User:Halvorsen brian/St. Johns Apostles

The St. Johns Base Ball Club, commonly referred to as the St. Johns Apostles, were a semi-professional baseball team who represented St. Johns, Portland, Oregon. The team was founded in February 1907. The club's first manager was Charley Moore, who would later go on to be a Major League Baseball infielder. St. Johns played in the Tri-City League, which was a semi-pro circuit composed of teams form the Willamette Valley, Northern Oregon Coast, and Southwest Washington. Pascal Hill, a resident of St. Johns, donated his own land and resources to build the Apostles a baseball field complete with a grandstand and bleachers.

Establishment
The St. Johns Base Ball Club was formed in February 1907 by residents of St. Johns, a neighborhood of the north side of Portland, Oregon. On February 22, the club elected Frank Goodall as vice president; R. D. Jackson as secretary; and Charles Bredson, L. Richards, and Fred W. Valentine as directors. A week later, Valentine was elected the president of the team. D. C. Rodgers was voted treasurer.

On March 4, 1907 the team was admitted to the Portland City League, an amateur baseball circuit featuring teams from the Portland area. However, on March 15, it was announced that St. Johns would join the newly formed Tri-City League which would feature a team from Portland and a team from Woodburn, Oregon. The Tri-City League, which was classified as a semi-professional circuit, doubled the number of teams to six before the start of the season.

Charley Moore, who would later go on to be a Major League Baseball infielder, was slated to pitch the first match for the club. He was later named the club's manager. A call for all local players who wanted to try-out for the team was issued on March 15. Those who wanted to compete for a spot of St. Johns' roster were to report to the team's vice president, Frank Goodall, at his cigar shop on North Jersey Street. St. Johns' uniforms were white with blue trim with "St. Johns" depicted across the breast and a "S. J." on their sweaters.

April through May: Six wins, one loss
St. Johns' Opening Day was set for March 31, 1907. However, due to rain, the game was postponed to April 14 and later, due to the continuation of rain, to an undetermined date. Finally, it was announced that April 21 would be the team's first game. St. Johns was scheduled to take on a club by the name of Frakes. The teams met at Pascal Hill's Ball Park, where 1,000 people gathered for the game. Frakes won by a score of 13–5. Members of the St. Johns team made nine hits. Ed Rankin, a former local player, was the umpire for the game.

A second game, which would feature St. Johns against the North Pacific Brewers, was scheduled for April 23. St Johns won that game by a score of 7–5. C. Moore of pitched for St Johns and got the win. Eight-hundred people turned out for the game. It was mentioned that many spectators were female. After the game it was announced that two of St Johns players, Parker and Pellen, took offers to play in Idaho.

Eight-hundred spectators filed into Pascal Hill's Ball Park on April 28 to see the local St. Johns team take on the North Pacific Brewery. Charley Moore, St. Johns pitcher struck out five Brewery batters in the Apostles 7–5 victory over the visitors. The Oregonian wrote on May 4, 1907 that St. Johns was "rapidly becoming a baseball town" and that their ball field was "in first class shape". Manager Charley Moore turned down a US$100 (US$0 adjusted for inflation) a month. This prompted St. Johns to raise his salary to US$80 (US$0 adjusted for inflation) a month. The club's fourth game was held on May 5, against the Portland Trunkmakers. St. Johns, who was hosting the game at their ball park, won the game 12–0. The win put St. Johns at second in the league standings.

St Johns played their fifth game against the North Pacific Brewers on May 12, 1907 in front of a crowd of 800 spectators at Pascal Hill's Ball Park. St. Johns won by a score of 4–1. Pascal Hill completed an addition to the St. Johns' grandstand in mid-May. Initially, two games were scheduled for May 18 and 19, however rain foiled plans for a match on the first date. St. Johns did play the second game, where they matched-up with the Brainerd Cubs at Pascal Hill's Ball Park. The crowd was recorded at 375 people. St. Johns defeated the Cubs by a score of 4–1.

On May 26, the Frakes club traveled to St. Johns to take on the Apostles at their home field. During the first inning, Charley Moore hit a home run. Two-thousand fans watched St. Johns beat Frakes, 8–5. An estimated 1,600 spectators turned out at Pascal Hill's Ball Park on May 30, 1907 to see St. John defeat the Frakes club, 8–5. St. Johns pitcher Charley Moore hit two home runs in the game. His brother, first baseman Clark Moore, also hit a home run. The Oregonian wrote that St. Johns fans were of the "rabid", "untamed" and "made more ungodly noise than a German bands" during the game. The St. Johns Review wrote that "every St. Johnite that could yell and dance did both".

June: Two wins, three losses
On June 2, 1907, St. Johns was defeated by the Woodburn Indians, 2–3. Attendance reached a new record of 2,500 thanks to the fact that many fans from Woodburn, Oregon travled to Pascal Hill's Ball Park. The St. Johns Review noted that "it was the most noisy crowd that has yet attended the games". St. Johns played their first game away from their home field on June 9, when the took on the Woodburn Indians at the latter's park. Fifty spectators from St. Johns made the trek to Woodburn. According the The Oregonian a "large sum" of money changed hands during the game as fans from both sides wagered bets with each other. St. Johns lost the contest, 4–3.

The Astoria club traveled to Pascal Hill's Ball Park on June 16 to challenge the St. Johns squad. The home team won he game by a score of 3–0. On June 21, it was announced that manager Charley Moore signed three new players, Hinke, Brown, and Townridge, who were local amateur players. St. Johns' next game was against the previous opponent, Astoria, at their home ball field. St. Johns lost this game by a score of 6–2. Shortly thereafter, manager Charley Moore announced that four St. Johns players, third baseman Porterfield; outfielders Lee and Adams; and shortstop Bignonir, were leaving the team. On June 30, St. Johns went to Kelso, Washington to take on the town's local baseball squad. St. Johns won the game, 5–1.

July
The St. Johns Apostles traveled to Kelso, Washington on July 4 to play the town's ball club. The Apostles won the game, 5–1. On July 6, the Apostles played the Portland Trunkmakers at St. Johns' home field. The St. Johns club then went to Astoria to take on their team. Astoria won the match, 4–3. On July 8, St. Johns played the Portland Trunkmakers at their home field.

Pascal Hill's Baseball Park
The St. Johns Apostles' home field was Pascal Hill's Ball Park, which was on North Fessenden Street in St. Johns. Pascal Hill, a resident of St. Johns, built bleachers and a grandstand on a field he owned and announced that the baseball club would use it as their home field. The construction of the field's amenities were slowed in mid-March, 1907 due to a labor strike of lumber yard workers in the area. The ballpark was running behing schedule, but was completed before the start of the season. The total cost of the ball park came out to around US$500 (US$0 adjusted for inflation). In early-May it was announced that a chalk scoreboard would be erected in the outfield of the ball park. More updates that were aimed at giving the park a more "metropolitan" were scheduled according the the St. Johns Review.

Nicknames
The only official recording of the name of the team is "The St. Johns Base Ball Club". However, local news writer often nicknamed the club in game write-ups in several issues of The Oregonian and the St. Johns Review. Early in the season, The Oregonian dubbed the team the "Giants". The publication soon switched to calling the club the "Apostles".