Time Period - 1961 to 1963
Venue : Jaycee Field
City : Twin Falls, ID
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Franchise History :
The initial Twin Falls professional baseball team was established as the Bruins in 1925, a minor league ball club playing in the Utah-Idaho League. The team disbanded in 1929.
The Twin Falls Cowboys were the second pro baseball team in the city and played from 1939 to 1942 and 1946 to 1951 in the Pioneer League. They affiliated with the higher playing level minor league Seattle Raineers in 1939, and later the major league NY Yankees from 1946 to 1951.
In 1952 the club was renamed the Magic Valley Cowboys ... The Magic Valley Club continued in the Pioneer League and played for a total of 17 seasons between 1952 and 1971.
At different times, the Magic Valley Cowboys affiliated with four big league teams; the Cubs (1954–58), Phillies (1961–63), Giants (1964–66), and the Braves (1968–70).
After playing as an Pioneer League independent team in 1971 the club disbanded.
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The Stadium the Phillies teams played in :
Jaycee Field
Also Known As: Harmon Park 1939
Location: Harmon Park Avenue & Locust Street at Elizabeth Boulevard & Madrona Street.
Capacity: 3,300
Dimensions (Left, Center, Right): 320-390-320
The ballpark was constructed during the spring of 1939, as a WPA project ... The Works Progress Administration (WPA ) was an American New Deal Agency employing millions of job-seekers to carry out public works projects ...
The baseball field was adjacent to a four acre public park named Harmon Park and was on twenty acres of land donated to the city by the Twin Falls Junior Chamber of Commerce ( Jaycees ). It was the home of minor league baseball thru the 1971 season.
The ball park was later incorporated into an expanded Harmon Park which today consists of three softball fields, two baseball fields, a basketball court, playground equipment, a skate park, six tennis courts and three reservable sheltered picnic areas.
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The Seasons :
1961
Pioneer League (C) ... Manager : Jack Phillips ... 64-66, 4th place ... Attendance: 61,405.
19 year old Dick Allen played as a second baseman and hit .317 with 21 home runs and 94 RBIs in 460 AB’s ... he was just in his second season of professional baseball
Fellow 19 year old Costen Shockley hit .360 in 470 AB’s with 23 home runs and 108 RBIs ... he would play parts of two seasons in the bigs ( 1964 Phillies - 11 games & 1965 Angels - 40 games )
23 year old infielder Bobby Sanders led the league in home runs ( 40 ) and RBIs ( 118 ) and hit .325 in 453 AB’s ... he reached the AA level in 1964 with Williamsport but was out of baseball thereafter
1962
Pioneer League (C) ... Manager : Jack Phillips ... 64-65, 3rd place ... Attendance: 49,297.
21 year old first baseman Hank Allen ( Dick’s older brother ) won the league’s triple crown by leading in batting average ( .346 ), home runs ( 37 ) and RBIs ( 140 ) ... he was also first in hits ( 176 ) and Total Bases ( 326 ) ... he would play in seven big league seasons with the Senators, Brewers and White Sox from 1965 to 1973
20 year old outfielder Adolfo Phillips led the league in stolen bases ( 46 ) , runs ( 135 ), Doubles ( 34 ), slugging percentage ( .680 ) and OPS ( 1.119 ) ... he later played in 8 big league seasons ( 1964 to 1972 ) with the Phillies, Cubs, Expos and Indians
1963
Pioneer League (A) ... Manager : Moose Johnson ... 84-44, 1st place ... Attendance: 61,500. Lost in playoffs to Idaho Falls Yankees 2 games to 0.
20 year old outfielder Alex Johnson led the league in home runs ( 35 ), RBIs ( 128 ) and total bases ( 294 ) while hitting .329 ( 9th best in loop ) in 471 AB’s ... he would play in 13 big league seasons with the Phillies, Cardinals, Reds, Angels, Rangers, Yankees and Tigers from 1964 to 1976
20 year old shortstop Mike Marshall hit .304 in 385 AB’s with 14 home runs and 76 RBIs ... if ya have been reading ya know he went on to become a very good big league pitcher and Cy Young Award winner
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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