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29-613: The Bremerton Bluejackets teams hosted home minor league games at Roosevelt Field, which was torn down in 1992. In 1946, the Spokane Indians team was involved in a tragic accident while traveling to play a game in Bremerton at Roosevelt Field. In 1946, the Bluejackets were the first minor league baseball team in Bremerton, Washington, playing the season as members of the eight-team Class B level Northwestern League , as

58-527: A record of 60-89 losses, placing eighth in the final standings. Alan Strange served as manager, as the Bluejackets finished 38.5 games behind the first place Yakima Bears . John Marshall led the league with 22 wins. The Bluejackets did not return to play in the 1950 Western International league. The 1950 Tri-City Braves franchise replaced Bremerton in league play. Bremerton has not hosted another minor league team. The Bremerton Bluejackets hosted home minor league games at Roosevelt Field. The 4,500 seat ballpark

87-477: A record of 95–62. Alan Strange returned as manager, as Bremerton finished the season 2.5 games behind the first place Spokane Indians in the final standings. Bremerton pitcher Lloyd Hittle led the league with both a 2.29 ERA and 201 strikeouts. In 1948, Hub Kittle was completing his third season pitching for Bremerton, while also serving as a coach. The Western International League then ruled that players could not serve as coaches on league teams. Instead of taking

116-483: A severe head wound, player Ben Geraghty was able to navigate the mountainside to reach the road and signal for help. The injured survivors included players Pete Barisoff, Gus Hallbourg, Dick Powers, Irv Konopka, Levi McCormack, and the bus driver Glen Berg. Continuing play in 1947, The Bremerton Bluejackets ended the Western International League season with a record of 86–68, placing third in

145-761: 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. From 1958 through 1982, excluding 1972, the Indians were in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League (PCL). They were members of the Class A Short Season Northwest League from 1955 to 1956, in 1972, and from 1983 to 2020. The NWL operated as

174-960: The High-A West in 2021 and was elevated to the High-A level. They have won 12 league titles: four in the PCL and nine in the NWL. The Spokane region has over a century of history in Minor League Baseball, dating back to the 1890s. Spokane's minor league history dates to 1890, when it fielded a team in the Pacific Northwest League . The Spokane Club won the Northwest League pennant in its first season, overcoming teams from Portland, Seattle, and Tacoma, among others. The nickname Indians dates to 1903, when Spokane joined

203-602: The Pacific National League , a predecessor to the Pacific Coast League and, at Class A , an elite minor league of the period, equivalent to Triple-A today. The Indians lasted only two seasons at that higher level before dropping to the Class B Northwestern League , which folded during World War I. In 1937, Spokane became a charter member of the Class B Western International League (WIL),

232-517: The 1946 season with a record of 73–63, as Sam Gibson served as manager. Bremerton finished 12.0 games behind the first place Wenatchee Chiefs in the final standings. Warren Barisoff of Bremerton led the league with both 40 home runs and 155 RBI, while Bremerton pitcher Clarence Federmeyer led the league with 21 wins. On June 24, 1946, the Spokane Indians team was involved in a tragic accident en route to play at Bremerton. The Spokane team bus

261-604: The 1946 team, future major league infielder Jack "Lucky" Lohrke , missed the tragedy because his contract was sold to the PCL San Diego Padres on June 24 and he departed the ill-fated bus during a late lunch stop in Ellensburg , not long before the accident, thus helping to earn his nickname. (Lohrke had previously averted tragedy when he was bumped from a military transport plane which later crashed.) Two Indians' pitchers, Milt Cadinha and Joe Faria, were making

290-763: The End of the Ninth , which is based on the true story of the 1946 bus crash and its aftermath. When the Los Angeles Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to the west coast in 1958 , they moved their PCL affiliate, the Los Angeles Angels , north to Spokane. While with the Dodgers for 14 seasons, the Indians won league titles in 1960 and 1970, and were runners-up in 1963, 1967, and 1968. The 1970 Indians, managed by Tommy Lasorda , won 94 of 146 games (.644) in

