Prior to moving to the Boise area, the team was the Tri-Cities Triplets, who played in Richland, Washington, for four seasons after moving over from Walla Walla in 1983. An affiliate of the Texas Rangers for the first two seasons in Richland, they operated as an independent in 1985 and 1986. The Triplets were sold in the fall of 1986 to Diamond Sports and moved to Idaho for the 1987 season. Diamond Sports was headed by the Triplets' general manager Mal Fichman.