Barbary baseball

"In the 1920s, baseball fans across America flocked to minor league ballparks to see their hometown teams play. This was particularly true on the West Coast where fans embraced the colorful Pacific Coast League as a third major league."--BOOK JACKET. "The rowdy reputation of the Pacific Coast League was well earned. Owners' meetings were rambunctious affairs where league issues were sometimes settled by violence. In the stands, drinking and gambling went unchecked, most notoriously exemplified by the "Booze Cage" at San Francisco's Recreation Park where 75 cents bought a shot of whiskey and the best seat in the house. On the field, players and umpires were as likely to trade punches as insults. But the league's bawdy style did not detract from the quality of play. More than 90 all-time great minor leaguers as recognized by the Society for American Baseball Research, hundreds of major leaguers, and nine future Hall of Famers - Earl Averill, Harry Hooper, Sam Crawford, Lefty Gomez, Ernie Lombardi, Mickey Cochrane, Tony Lazzeri, and Paul and Lloyd Waner - starred in the league during the decade."--BOOK JACKET. "This volume examines the rich history of the league from 1920 to 1929 and includes the first ever listing of all players in the Pacific Coast League during the 1920s. Final team standings and league leaders' statistics (team batting leaders, individual batting leaders, individual pitching leaders) for each year are also provided."--BOOK JACKET.