Tacoma Daisies

The Tacoma Daisies of Tacoma, Washington, were in first place when the original Pacific Northwest League collapsed, and in 1892 they had a future Hall of Famer, Clark Griffith, on the pitching staff. The league opened in 1890 with Tacoma, Seattle, Spokane and Portland. Period papers used the Daisies name, though no explanation of it has been found.

Under manager William Lucas, Tacoma finished second in 1890 at 54-41, seven games behind Spokane. Attendance was thin enough that in July 1890 the club agreed to play Sunday games, according to the Spokane Falls Daily Chronicle. The 1891 team fell to last at 38-60 under Leech Maskrey.

In 1892, under Bill Works (spelled William Work in some rosters), Tacoma was 41-32, one game ahead of Portland, when the league fell apart during the season amid the economic slide that became the Panic of 1893. Record books credit the Daisies with the pennant, though no account of a formal award has been found. A revival called the New Pacific League lasted only until June 15, 1896, and the Pacific Northwest League name did not return until 1898.

Griffith had pitched in 1891 for a major league that folded after that season. In a later interview with the Washington Herald, he said the Tacoma club moved almost intact to Missoula of the Montana State League after its money ran out, with Works managing and Griffith and Lem Cross the only two pitchers; Missoula won that league's second-half title. Griffith went on to win 237 major league games, managed and then owned the Washington Senators, and entered the Hall of Fame in 1946. Cross reached the Cincinnati Reds in 1893.