Pitchers of Beer: The Story of the Seattle RainiersIn 1937, when local beer baron Emil Sick stepped in, the Seattle Indians were a struggling minor league baseball team teetering on collapse. Moved to mix baseball and beer by his good friend and fellow brewer, New York Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, Sick built a new stadium and turned the team into a civic treasure. The Rainiers (newly named after the beer) set attendance records and won Pacific Coast League titles in 1939, '40, '41, '51, and '55. The