The Missoula Timberjacks represented

Missoula, Montana Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot and Blackfoot rivers in western Montana and at the convergence of five ...

, in the Class C level Pioneer League from 1956 to 1960. Previously, Missoula played as members of the Montana State League (1892, 1905, 1925) and

Union Association The Union Association was an American professional baseball league which competed with Major League Baseball, lasting for just the 1884 season. St. Louis won the pennant and joined the National League the following season. Seven of the twelv ...

(1911–1913). Their best season was 1958 when they went 70–59 under manager

Jack McKeon John Aloysius McKeon (; born November 23, 1930), nicknamed "Trader Jack," is an American former manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball (MLB). In , at age 72, he won a World Series as manager of the Florida Marlins. Two ful ...

and had

Jim Kaat James Lee Kaat (; born November 7, 1938), nicknamed "Kitty", is an American former professional baseball player and television sports commentator. A left-handed pitcher, he played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Senators / Minnes ...

on the roster. The Missoula Timberjacks were an affiliate of the Washington Senators (1957–1959) and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

(1960).

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

members

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955, ), nicknamed "the Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Re ...

and Jim Kaat played for Missoula.

History

The Timberjacks were preceded by Missoula teams in the Montana State League (1892, 1905, 1925) and Union Association (1911–1913). Missoula first began minor league play as charter members of the 1892 Montana State League. The 1892 Montana State League was six–team Class B league. The league played a split season. The Bozeman and Great Falls franchises disbanded on July 23, 1892, after the conclusion of the first half. The overall standings were

Helena Helena may refer to: People *Helena (given name), a given name (including a list of people and characters with the name) *Katri Helena (born 1945), Finnish singer * Saint Helena (disambiguation), this includes places Places Greece * Helena ...

(29–21),

Butte In geomorphology, a butte ( ) is an isolated hill with steep, often vertical sides and a small, relatively flat top; buttes are smaller landforms than mesas, plateaus, and table (landform), tablelands. The word ''butte'' comes from the French l ...

(26–22), Missoula (18–29) and Philipsburg (22–23). Bozeman had a record of 10–8 and the Great Falls Smelter Cities 6–10 when they folded. Butte won the first half championship and Missoula won the second half title. Butte won the overall championship. Helena allegedly forfeited over complaints regarding money and umpiring.

member

played for Missoula in 1892. It was reported Griffith pitched so well in one game that Missoula fans showered him with gold coins after the game. Griffith later bought property and built a home in Montana.The league did not return to play in 1893. The Montana State League played a season in 1905. Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula composed the league. No league standings or records are available. Missoula captured the Union Association championship in 1912. In 1925, the Montana State League played a final season as a four–team Independent minor league. Butte, Great Falls, Helena and Missoula played in the league, which has no official results. The Timberjacks resumed play as members of the 1956 Class C Pioneer League. Country singer

Charley Pride Charley Frank Pride (March 18, 1934 – December 12, 2020) was an American Country music, country singer. Beginning his career as a Negro league baseball player in the early-1950s, he later pursued a career in country music, becoming the gen ...

played for the Timberjacks briefly in 1960. Today, Missoula continues to host minor league baseball as home to the

Missoula PaddleHeads The Missoula PaddleHeads are an independent baseball team of the Pioneer League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball (MLB) but is an MLB Partner League. They are located in Missoula, Montana, and play their home games at Ogren Pa ...

, members of the Rookie level Pioneer League.

The ballpark

The Timberjacks played at Campbell Field for the duration of their existence. Built in 1947, the original ballpark burned in 1969 and was rebuilt. Campbell Field is still in use today on the campus of the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana, United States. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. Fall 2024 saw total enrollment hit 10,811, marki ...

Timeline

Year-by-year records

Notable alumni

(1892) Inducted

, 1946 *

(1958) Inducted Baseball Hall of Fame, 2022 *

Cliff Blankenship Clifford Douglas Blankenship (April 10, 1880 – April 26, 1956) was an American professional baseball player. He played his first game on April 17, 1905. He played his 95th and final game on August 18, 1909. His batting average was .225. In 190 ...

(1912–1913, MGR) *

Pat Bohen Leo Ignatius Bohen (September 30, 1890 – April 8, 1942) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher. He started one game for the Philadelphia Athletics during the season and made one relief appearance for the Pittsburgh Pirates The Pit ...

(1913) *

Bullet Joe Bush Leslie Ambrose "Bullet Joe" Bush (November 27, 1892 – November 1, 1974) was an American Major League Baseball pitcher with the Philadelphia Athletics, Boston Red Sox, New York Yankees, St. Louis Browns, Washington Senators, Pittsburgh Pirate ...

