Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Keizertimes. (Salem, Or.) 1979-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 12, 2021)
PAGE A10, KEIZERTIMES, FEBRUARY 12, 2021 Cain named commissoner of Mavericks League MAVS, continued from Page A12 NWL south division title, despite many hijinks throughout the season — manager Frank Robinson, a longtime minor leaguer, was suspended for the year after punching an umpire. The Mavericks went 50-34 the following year, fi nishing in second place in the newly formatted NWL west division. After the season, Russell hired Lenny Moss to be the team’s general manager — the fi rst female, and fi rst Asian-American, general manager in professional baseball history. In 1975, the Mavericks won their second division title in three seasons. Jim Bouton, an aging knuckleballer who pitched in the majors for nine seasons, made fi ve appearances for the Mavericks and posted a 4-1 record with a 2.20 ERA — Bouton was also the inventor of Big League Chew. However, Portland lost in the championship series to the Eugene Emeralds. At the one championship game that was hosted in Portland, the Mavericks attracted more than 5,000 fans. After winning the division yet again in 1976, the Mavericks had their best season in franchise history in 1977, going 44-22, which was the best record in the league. The Mavericks hosted the Bellingham Mariners in the championship series. The deciding game three of the series was in Portland and had 7,805 fans in attendance — in contrast to the 575 fans who were on hand to witness game one of the series in Bellingham. The Mavericks lost the game 4-2 in their last ever contest at Civic Stadium. While the Beavers struggled mightily with attendance numbers in the early ‘70s, that was never an issue for the Mavericks. In three of their fi ve seasons in Portland, the Mavericks attracted more than 100,000 fans. The 125,300 fans that came to watch the Mavericks over 33 games in 1977 is still an attendance record for the short-season Single-A level. When the Pacifi c Coast League expanded in 1978, Major League Baseball (MLB) took interest in Portland once agains as a spot for a minor league affi liate. The Portland Beavers rejoined the PCL in 1978 and the Mavericks were shut down after the league paid Russell a total of $206,000 when Russell took the matter to arbitration. Along with Bouton, Larry Colton, Jeff Cox and Dick Rusteck all played in the big leagues either before or after playing with the Mavericks. The Mavericks batboy was Todd Field, who went on to become an Academy Award nominated writer and director. In 2014, Netfl ix produced a documentary called The Battered Bastards of Baseball, which is all about the Mavericks fi ve-year run in the NWL and the infl uence they had on independent baseball in the years to come. SUBSCRIBE A YEAR’S WORTH OF KEIZER NEWS DELIVERED FOR ONLY $35 CALL 503-390-1051 Long-time baseball execu- tive Jack Cain has been named as commissioner of the Mav- ericks Independent Baseball League. Cain has spent over four decades in baseball serving as team owner, senior advisor, general manager and league president. 1981 marked Cain’s entry in baseball as owner of the Bend Phillies.The team be- came the Bend Bucks in 1987 and eventually the Bend Rock- ies in 1992, a name they held until the franchise moved and became the Portland Rockies in 1995. Cain had phenomenal suc- cess in Portland drawing nearly a quarter-million fans in each of his fi rst two seasons in the Rose City and set an all-time attendance record for Class A short season baseball. Success was not limited to the gate as his teams won the Northwest League Championship in 1997 and division Championship in 1999. For his efforts, Cain was named Northwest League Ex- ecutive of the Year on three different occasions and was elected as Northwest League President, a position he held from 1985-1990. Cain’s success in Portland was the catapult for Triple-A baseball’s return to Portland that ultimately led to ending Cain’s ownership tenure. The Triple-A Portland Beavers were quick to add Cain as their senior advisor and special assis- tant and he twice served as the interim general manager for the Beavers. In addition, Cain won the prestigious Bob Freitas Award in 1999 for operational excel- lence and Sporting News’ Ex- ecutive of the Year honors in 1995. In 2002, Cain and his wife, Mary, were honored by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and the Portland Rose Festival for their exem- plary dedication and commit- ment to children, family and community. Cain has always been an active part of the community, Cain having served on the boards of Portland Youth for Christ, Sal- vation Army, Portland Rotary and on the Executive Board of the Old Timers Baseball Asso- ciation of Portland. Many area sports fans know him best for his work on the local gridirons, where he was a high school football offi cial for over 30 years. “I’ve known Jack since my entry into baseball back in 1989 and a fi ner gentleman would be hard to fi nd. He has earned the respect of many in the game and his vast network of relationships he has built over the years will help jump- start the Mavericks League,” said long-time Salem-Keizer Volcanoes team owner Jerry Walker. “We couldn’t be happi- er to have Jack as the fi rst Mav- ericks League Commissioner.” puzzle answers M emorial C enters ◆ C remation & B urial Simplicity - Convenience - Low Cost simple cremation simple direct burial church funeral ◆ $795 ◆ $995 ◆ Sam Goesch Ins Agcy Inc Sam Goesch CLU, Agent 3975 River Road North Keizer, OR 97303 Bus: 503-393-6252 $2965 State Farm , Bloomington, IL 1211999 Salem Portland Eastside 275 Lancaster Dr. SE Salem, OR 97317 832 NE Broadway Portland, OR 97232 1433 SE 122nd Ave. Portland, OR 97233 (503) 581-6265 (503) 783-3393 (503) 783-6865 Tualatin Tigard Milwaukie 8970 SW Tualatin Sherwood Rd. Tualatin, OR 97062 12995 SW Pacifi c Hwy Tigard, OR 97223 16475 SE McLoughlin Blvd. Milwaukie, OR 97267 (503) 783-6869 (503) 653-7076 BRIAN & APRIL McVAY 503.510.6827 - Call or Text anytime As lifelong residents, we are your (503) 885 -7800 Keizer neighbor. We know this market and we are here to help! Enjoying real estate since 1998 “Easy Online Arrangements” CrownCremationBurial.com 3975 River Rd N • Suite 3 • Keizer Oregon Licensed Real Estate Brokers WorshipDirectory These Salem-Keizer houses of worship invite you to visit. Call to list your church in our Worship Directory: (503) 390-1051 www.KeizerChristian.org
