The Pacific Coast League by Ked Stadler

The Pacific Coast League by Ked Stadler

Without a doubt the Pacific Coast League was the most important sports activity on the West Coast. From its inception in 1903 to its glorious climax it mirrored all the excitement and glory and thrills that is baseball. But all this was especially true during the ’40s and ’50s — years rich in the fame and victory of being the leading minor league in the nation.

Come, now, and recall these great times. Re-live the soaring days of baseball, and share One Man’s Memories of this exciting time, the years 1938 to 1957, the GREAT YEARS OF THE PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE.

There have been baseball fans, and there have been baseball fanatics. But Mr. Stadler’s richly drawn memories and extensive added research have put him in a class of his own. Of the many hundreds of books on the sport that have come down the pike, this one takes a uniquely different approach. Not an expert addressing the fan as an “authority,” Mr. Stadler instead tells his story as a fan speaking to the player. Never has there been a book that gives the baseball pro a perspective of his own game through the eyes of the fan. Never… until now.

As a result, here is a book that gives an added insight to how the folks in the stands really saw the game. A book that re-lives the soaring days of MINOR LEAGUE BASEBALL. It was a special time, a game played under special conditions. A time that saw baseball’s greatest players, past, present and future. Players who set records that may never be topped. The career players who spent their entire lives in the league. The big-league stars who closed their playing years in the minors, and the youngsters on their way up, giving their all to make a name and impression for themselves.

But this is a book of more than just the facts and statistics. These are the people, the stories, the flavor and most important the ATMOSPHERE OF EXCITEMENT that was the heart of the Pacific Coast League. Some of it may be trivia, but it is never trivial. These are the stories that are the very soul of baseball, told from the perspective of a man who considers it a priviledge to have lived in PCL territory — a league that could not be topped, during a time when it came to the very brink of major league status.

The author recounts incidents he witnessed at the stadiums and playing fields, events he lived via radio, the friendships he made. As much as re-living the past for baseball afficionados, his stories will warm the spirits of readers who come to know Ken himself, and to share his love of the totality of this great sport.

If baseball is your game … if memorabilia-in-words is your coin … if humor and trivia and a folksy manner is to your taste… then you’ll adore Ken’s work on the Hollywood Stars and the heydays of the PCL before the majors came out West. One Man’s Memories will awaken your own long-forgotten recollections of the days of hand-kept scoreboards and gloves tossed on the edge of the outfield grass.

If you care at all about the highlight days of the Pacific Coast League, about the fans, the players, the anecdotes… and most of all the excitement and soaring times of the game of baseball, then this is a book you simply must read. It’s all here, a magnificent, one-of-a-kind compilation that brings across the richness of the times, the games, the players.. .remembering…

Click on photo to see full Image.