When Baseball Was King-The Idaho-Washington League

The day was probably blustery and cold as the meeting on January 27th, 1928 at the Dessert hotel in Spokane. The subject of the meeting was none other than the formation of the Idaho-Washington Baseball League. The franchises that would be the pioneer members of the new league were three from Spokane, one from the city of Coeur D'Alene, and two from the Coeur D Alene mining district, including one from Burke and one from Wallace.

The decision was based on the wide appeal of the nations' past time, and the passion for baseball was at a fevered pitch in the mining camps. One of the biggest factors for including Burke, well, here is a quote from Mr. Ferris, the coordinator of the meeting.

Burke has built an expensive ballpark, and the people are keen for the proposal.

Yes, baseball was a very big thing in the Valley, and the leagues were real and played at a pro-level. Several players from Burke and Wallace had cups of coffee in the Major Leagues including the legendary Gonzaga Univesity star  and Wallace High School coach,  Mel Ingram, who played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I plan on posting more about him in a future blog.

The new league decided to follow the same format of the Pacific Coast League and split the season in half with the winner of the fist half playing the winner of the second half for the league championship. And so, on the cold January night in 1928, a great new league was born, and Wallace and Burke became baseball giants in those early mining days.