Mariners and Cubs turn back the clock to early 1900s

The year was 1909, and the Seattle Turks of the old Class B Northwestern League were storming their way to a 109-58 record. Lead by such stars as Pug Bennett (hitting a league-leading .314) and a rotation that featured three 20-game- winners, the Turks went on to win the Northwestern League pennant.

On Saturday, June 29, the 1909 Seattle Turks will take on the Chicago Cubs at Safeco Field. Game time is 4:15pm. The first 20,000 fans through the gates will receive a Turn Back the Clock poster, courtesy of
Seattle Magazine.

The Mariners will wear Turks jerseys and caps, bright white with Seattle in navy blue capital letters and an "S" on the cap. The Cubs will wear early 1900s uniforms that feature Chicago down the front button placket and Cubs on the left breast.

The Turks played just one season, 1909, at the old Yesler Way Field. Other teams in the league that year included the Spokane Indians, Tacoma Tigers, Grays Harbor Grays, Vancouver Beavers and Portland Colts. The Turks, who the year before had been known as the Seattle Siwashes, would become the Seattle Giants in 1910.

In 1909, the Chicago Cubs finished in second place in the National League with a 104-49 record, six-and-a-half games behind the Pittsburgh Pirates. Four players on that Cubs team are now in the National Baseball Hall of Fame-the legendary double-play combination of shortstop Joe Tinker, second baseman Johnny Evers, and first baseman Frank Chance (that's right, Tinkers to Evers to Chance), and star pitcher "Three Finger" Mordecai Brown, who was 27-9 with a 1.31 ERA in 1909.

Tickets for the June 29 game, and all remaining games on the Mariners 2013 schedule are available at without a service charge at the Safeco Field Box Office and Seattle Mariners Team Stores. They're also available at mariners.com, Ticketmaster Ticket Outlets and by phone at 1-888-SEA-HITS (service charges apply).