History

Baseball in the Greater Victoria area can be traced all the way back to the mid-1800’s. Victoria’s first introduction to the sport of baseball took place in San Francisco after the days of the 1849 Gold Rush. A Victoria cricket team traveled south to play in California. Victoria fared well, winning three matches, however they were soundly defeated when challenged to the new American game of baseball. Later, the game came north when with the miners when gold was discovered in the Caribou.

An 1863 issue of the Daily Colonist reported the first game of the season being played at Beacon Hill Park. The game report was not very complimentary, but finished by saying, “there is no doubt there will be more trials at this new sport.”

The first recorded baseball team in Victoria was the Olympic Club, who played a game against the Victoria Cricket club in 1866. The final score – 29-17 for the cricketers!

A baseball game was played in the 1888 May Day celebrations of Queen Victoria’s Jubilee. The following year, the B.C. Railway Company constructed a fenced ballpark on the site of what is now Windsor Park in Oak Bay. The field was complete with a grandstand seating 2000 people.

The city’s first professional baseball experience lasted only three months at the Oak Bay Ballpark in 1905. They were directed by Harold “Hal” Chase, who would later join the Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.

In 1911, the Victoria Islanders fielded a team. Later changing their name to the Victoria Bees, they lost 125 games in 151 outings, but despite their record, enjoyed strong support from local businesses and fans alike.

The Victoria Capitals won the amateur city league championship in 1913. The war in Europe forced professional baseball to take a back seat until the war came to an end, however 1919 saw the resumption of Professional Baseball in Victoria. In 1920, the Victoria Capitals played out of a brand new ballpark constructed behind the Empress Hotel, where the former Crystal Gardens and lawn bowling club now stand.

The Victoria Athletics played at Royal Athletic Park from 1946 to 1951. The A’s were later renamed the Victoria Tyees for the 1952 season. The Tyees won the Western International League pennant and continued playing through until 1954.

More recently, other teams called Victoria and Royal Athletic Park home. The Victoria Mussels, and later the Victoria Blues, played in the Northwest League. In 2003, the Victoria Capitals of the Canadian Baseball League began operations. The Capitals were leaders in league attendance, averaging over 1000 fans per game. The league was forced to halt play in the middle of the inaugural season. The following year, the Victoria Royals Summer Collegiate Baseball Club was formed. The semi-pro team featured college players from both Canada and the United States, and played experimental games in both the Pacific International League and the Northwest Major League. Unfortunately, like the Capitals before them, the Royals were forced to cease operations in their inaugural season, despite strong fan and community support.

Photo and content credit on this page ~ Victoria & District Baseball Association. Click here for more information