The Oct. 16 edition of The Herald ran a headline on Page A1 saying “Signs Will Honor Snohomish Hero.” The hero was Earl Averill, and I am delighted that the City of Snohomish is finally honoring him.
There were, however, some errors in the article that should be corrected. Averill played Major League baseball from 1929 to 1941. He had already played professional baseball with the San Francisco Seals in the Pacific Coast League from 1926 to 1928. In 1928 the Seals won the PCL pennant, and Averill was a member of the outfield that was called “the greatest minor league outfield in the business.”
After playing 10 years for the Cleveland Indians, Averill was traded to Detroit in 1939 (not 1940). In 1940 he played with the American League champion Detroit Tigers. In 1941 the 39-year-old Averill tried to catch on with the Boston Braves, but was released after playing in only eight games. He then signed with the Seattle Rainiers and played with their Pacific Coast League championship team. He retired from professional baseball after the 1941 season.
Snohomish has been an incubator of Major League ballplayers. There have been at least seven. In addition to the five named in The Herald article, there were Jim Ollom and Roy Grover, both of whom were born in Snohomish.
Averill was not always Snohomish’s favorite son. After his playing days he came back to Snohomish to live and work. The same aggressive, confident personality that made him a great ballplayer sometimes rubbed people in his hometown the wrong way. However, “time heals all wounds,” and this year, the 100th anniversary of his birth, is a good time for Snohomish to state with pride that here is the hometown of one of the greatest baseball players in history.
Baseball Historian
Anacortes
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