Wikipedia

1920 Vernon Tigers season

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.

1920 Vernon Tigers
LeaguePacific Coast League
BallparkMaier Park, Washington Park
CityVernon, California
Record110–88
League place1st
OwnersE. R. Maier
ManagersBill Essick
← 1919

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

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Vernon's pitching ace Wheezer Dell
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

[6][7]

Statistics

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Batting

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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

[8]

Pitching

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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

[8]

References

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  1. ^ 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.
  2. ^ 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.
  3. ^ "Babe Borton Is Released". Los Angeles Times. August 11, 1920. pp. III-1, III-3 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Claim Borton Was "Tool"". Los Angeles Times. August 12, 1920. pp. III-1, III-2 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Grand Jury Indicts Trio of Coast Ball Players". Los Angeles Times. December 11, 1920. p. 13 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Suds Lick Seals Twice; Finish In 2d Place". Los Angeles Express. October 18, 1920. p. 23 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Standing of Clubs". Los Angeles Times. October 18, 1920. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ a b "1920 Vernon Tigers". Baseball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved March 16, 2020.

Further reading

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  • "The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903-1957", by Dennis Snelling (McFarland 2011
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