Play Ball!!

Happy Opening Day! MLB has started regular season play. It's Baseball Season! Yay! Our own Oklahoma City Dodgers have their first home game of the season on April 6th, 2017.

How much do you know Oklahoma's rich Baseball history?

"... In 1880 coal miners from Ohio and Pennsylvania settled near Krebs in Indian Territory, and baseball provided them a clean, healthful diversion from the rigors of mining. On July 4, 1882, the first organized baseball game was played at Krebs. A crowd of three hundred gathered to watch Krebs host nearby Savanna. Using sacks of hay and cans for bases, the game included fan violence, gambling, and anguish for the Krebs catcher, who played without a glove or mask. Krebs prevailed thirty-five to four. ..."

"... From 1904 to 1960 thirty-seven different Oklahoma towns fielded professional baseball teams, before economics limited the state's two largest cities, Oklahoma City and Tulsa, to minor league teams. A phenomenal number of major league baseball players have passed through Oklahoma, have either been born in or died in Oklahoma, or have played sandlot, college, or minor league baseball in the Sooner State. Although Oklahoma has a reputation as a football state, Oklahomans have had a more significant professional impact on the baseball diamond. ..."

Read More: The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture: Baseball

Image: Creek Orphans' Home baseball team, 1904. Alice Robertson Collection. Oklahoma Historical Society