Major League Baseball discovered Pacific Northwest talent largely through former Seattle Indians player and Rainiers coach Eddie Taylor’s many successful scouting efforts.
Author: David Eskenazi
David Eskenazi
Many of the historic images on Sports Press Northwest are provided by resident Northwest sports history aficionado, David Eskenazi. A Seattle native, David has amassed an extensive archive of Seattle, Northwest, and West Coast historic sports photographs, artifacts and ephemera. We draw from this archive to illustrate stories in The Vault, and our weekly Rotation feature, The Wayback Machine. Youll see many unique and evocative representations of our sporting past, many of which have never been seen publicly. You are in for a treat! David enjoys sharing his collection and zeal for Northwest sports history. His historical showcase activities have included displays at numerous museums, historical societies, and community events, including an annual Northwest baseball history display at Mariners FanFest, and working on baseball-themed fund raising events for the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Since the early 1990s, The Seattle Mariners have enlisted David to help recognize and illustrate Seattle and the Northwests 120-year baseball legacy. This collaboration has produced historical displays at Safeco Field, including seven 35-foot long historical storyboards surrounding the Safeco Field main concourse, Fred Hutchinson seat end stanchions, and classic early photographs on the suite level, all created for the opening of Safeco Field in 1999. From its opening in 2007 to the present day, David has provided thematic ideas, design elements, images, and scores of original historic Northwest baseball artifacts for the Baseball Museum of the Pacific Northwest at Safeco Field. David also contributed visual materials, historical consultation and on-screen interviews for documentaries on The Seattle Rainiers, The Spokane Indians, and the Seattle Pilots, and provided images and other inputs for a multitude of books, magazines, web-sites and other media focusing on Seattle, Northwest and West Coast sports history. Recent books he contributed to extensively include SABRs Rain Check: Baseball in the Pacific Northwest, and Dan Raleys Pitchers of Beer: The Seattle Rainiers Story. David has a keen ongoing interest in sharing stories, expanding and enhancing his collection, and broadening his knowledge and archive of Northwest sports history and memorabilia. If you have questions, memories to share, stories to suggest, or would like to talk to him about selling or trading Seattle and Northwest sports artifacts, please contact him at (206) 441-1900, or at seattlesportshistory@gmail.com
New York’s first baseball icon, Amos Rusie, a pitcher once considered better than Cy Young, wound up an obscure chicken rancher in Auburn.
The Almada brothers had short baseball careers in Seattle, became famous in their native Mexico, and one’s misfortune gave the other a chance to make history.
Artie Wilson and Bob Boyd integrated the Seattle Rainiers in 1952 and engaged in a memorable race for the PCL batting title that came down to the final day of the season.
One of Washington state’s legendary sports broadcasters had a humble career beginning: re-creating American Legion baseball games for KGVO in Missoula, MT.
Ray Daughters taught nearly 50,000 Washingtonians how to swim. From that total came 31 world records, 301 American records and eight Olympic medals.
With nearly two dozen athletes with connections to the state competing in London, here is a look back at 10 of the state’s most intriguing Olympians.
For a a nearly 30-year period, few Seattle residents enjoyed more popularity than Leo Lassen, the iconic radio broadcaster for the Seattle Indians and Rainiers.
Snohomish native Earl Torgeson (1924-90) had a 15-year major league career during which he played for five clubs and made three World Series appearances.
Chehalis native Vean Gregg had a chance to become another Grover Cleveland Alexander, or maybe another Walter Johnson, but fate reduced him to a fascinating footnote.