The Eugene Emeralds (nicknamed the Ems) are a Minor League Baseball team in the northwest United States, based in Eugene, Oregon. The Emeralds are members of the Northwest League and are affiliated with the San Francisco Giants. Eugene plays their home games at PK Park. History Founded in 1955 as a charter member of the Northwest League, the Emeralds were named in a contest, won in January by 11-year-old Bowen Blair. They won the inaugural pennant as an independent, and remained in the NWL for fourteen seasons, through 1968. The Emeralds were the first minor-league team to play in Eugene since the disbanding of the Eugene Larks, who played at Bethel Park for just two seasons, 1950 and 1951. The Emeralds played in northwest Eugene in 4,000-seat Bethel Park, at Roosevelt Boulevard and Maple Street (), later torn down for the construction of a highway that wasn't built. In 1950 and 1951, Bethel Park was the home of the Eugene Larks of the Class D Far West League; its outfield is present-day Lark Park. Its final game in 1968 on August 29 drew 897 fans for a one-hitter and a 7-0 Emeralds win. The NWL changed to a short season league in 1966, and that season opened in Eugene against the Lewiston Broncs. The second pick in the 1966 MLB draft, future hall of famer Reggie Jackson played his first professional games at Bethel Park, as a 20-year-old center fielder, following his sophomore season at Arizona State. Hitless in the opener, the next game he got his first pro hit, a single in the first, and later a home run to right field in the ninth. He was with the Broncs for less than two weeks, then went to Modesto in the California League. In the 1969 season, the Emeralds were promoted to AAA status in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) as the primary affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The Ems returned to the Northwest League five years later when the PCL moved the AAA team to Sacramento for the 1974 season, while the Phillies moved their AAA farm team to the Toledo Mud Hens of the International League. Eugene was an independent/co-op team (Phillies, San Francisco Giants) in 1974, then became an affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds in 1975. Entering Triple-A in 1969, the Emeralds moved from Bethel Park to Civic Stadium. The 6,800-seat facility was owned by the