(1912) *

Bobby Cargo Robert J. Cargo (October 1, 1868 – April 27, 1904) was an American former professional baseball shortstop who played two games for the 1892 Pittsburgh Pirates. He remained active in the minor leagues through 1903. He died of pneumonia in 1904, ...

(1892) *

Ed Cartwright Edward Charles "Jumbo" Cartwright (October 6, 1859 – September 3, 1933) was an American professional first baseman in Major League Baseball in 1890 and from 1894 to 1897. He played for the St. Louis Browns of the American Association (19th ce ...

(1892, MGR) * Lem Cross (1892) *

Bert Cueto Dagoberto Cueto Concepción (August 14, 1937 – October 25, 2011) was a Cuban-born professional baseball player. The native of San Luis, Pinar del Río, was a right-handed pitcher whose nine-year career included seven games pitched in Major Lea ...

(1958) *

Rex Dawson Rexford Paul Dawson (born February 10, 1888 – October 20, 1958) was a Major League Baseball pitcher for the Washington Senators. He played his only major league game on October 3, 1913. He was born in Mount Vernon, Washington Mount Verno ...

(1913) *

Larry Foss Larry Curtis Foss (April 18, 1936 – June 15, 2019) was an American professional baseball player and right-handed pitcher who appeared in eight games in Major League Baseball as a member of the 1961 Pittsburgh Pirates and the 1962 New York Mets ...

(1957) *

Gus Gil Tomás Gustavo Gil Guillén (April 19, 1939 – December 8, 2015) was a Venezuelan professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman for the Cleveland Indians (1967) and Seattle Pilots / Milwaukee Brewers (19 ...

(1960) * Bill Goodenough (1892) *

Chuck Lauer John Charles Lauer (April 5, 1865 – May 4, 1915), was a Major League Baseball player who played outfield The outfield, in cricket, baseball and softball is the area of the field of play further from the batsman or batter than the infield ...

(1892) *

Sheldon Lejeune Sheldon Adalbert "Larry" LeJeune (July 22, 1885–April 21, 1952) was a Major League Baseball outfielder who played parts of two seasons in the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an ...

(1905) * Hap Morse (1913) *

(1956–1958, MGR) Manager: 2003 World Series Champion –

Florida Marlins The Miami Marlins are an American professional baseball team based in Miami. The Marlins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. The team plays its home games at LoanDepot Park. The ...

* George McVey (1892, MGR) *

Minnie Mendoza Cristobal Rigoberto Mendoza Carreras (December 3, 1934 – September 9, 2024), better known as Minnie Mendoza, was a Cuban-American Major League Baseball infielder and coach who played for the Minnesota Twins during the 1970 MLB season. Biogr ...

(1958–1959) * Ollie O'Mara (1911) *

Nig Perrine John Grover "Nig" Perrine (January 14, 1885 – August 13, 1948) was an American professional baseball infielder. Perrine started his professional baseball career in 1902, at the age of 17. In 1906, he batted .308 in the American Associati ...

(1912), (1913, MGR) *

(1960) *

Skipper Roberts Skipper Roberts is a doll created by Mattel in 1964 to be Barbie's young sister. Since 2009, she has a purple streak in her hair and is shown to have a tech-savvy and clever personality. Compared to her sisters, Skipper is shy and quiet, but also ...

(1912–1913) * Phil Routcliffe (1892) *

César Tovar César Leonardo Tovar (July 3, 1940 – July 14, 1994), nicknamed "Pepito" and "Mr. Versatility", was a Venezuelan professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from to , most notably as the leadoff hitter fo ...

(1960) * Harry Trekell (1913) * Art Twineham (1892) * Sandy Valdespino (1958, 1960) *

Jay Ward Joseph Ward Cohen Jr. (September 20, 1920 – October 12, 1989), also known as Jay Ward, was an American creator and producer of animated TV cartoon shows. He produced animated series based on such characters as Crusader Rabbit, Rocky & Bu ...

(1958) * George Whiteman (1911) * Carl Zamloch (1912) *

Missoula (minor league baseball) players Missoula ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Missoula County, Montana, Missoula County, Montana, United States. It is located along the Clark Fork River near its confluence with the Bitterroot River, Bitterroot and Blackfoot River (Montana), ...

* Missoula Timberjacks players

References

{{reflist

External links

Missoula - Baseball Reference
Baseball teams established in 1956 Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 1960 Defunct Pioneer League (baseball) teams Defunct minor league baseball teams Professional baseball teams in Montana Sports in Missoula, Montana 1956 establishments in Montana 1960 disestablishments in Montana Cincinnati Reds minor league affiliates Washington Senators (1901–1960) minor league affiliates Defunct sports clubs and teams in Montana Defunct baseball teams in Montana Baseball teams disestablished in 1960