The Race for the Governor's Cup. The Pacific Coast League Playoffs, 1936-1954

The Pacific Coast League utilized from 1936 through 1954 the controversial Shaughnessy system of postseason playoffs in which four teams competed. Many opponents felt that this system made the outcome anticlimactic, but supporters believed that the chief financial benefit occurred during the regular season as teams struggled to finish in the first division. These playoff games had to compete with college football, and later with professional football, for fan interest, which caused attendance to suffer and lead to a discontinuance of the playoffs. Chapters in this work examine each pennant race, game by game. (Playoffs were not held in 1950, 1952 or 1953.) Key players on each playoff team are listed, along with box scores of each game. The text is complemented by numerous historical photographs.