An Overview: The Sacramento Solons
- David Hegler
- Apr 29
- 3 min read
Before it was home to the River Cats, the city of Sacramento was home to the PCL's Solons. While few remember them, their legacy is dotted with legendary moments and people. This is the story of the Sacramento Solons.
The Original Solons
The team began as the Senators in 1903 before changing their name to the "Sacts" for the next five years. After 1913, they switched back to their original name where they developed a nice little following in the capital city.
On June 10, 1930, the Senators and their humble little wooden home made history when they hosted the first night game in the Western United States, beating the Oakland Oaks 5-0.
In 1936, the Senators decided to name themselves after an ancient Greek lawmaker, Solon. Two years later, they won the PCL championship and repeated as champs in 1939. They would never win another championship. In the middle of the 1948 season, their home Edmonds Field burned down. Remarkably, as the Solons wrapped up the season on the road, crews rebuilt their home in time for the following year.
In that era, the Solons were led by the remarkably talented pitcher Tony Freitas. From the time he started as a Senator in 1929 and amidst all the breaks he took from the club whether it was to pursue other opportunities from 1933 through 1936 or to serve in World War II in the middle of his longest campaign with the Solons from 1937 through 1950, Freitas won 342 games, the fourth highest in PCL history. His loyalty to the Solons was so strong, that he even returned to the team to manage the latter half of 1954 and all of 1955.
Tony Freitas had the perfect view of the Solons' best years, whether it was winning back-to-back titles or experiencing the excellent play of the 1941-1942 squads who combined to win a club record 207 games under the guidance of manager Pepper Martin during that stretch. In many ways, Tony Freitas represented all that was right with the organization.
Still, none of their success could keep the Solons in the Golden State. In 1960, they were sold and moved all the way to Hawaii. Four years later, Edmonds Field was demolished to make room for the corner of what is now Riverside Boulevard and Broadway. Suddenly, Sacramento was left without a baseball team or ballpark.
A New Era
In 1974, a Triple-A affiliate for the Milwaukee Brewers moved from Eugene, Oregon all the way down to Sacramento, renaming itself after the town's deceased ball club. With Edmunds Field now no more, the new Solons had to make do with Sacramento Community College's Hughes Stadium. While the venue was large (capacity: 22,000), there was just one problem: it was as football stadium.
Shaped like a bathtub, the 46-year old stadium immediately proved to be a batter's paradise and a pitcher's bane, which was ironic since Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Lemon was managing the team that year. The 233-foot left-field was easily the shortest in baseball and provided the Sacramento crowd an endless stream of entertainment as batter after batter blasted home runs into the stands.
Not surprisingly, Hughes Stadium led the PCL in attendance that year despite the Solons never being able to escape the league cellar. The people love to watch each of the 491 home runs bashed in the stadium that year by both the home and away teams. The Solons slugged at a .521 clip while featuring nine players who hit double-digit home runs while their pitchers posted a league worst 6.70 ERA. In fact, two of their players, Bill McNutty (55) and Gorman Thomas (51) crushed more than 50 home runs that year and in the first six games alone, 51 home runs had been crushed at Hughes Stadium.
Yes, batters loved Hughes Stadium -especially in 1974- but pitchers hated it with a passion. According to legend, Phoenix manager Rocky Bridges was miffed that one of his pitchers was an atheist and he threatened to put the player in the starting lineup at the "House of Horrors". The next time Bridges saw his favorite atheist, the young man was carrying a Bible and rosary beads.
So Long to the Solons
By 1975, left field had been extended to 251 feet and the mass amount of home runs that greeted the new Solons just a year earlier began to settle down. After 1976, the Solons moved to San Jose and became the Missions. While they still play at San Jose Municipal Stadium, the old ball club formally known as the Sacramento Solons is now the San Jose Giants, an affiliate of the big league club up in San Francisco.
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