319-616: The Indians were organized into the High-A West along with five other teams previously of the Northwest League. They qualified for the playoffs by finishing with a second-place 67–49 record, but they were defeated by the Eugene Emeralds , 3–1, in the best-of-five championship series. The franchise was recognized with the Minor League Baseball Organization of the Year Award . The High-A West

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348-522: The Northwest League for its first two seasons in 1955 and 1956, returned to the NWL in 1972 as a Dodger affiliate, but only for one season, as a new PCL franchise arrived in 1973 from Portland , becoming the affiliate of the Texas Rangers . The 1973 team, which included Bill Madlock and Lenny Randle , won the west division by eleven games and swept Tucson in three games in the championship series. The following year's club successfully defended

377-651: The WIL Indians were victims of the worst transit accident in the history of American professional sport. On June 24, the team was on its way west to Bremerton by bus to play the Bluejackets. While crossing the Cascade Mountains on a rain-slickened Snoqualmie Pass Highway (then U.S. Route 10 ), the bus driver swerved to avoid an oncoming car. The Indians' vehicle veered off the road and down an embankment, then crashed and burst into flames. Nine men died—six of them instantly—and seven were injured. Many of

406-479: The championship series in six games. Soon after that season, the team moved south to Las Vegas and became the Stars . The team's general manager was Larry Koentopp , former head coach and athletic director at Gonzaga . He was the leader of a local ownership group that purchased the team after the 1978 season. The team was purchased for $ 259,000 in 1978 and was sold in 1993 for $ 6.1 million. A new NWL franchise

435-562: The east division, then beat league-leading Vancouver on the road in games four and five of the championship series to win the title. In 2008, the Indians captured their eighth league title with a thrilling four-game series victory over the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes . After dropping the first game, Spokane rallied to an 11–10 win in 10 innings to even the series. In game three, the Indians fell behind 10–2 before rallying for nine unanswered runs to win again 11–10. Spokane won

464-405: The final standings. Alan Strange served as manager, his first of three seasons leading the club. The Bluejackets finished just 1.0 game behind the first place Vancouver Capilanos in the standings. Pitcher Joe Sullivan of the Bluejackets led the league with a 2.68 ERA. The Bremerton Bluejackets placed second in the 1948 eight-team Western International League. Bremerton ended the 1948 season with

493-584: The injured had burn injuries. The dead were catcher/manager Mel Cole (age 32), pitchers Bob Kinnaman (28) and George Lyden (23), catcher Chris Hartje (31), infielders Fred Martinez (24), Vic Picetti (18) and George Risk (25), and outfielders Bob James (25) and Bob Paterson (23). Despite a severe head wound, infielder Ben Geraghty was able to struggle back up the mountainside to signal for help. Injured survivors also included pitchers Pete Barisoff, Gus Hallbourg and Dick Powers, catcher Irv Konopka, outfielder Levi McCormack, and bus driver Glen Berg. One player from

522-499: The league resumed play following World War II . The Salem Senators , Spokane Indians , Tacoma Tigers , Vancouver Capilanos , Victoria Athletics , Wenatchee Chiefs and Yakima Stars teams joined Bremerton in beginning league play on April 26, 1946. In their first season of play, the Bremerton Bluejackets placed third in Western International League standings, as the league held no playoffs. The Bluejackets ended

551-402: The predecessor of the Northwest League. They played at Ferris Field from 1937 through 1942 and 1946 until folding during the 1954 season on June 21. Spokane was a charter member of the Northwest League, which debuted in 1955 as a Class B league. These Indians also played at Ferris Field, but folded after just two seasons, and the city went without minor league baseball in 1957. In 1946,

