1954-55 Oakland Oaks question
 

Looking for help from any PCL experts. I collect item relating to the Baltimore Orioles since their relocation from St.Louis in 1954.

One area of my collection, I'm currently working on, are programs from all the Orioles minor league affiliates. I also include programs from any co-op teams that the Orioles had working agreements with and provided players for during the season.

My question.

In 1954 and 1955, the Orioles didn't have a AAA affiliate. The highest affiliated minor league team with the Orioles were the AA San Antonio Missions. The Oakland Oaks were in the Pacific Coast League, which was classified as Open during 1954-55. The Oaks weren't affiliated with any MLB team. However several players that played for the Oaks during 1954-1955 appeared for the Orioles during the 1954, 1955 and even 1956 seasons. The Oakland Oaks moved to Vancouver in 1956 and became the Mounties (an Orioles affiliate from 1956-1960).

Does anyone know if the Orioles had any working agreement with Oakland during the 1954 and 55 seasons to provide them players or did teams just purchase contracts directly from the Oaks? My research hasn't confirmed an actual connection with the Orioles. Thanks

Attachment 488611

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That's a nutty mascot (?), although some might argue it's "a corn"y one. Or both

I found this passage in Charlie Beamon's SABR bio ...

"Meanwhile, after losing money for six straight seasons, the Oaks signed a working agreement with the Orioles and moved to Canada to become the Vancouver Mounties in 1956."

It seems as though the Orioles inherited a few former Oaks players. A couple years earlier, the Oaks seemed to have some kind of agreement with the New York Giants, with quite a number of players shuttling back and forth between the two teams.

Thanks Chris. I appreciate the info. That aligns with the little bit of info I could find. There are a bunch of Oaks players that ended up in Baltimore, but many of them after 1955. The best example I found was Duane Pillette. Pillette pitched for the Orioles in both 1954 and 1955, as well as pitching for the Oakland Oaks in 1955. Pillette was traded to the Phillies before the 1956 season.

I guess I'll keep the programs with my Orioles collection, until someone can either confirm or deny a formal connection with the Orioles.