Just about everyone is feeling lost without baseball this summer. The few televised “no-fans-allowed” games can’t make up for the live in-person experience. Simply put, baseball is America’s favorite past time–a riveting six-month ritual that blossoms with the rites of spring and culminates with the splendor of October magic.
Baseball Comes to Santa Fe
One of the first games reported in the New Mexican occurred on July 10, 1887. During this era several of the military forts had their own baseball teams. Mining towns in the surrounding mountains also had baseball teams. The Madrid Miners were very popular back then. Baseball in those years truly was the national game. The New Mexican regularly carried daily articles and standings of major league games as well as the local games.
Since there were no organized leagues for youth in those days such as Babe Ruth and Little League, boys played numerous sandlot games in the different neighborhoods. The game that attracted the most attention was the annual game played between the Canyon Road gang and the Agua Fria barrio. High schools were also active in baseball. St. Michael’s, which included baseball in its sports program since the 1890s, played games with Santa Fe High, the Santa Fe Indian School and Albuquerque High. Baseball also was popular at the Penitentiary of New Mexico. The penitentiary team played exhibition games against teams from Santa Fe and Albuquerque. All games were played at the penitentiary field with the inmates as spectators.