(Sep. 9, 1931 – May 13, 2015) As a baseball player, Earl Averill, Jr., had plenty of expectations to live up to and he did in three years at the University of Oregon and seven seasons in the Major Leagues. The son of Hall of Famer Earl Averill (inducted in 1975), Earl Jr., hit .439..Read More
(Born September 22, 1959) Wally Backman was an All-State baseball player at Aloha High School. He was a first round draft choice in the 1977 free agent draft, the 16th pick overall. He played 14 years in the major leagues starting with the New York Mets in 1980 and finishing up with the Seattle Mariners..Read More
(Nov. 4, 1922 – Jan. 8, 2022) Eddie Basinski will forever be one of the most beloved players for fans of the Portland Beavers, having spent all or parts of 11 seasons primarily as a second baseman with the club beginning in 1947. In 1950, Basinski played in all 202 of the Beavers’ games and..Read More
(Nov. 12, 1914 – Sep. 15, 2000) Bill Beard grew up in Oregon City, but made most of his sporting impact on the Salem area as an athlete and businessman. Beard played football, basketball and baseball at Willamette University of the Northwest Conference and was selected all-conference in football twice and baseball three times from..Read More
(Mar. 31, 1895 – Oct. 17, 1964) Carson Bigbee, born in 1895, grew up in Lebanon and played baseball at the University of Oregon before beginning a standout career in the Major Leagues. Bigbee played part of just one season for the Ducks, 1915, before turning professional. He reached the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1916 at..Read More
(Apr. 7, 1918 – Nov. 13, 2017) Bobby Doerr played 14 seasons for the Boston Red Sox and is viewed as one of the all-time greats at second base, having been named an All-Star nine times and earning votes as the American League MVP seven times. A resident of Oregon, mainly Junction City, since the..Read More
Born in Coburg, Howard Fox (Mar. 1, 1921 – Oct. 9, 1955) played his way through the University of Oregon and into a lengthy Major League career as a right-handed pitcher. He spent nine seasons and played for three different teams from 1944 to ’54 before moving to the minor leagues, where his career ended..Read More
(Jan. 26, 1902 – Jun. 18, 1977) John Frederick played for the Brooklyn Dodgers of the National League for six seasons before making his connection to the state of Oregon with the Portland Beavers. Frederick, born in Colorado, began his professional baseball career in 1921 at age 19, playing in Canada. He entered the PCL..Read More
(Feb. 18, 1915 – Apr. 14, 1978) Joe Gordon, who grew up at Portland’s Jefferson High and had a standout baseball career at the University of Oregon, and a Hall of Fame career during 11 seasons as a second baseman with New York and Cleveland of the American League. Gordon played baseball, football, ran track..Read More
(Jul. 16, 1920 – Oct. 10, 2009) Born in Verboort in 1920, Larry Jansen made his mark as a baseball player at both the major and minor league levels, including three seasons with the Portland Beavers. Jansen graduated from Verboort High in 1938 and entered pro baseball with the Salt Lake City Bees in 1940…Read More