580-549: The regular season to win the northern division by 26 games, then swept the Hawaii Islanders in four games in the PCL playoffs. The team included Bill Buckner , Steve Garvey , Bobby Valentine (PCL MVP), Tom Paciorek , Davey Lopes , Bill Russell , and Doyle Alexander . Following the 1971 season, the club was moved south to New Mexico and became the Albuquerque Dukes . Spokane, which had been in

609-452: The resulting $ 50.00 pay cut, Kittle returned to running his restaurant "Hub Kittle's Chili Parlor" in Yakima, Washington. Once there, the Yakima club owners, who frequented his restaurant, arranged for a trade from Bremerton. In their final season of play, Bremerton finished in last place in the Western International League standings. The Bremerton Bluejackets of the ended the 1949 season with

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638-1090: The team about officially supporting the team. In the process, the tribe gave permission to the team to adopt subtle and tasteful imagery, in order to pay homage to the team's history and new connection with the tribe. The cooperation included the creation of a secondary logo written in Salish , the traditional language of the Spokane. Pitchers Catchers Infielders Outfielders Manager Coaches 60-day injured list [REDACTED] 7-day injured list * On Colorado Rockies 40-man roster ~ Development list # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporarily inactive list Roster updated September 1, 2024 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB  •  Northwest League → Colorado Rockies minor league players Baseball Hall of Fame alumni Notable alumni Olympic College Too Many Requests If you report this error to

667-534: The title with a 6–5 victory in 10 innings in the fourth game. The Indians were featured in the "Spokane Alphabet" reverse glass painting by Washington artist Melinda Curtin. They were the "I" in the alphabet, cementing their place as an important part of the city of Spokane. Following the 1985 season, the team was bought by the Brett brothers (John, Ken , Bobby, and George ). In conjunction with Major League Baseball 's restructuring of Minor League Baseball in 2021,

696-586: The title with another three-game sweep, this time over Albuquerque. The Indians' second stint in Triple-A lasted ten seasons and included affiliations with the Rangers, which changed to the Milwaukee Brewers in 1976, Seattle Mariners in 1979, and California Angels in 1982. Taking their first division crown since 1974, the Indians defeated Tacoma in the first round, but fell to Albuquerque in

725-506: The trip to Bremerton by automobile and were not aboard the team bus when it crashed. The Indians, relying on players loaned from other teams, managed to finish the season and placed seventh in the league. A special charity, the Spokane Baseball Benefit Association, donated $ 114,800 to the injured survivors and dependents of the nine players who died. Beth Bollinger of Spokane wrote a novel titled Until

754-415: Was awarded to Spokane for the 1983 season and the Indians have won eight league titles; the first four were consecutive, from 1987 through 1990. The Indians won their seventh NWL championship in 2005, despite a 37–39 (.487) record during the regular season. They became only the second team in league history (after the 1982 Salem Angels ) to win the championship with a losing regular season record. Spokane won

783-533: Was located at Warren Avenue & 16th Street. The ballpark was demolished in 1992, after the property was sold to Olympic College . Today, the ballpark site is a parking lot. Spokane Indians 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

812-543: Was rebranded back to the Northwest League in March 2022, as MLB moved to revert all of its Minor Leagues to their historical names. The team's colors are red, navy blue, light blue, and beige. In the 2006 offseason, the Indians began a process to redesign their logo and uniforms. As per tradition , they began by avoiding the use of any American Indian imagery; however, early in the process, the Spokane Nation contacted

841-621: Was traveling west toward Bremerton, Washington. While the bus was crossing the Cascade Mountains on the wet Snoqualmie Pass Highway (then U.S. Route 10 ), the bus driver swerved to avoid an oncoming car. The Indians' bus veered off the road, down an embankment, crashing and catching fire. Nine people were killed in the accident. Six were killed instantly, three died later and seven were injured. The dead were catcher/manager Mel Cole (age 32), players Bob Kinnaman (28), George Lyden (23), Chris Hartje (31), Fred Martinez (24), Vic Picetti (18), George Risk (25), Bob James (25) and Bob Paterson (23). With

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