The Bend Phillies were a

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nort ...

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

team located in

Bend, Oregon Bend is a city in central Oregon and the county seat of Deschutes County, Oregon, Deschutes County, Oregon, United States. It is located to the east of the Cascade Range, on the Deschutes River. The site became known by pioneers as a ford (cros ...

. The Phillies were members of the

Class A Short Season Class A Short Season (officially Short-Season A) was a level of play in Minor League Baseball in the United States from 1965 through 2020. In the hierarchy of minor league classifications, it was below Triple-A, Double-A, Class A-Advanced (crea ...

Northwest League 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 Baseba ...

from 1979 to 1986. Prior to 1981 the team was named the Central Oregon Phillies.

History

Professional baseball returned to Bend with the expansion of the Northwest League in 1978. The franchise was named the Timber Hawks and affiliated with the

Oakland Athletics The Oakland Athletics (frequently referred to as the Oakland A's) were an American Major League Baseball (MLB) team based in Oakland, California from 1968 to 2024. The Athletics were a member club of the American League (AL) American League We ...

. Timber Hawks owner Doug Emmans relocated the Timber Hawks south to Medford following the 1978. Upon relocating the club became the Medford Athletics as they continued their relationship with

Oakland Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major West Coast port, Oakland is ...

. Bend would not be without baseball long as Gene Davis obtained the rights for a new franchise. The club signed a player development contract with the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

and adopted their parent club's nickname paired with a regional moniker to be known as the Central Oregon Phillies. The Phillies had a banner year in their inaugural season. The team posted a league best record 43-28 en route to a south division title. Central Oregon defeated north division winner Walla Walla in the league championship series 2-1 to claim the Northwest League crown. After the 1980 season Gene Davis sold the franchise to Portland businessman Jack Cain. In addition the sale, the club changed its name from Central Oregon to Bend. Jack Cain eventually became the president of the Northwest League and in an effort to avoid a conflict of interest he transferred ownership to his wife, Mary. In 1985 owner Jack Cain had contemplated changing the nickname to "Beavers", but ultimately decided against the switch. The Phillies were unable to match the success of their first campaign of 1979. Following the 1986 season the Philadelphia Phillies ended their affiliation with the club. The decision was largely a result of Philadelphia's desire to move its minor league teams closer to the East Coast. Like Bend, the Phillies severed ties with their Triple-A affiliate

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

of the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

. Professional baseball remained in Bend with the Bend Bucks beginning play as an independent team 1987 before securing a player development contract with the

California Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West Division. Since 1966, the team has pl ...

Ballpark

The Phillies played at Vince Genna Stadium located in Bend, Oregon.

Season-by-season record

Former players

Central Oregon Phillies players Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

(1979–1980)
Bend Phillies players (1981–1986)

References

External links

Stats Crew
Central Oregon Phillies {{coord, 46.077, -118.336, type:event, display=title Defunct Northwest League teams Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates Defunct baseball teams in Oregon Professional baseball teams in Oregon Sports in Bend, Oregon 1979 establishments in Oregon 1986 disestablishments in Oregon Baseball teams disestablished in 1986 Baseball teams established in 1979