Heyday When Portland dropped out of the league after the 1917 season, a new Sacramento franchise was admitted to the PCL in 1918. For most of its existence, the Sacramento team finished in the second division, but there were a few bright spots. Originally known as the Senators, the team was purchased by Branch Rickey in 1935 and renamed the Sacramento Solons. Rickey's close friend and business partner Philip Bartelme served as the Solons' president from 1936 to 1944. The Solons finished first in 1937 but lost the postseason series to the San Diego Padres. In 1942 the Solons won their first – and only – Pacific Coast League pennant. These were the glory years of the Pacific Coast League, during which it was unrivaled for the attention of West Coast baseball fans. The Solons drew reasonably well when featured opponents included teams from Los Angeles, Hollywood, San Francisco and Oakland. However, in 1957, the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants moved to California, forcing the aforementioned teams to move to Spokane, Salt Lake City, Phoenix and Vancouver, respectively. Although the Solons were not immediately displaced, the close proximity of the San Francisco Giants (just over an hour to the south) also took its toll on attendance. After the 1960 season, the team was sold and moved to Honolulu and renamed the Hawaii Islanders for 1961. The franchise became the Colorado Springs Sky Sox later moved to San Antonio as the San Antonio Missions in 2019. Minor league return The third version of the Sacramento Solons began during the AAA realignment in 1969 as the Eugene Emeralds. After the 1973 season, it was determined that Eugene was too small to support PCL baseball, and the team was moved to Sacramento for the 1974 season, taking the name of its predecessor teams, the Sacramento Solons. The Solons' old stadium, Edmonds Field, had long since been demolished. The only available facility was 23,500-seat Hughes Stadium, a football facility, the dimensions of which made the stadium a hitter's paradise. Left field, in particular, was less than the regulation minimum 250 feet from home plate. Despite two consecutive last place finishes, the Solons led the PCL in attendance due to the home run barrage. The Solons changed affiliations and the Texas Rangers refused to allow their top prospects to play in the decrepit Hughes Stadium with its bandbox dimensions. The Solons' owners "leased" the