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Hollywood Stars
The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels.
The first incarnation of the Hollywood Stars began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the Pacific Coast League. The team moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1904, where it won the pennant as the Tacoma Tigers. During the 1905 season, the team returned to Sacramento to finish out the season, moved to Fresno in 1906 to finish last as the Fresno Raisin Eaters, then left the PCL altogether. The Sacramento Solons rejoined the PCL in 1909, then moved to San Francisco during the 1914 season, finishing out the season as the San Francisco Missions. The team was sold to Utah businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane and moved to Salt Lake City for the 1915 season. They played as the Salt Lake City Bees for the next 11 seasons until Lane moved the team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Originally they were known as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars.
The original Stars, though supposedly representing Hollywood, actually played their home games as tenants of the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base, playing their home games miles from the glamorous Hollywood district. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. Attendance had been quite good (by standards of that era) during their inaugural year in 1926, but tapered off after that, exacerbated by the Great Depression.
When, after the 1935 season, the Angels doubled the Stars' rent, Lane announced the Stars would move to San Diego for the 1936 season, to become the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons.
The second incarnation of the Hollywood Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1909 as the Vernon Tigers. As the Tigers, the team won two PCL pennants (and finished first in another only to lose the postseason series) before moving to San Francisco for the 1926 season. The transplanted Tigers, now known as the Mission Reds or usually just "the Missions", foundered in San Francisco, failing to establish a rivalry with the existing San Francisco Seals.
In 1938, Missions owner Herbert Fleishaker moved his team back to Los Angeles, and took the name of the departed Hollywood Stars. After one season the team was sold. In early December 1938 the team was purchased by attorney Victor Ford Collins and Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurants. They formed the Hollywood Baseball association and enlisted the financial support and enthusiasm of many stars and community leaders. Celebrities who were stockholders and part-owners of the team included Lloyd Bacon, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, George Raft, Charles Rogers, Raoul Walsh, Roscoe Karns, William LeBaron, Gene Autry (who later became owner of his own major league franchise), George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bing Crosby, Cecil B. DeMille, William Frawley, Gail Patrick (then married to Bob Cobb) and Harry Warner. "No one was permitted to invest any big money", wrote the Los Angeles Times, which described the Hollywood Stars as "a civic thing ... plainly and simply, a Chamber of Commerce activity on the part of a group of people who want their little corner of the world to be better than all other corners."
The club was promoted as "the Hollywood Stars baseball team, owned by the Hollywood stars".
Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area. In January 1939 it was announced that plans were under way to create a $200,000 ballpark seating 12,500 by May 1939. Gilmore Field was opened in the Fairfax District adjacent to Hollywood. (The club played part of the 1939 season in nearby Gilmore Stadium, after having played at Wrigley Field during 1938.)
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Hollywood Stars
The Hollywood Stars were a Minor League Baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League during the early- and mid-20th century. They were the arch-rivals of the other Los Angeles–based PCL team, the Los Angeles Angels.
The first incarnation of the Hollywood Stars began its existence in 1903 as the Sacramento Solons, a charter member of the Pacific Coast League. The team moved to Tacoma, Washington, in 1904, where it won the pennant as the Tacoma Tigers. During the 1905 season, the team returned to Sacramento to finish out the season, moved to Fresno in 1906 to finish last as the Fresno Raisin Eaters, then left the PCL altogether. The Sacramento Solons rejoined the PCL in 1909, then moved to San Francisco during the 1914 season, finishing out the season as the San Francisco Missions. The team was sold to Utah businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane and moved to Salt Lake City for the 1915 season. They played as the Salt Lake City Bees for the next 11 seasons until Lane moved the team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Originally they were known as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars.
The original Stars, though supposedly representing Hollywood, actually played their home games as tenants of the Los Angeles Angels at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base, playing their home games miles from the glamorous Hollywood district. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. Attendance had been quite good (by standards of that era) during their inaugural year in 1926, but tapered off after that, exacerbated by the Great Depression.
When, after the 1935 season, the Angels doubled the Stars' rent, Lane announced the Stars would move to San Diego for the 1936 season, to become the San Diego Padres. Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons.
The second incarnation of the Hollywood Stars joined the Pacific Coast League in 1909 as the Vernon Tigers. As the Tigers, the team won two PCL pennants (and finished first in another only to lose the postseason series) before moving to San Francisco for the 1926 season. The transplanted Tigers, now known as the Mission Reds or usually just "the Missions", foundered in San Francisco, failing to establish a rivalry with the existing San Francisco Seals.
In 1938, Missions owner Herbert Fleishaker moved his team back to Los Angeles, and took the name of the departed Hollywood Stars. After one season the team was sold. In early December 1938 the team was purchased by attorney Victor Ford Collins and Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurants. They formed the Hollywood Baseball association and enlisted the financial support and enthusiasm of many stars and community leaders. Celebrities who were stockholders and part-owners of the team included Lloyd Bacon, Gary Cooper, William Powell, Barbara Stanwyck, Robert Taylor, George Raft, Charles Rogers, Raoul Walsh, Roscoe Karns, William LeBaron, Gene Autry (who later became owner of his own major league franchise), George Burns and Gracie Allen, Bing Crosby, Cecil B. DeMille, William Frawley, Gail Patrick (then married to Bob Cobb) and Harry Warner. "No one was permitted to invest any big money", wrote the Los Angeles Times, which described the Hollywood Stars as "a civic thing ... plainly and simply, a Chamber of Commerce activity on the part of a group of people who want their little corner of the world to be better than all other corners."
The club was promoted as "the Hollywood Stars baseball team, owned by the Hollywood stars".
Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area. In January 1939 it was announced that plans were under way to create a $200,000 ballpark seating 12,500 by May 1939. Gilmore Field was opened in the Fairfax District adjacent to Hollywood. (The club played part of the 1939 season in nearby Gilmore Stadium, after having played at Wrigley Field during 1938.)