The West Coast Negro Baseball Association (WCBA) was established on March 9, 1946 during a meeting of the High Marine Social Club which took place at the Elks Clubhouse in Oakland, California. Two Berkeley firemen, Eddie Harris and David P. Portlock spearheaded the idea of a Negro baseball league on the West Coast that could utilize the Pacific Coast League (PCL) baseball parks while those teams were travelling.
Harlem Globetrotters founder Abe Saperstein was elected President of the association, Olympic track star Jesse Owens served Vice President, and David Portlock held the position of Secretary.
The league consisted of six teams; the San Francisco Sea Lions, the Seattle Steelheads, the Portland Rosebuds, the Oakland Larks, the San Diego Tigers, and the Los Angeles White Sox.
A schedule of 110 games was initially proposed, with home games played in the (PCL) ballparks. Future Oakland mayor Lionel Wilson was the pitcher for the first game of the Oakland Larks.
The league's first official game was between the Oakland Larks and the San Diego Tigers on May 12, 1946 at Fresno Midget Auto Racing Park. The league played only one season, disbanding after the final game in July, 1946, though the Oakland Larks baseball team would continue to play as a barnstorming club through 1947. When the WCBA disbanded the Oakland Larks were in first place.
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