Yakima Valley Braves

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The Yakima Valley Braves were the last name used by Yakima’s minor league baseball team from Yakima, Washington, playing in the Northwest League from 1955 to 1966. The city hosted professional baseball from 1937 to 1965, with a break during World War II (1942–1945). Over the years, Yakima used several team names: the Pippins (1937–1941) in the Pacific Coast International League; the Stars (1946–47), Packers (1948), and Bears (1949–1964) in the Western International League. The Pippins name was later used again by a college summer team in the West Coast League.

The Yakima teams had major league affiliations at different times: with the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1946, and with the Milwaukee Braves (who became the Atlanta Braves) from 1958 to 1966. They won seven league titles in 1950, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1963, and 1964. Parker Field was their home ballpark, built in 1937 and rebuilt after a 1962 fire. The Yakima franchise remained in Yakima through 1966. Baseball returned to Yakima in 1990 with the Yakima Bears in the Northwest League, affiliated with the Los Angeles Dodgers and later the Arizona Diamondbacks until 2012.