 1920 with criminal conspiracy for his role in the bribery scandal.[5]
1920 PCL standings[edit]
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vernon Tigers | 110 | 88 | .556 | -- |
| Seattle Rainiers | 102 | 91 | .528 | 5.5 |
| San Francisco Seals | 103 | 96 | .518 | 7.5 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 101 | 95 | .515 | 8.0 |
| Salt Lake City Bees | 95 | 92 | .508 | 9.5 |
| Oakland Oaks | 95 | 103 | .480 | 15.0 |
| Sacramento Senators | 89 | 109 | .449 | 21.0 |
| Portland Beavers | 81 | 102 | .443 | 21.5 |
Statistics[edit]
Batting[edit]
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; SLG = Slugging percentage
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | SLG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | Babe Borton | 123 | 439 | 143 | .326 | 10 | .487 |
| 2B | Bob Fisher | 190 | 787 | 244 | .310 | 2 | .395 |
| 3B | Red Smith | 186 | 616 | 180 | .292 | 1 | .351 |
| LF | Hugh High | 177 | 664 | 191 | .288 | 4 | .373 |
| CF | Chet Chadbourne | 195 | 775 | 222 | .286 | 3 | .379 |
| LF | Scotty Alcock | 74 | 149 | 42 | .282 | 0 | .336 |
| RF | Tom Long | 124 | 392 | 107 | .273 | 0 | .347 |
| 1B | Stump Edington | 124 | 394 | 107 | .272 | 3 | .343 |
| SS | Johnny Mitchell | 196 | 790 | 213 | .270 | 1 | .358 |
| 1B | Art Mueller | 45 | 161 | 40 | .248 | 0 | .323 |
| C | Al DeVormer | 159 | 550 | 133 | .242 | 3 | .311 |
| RF | Harry Morse | 68 | 196 | 45 | .230 | 0 | .281 |
| P | Wheezer Dell | 55 | 135 | 30 | .222 | 0 | .237 |
Pitching[edit]
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; PCT = Win percentage; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | PCT | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wheezer Dell | 54 | 370.0 | 27 | 15 | .643 | 2.99 | |
| Willie Mitchell | 52 | 348.1 | 25 | 13 | .658 | 2.38 | |
| Frank Shellenback | 47 | 298.2 | 18 | 12 | .600 | 2.71 | |
| Bill Piercy | 41 | 243.2 | 10 | 17 | .370 | 2.62 | |
| Byron Houck | 45 | 278.0 | 19 | 16 | .543 | 3.88 | |
| Walt Smallwood | 43 | 164.2 | 10 | 10 | .500 | 3.94 | |
| Art Fromme | 21 | 107.2 | 6 | 8 | .429 | 2.67 |
References[edit]
- ^ Ed O'Malley (October 18, 1920). "Curtain Lowered on Coast League Season with Vernon Five and One-Half Games in Lead". Los Angeles Times. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Josh Jackson (January 6, 2020). "Truth about Tigers emerges in pennant race: Grand jury exposes Borton's misdeeds, mars Vernon's 1919 title". Minor League Baseball. Retrieved February 20, 2020.
- ^ "Babe Borton Is Released". Los Angeles Times. August 11, 1920. pp. III-1, III-3 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Claim Borton Was "Tool"". Los Angeles Times. August 12, 1920. pp. III-1, III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Grand Jury Indicts Trio of Coast Ball Players". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1920. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Suds Lick Seals Twice; Finish In 2d Place". Los Angeles Express. October 18, 1920. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Standing of Clubs". Los Angeles Times. October 18, 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "1920 Vernon Tigers". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 16, 2020.
Further reading[edit]
- "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011