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The Seattle Mariners鈥� annual campaign is underway as of Thursday鈥檚 opening night win over the Guardians at T-Mobile Park. Based on 2022鈥檚 incredible drought-ending playoff run, hopes are high all over Mudville for an exciting October 2023.

But let鈥檚 go way back to 1982. That was when they doubled the height of the right field wall at the old Kingdome, and held a contest to come up with a name for it.

As the story goes, the right field at Kingdome was a bit of hitter鈥檚 paradise 鈥� because of the ceiling with its dangling wires and hanging speakers, it felt like indoor 鈥渁rena baseball,鈥� and it was giving up too many homers. Seattle鈥檚 early-years pitching was not to blame, apparently. So, for the Mariners鈥� sixth season in 1982, the height of the right field wall was doubled to 23 feet.

The new and improved wall didn鈥檛 loom as large as the 37-foot Green Monster 鈥� the famous left field wall in Boston鈥檚 Fenway Park dating to the late 1940s 鈥揵ut Seattle鈥檚 version was big enough and new enough to warrant a name, and a naming contest, of its own.

That鈥檚 where Jack Taylor comes in.

He鈥檚 in his 60s now and lives in Snohomish County, and he鈥檚 a lifelong Mariners fan, not a fanatic, but a guy who has been to many games over the nearly 50-year history of the team. It was 41 years ago when Taylor heard on the radio at his workplace about the contest to name the new wall. He and his co-workers spent most of the day trying to think of good ones that meant something to Seattle and the Northwest.

鈥淪omebody came up with 鈥楾he Bulkhead,鈥� which I thought was pretty good,鈥� Taylor told 成人X站 Newsradio on Thursday. 鈥淎nd we came up with other names throughout the day. I remember going through a door, and the minute my hand touched the door, I just knew what the answer was. The wall was twice as tall, and it needs to be called 鈥楾he Walla Walla.鈥欌��

It鈥檚 a pretty brilliant suggestion that plays off a wall being doubled and using a Pacific Northwest place name (which is based on the anglicization of a Nez Perce term believed to mean 鈥渕any waters鈥�).

Taylor sent in his suggestion on a homemade postcard and included a sketch of the wall, which he drew himself. A few weeks later, the phone rang one evening at home. The news was good.

鈥淭he Walla Walla鈥� had been chosen, and Taylor had won the contest.

Best of all, it wasn鈥檛 like multiple people had suggested that name, which often happens with sports naming contests, including for the team names of the Mariners and the . When the dust settled over in right field, only Taylor had thought of 鈥淭he Walla Walla.鈥� Genius is a lonely place sometimes.

For his labors, Taylor and his wife were flown to Anaheim to see the Mariners play the Angels in a three-game series and were given tickets to Disneyland, Knott鈥檚 Berry Farm, and motel accommodations.

More than four decades later, Taylor still sounds pleased he won the contest and grateful for the prize package, which included miniature golf and food from Chicken Delight. And that鈥檚 a good thing since, as it turned out, winning the right field wall naming contest didn鈥檛 exactly translate into immortality.

鈥淭he name 鈥榃alla Walla鈥� never caught on like the 鈥楪reen Monster鈥� or anything like that,鈥� Taylor said. 鈥淏ut I did hear it from time to time. and the others would use the name from time to time, and that was always nice to hear.鈥�

Circa 2023, a certain radio historian will admit to not having heard of 鈥淭he Walla Walla鈥� before or maybe forgetting about it so many decades later. Still, it was worth running down the facts through some basic shoe-leather journalism.

鈥淭he Walla Walla鈥� does actually appear on about baseball history and about the , including the Wikipedia page for that beloved concrete icon.

For the team itself, the record is a little mixed.

Retired longtime Mariner executive and official team history guy Randy Adamack confirmed that 鈥淭he Walla Walla鈥� was indeed a thing in 1982 but said in an email that the name never really did catch on in a lasting way.

Early on Opening Day 2023, 成人X站 Newsradio also reached out to Voice of the Mariners Rick Rizzs.

In an email hours before the first pitch of the 2023 season, Rizzs wrote, 鈥淚 do remember the name for the tall blue baggie which was our right field wall at the Kingdome. We did call it 鈥楾he Walla Walla.鈥� I got there in 1983 and . . . I do remember Dave [Niehaus] and I referring to [it that way].鈥�

As appropriate and brilliant as Jack Taylor鈥檚 鈥淭he Walla Walla鈥� was back in 1982 鈥� and as fun as it always is to say those soothingly repetitive syllables 鈥� maybe Rizzs鈥� 鈥淭he Tall Blue Baggie鈥� would鈥檝e been a more memorable and durable choice.

You can hear Feliks every Wednesday and Friday morning on Seattle鈥檚 Morning News with Dave Ross and Colleen O鈥橞rien, read more from him鈥�here, and subscribe to The Resident Historian Podcast聽here. If you have a story idea, please email Feliks鈥�here.