Seattle Takes the Baseball Pennant by Default
The Portland baseball club collapses mid-season, handing the Pacific Northwest League title to Seattle.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Portland's baseball team has flunked and Seattle has won the pennant of the Pacific Northwest League for the season of 1892, because the Webfooters will not play off for the honor. President Hardy on Monday wired President Hudson at Portland, asking if the team there was ready to play, and yesterday received the answer that he could not keep his team in the field. This failure forfeits Portland's claim on the championship. Reports suggest that John G. Barnes is tampering with the Portland players, intending to take a team barnstorming through California. Since the championship series will not be played, the Seattle team has decided on a benefit game at Madison Street Park next Sunday, featuring league players and local amateur talent.
“The boys deserve a packed grand stand and bleachers and even the boys who usually sit in tree tops... will doubtless gladly pass through the gate.”
Sports rivalries between Seattle and Portland have a long, storied history, often involving as much administrative chaos as athletic competition. This 1892 pennant win by forfeiture highlights how precarious early minor league teams were, often struggling to keep players from jumping to other leagues or exhibition tours.
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