Arizona Baseball Museum: Preserving a Century of Rich History

Arizona’s baseball history is as vibrant as its desert landscapes, holding stories that span over a century. From the first Arizona-born major leaguer, “Flame” Delhi, to Japanese Americans playing ball during internment at the Gila River War Relocation Center, these tales are now preserved in more than just memories.

Mesa is now home to the Arizona Baseball Museum, which opened its doors on February 21. This pioneering museum in the Grand Canyon State aims to narrate Arizona’s baseball saga through a rich collection of photographs, memorabilia, and personal stories.

“We knew the main story we wanted to tell and that was how baseball began in Arizona,” commented Susan Ricci, executive director of the Mesa Historical Museum. “That was so important. You can’t have a museum like this without talking about how it all got here.”

In the era of the Arizona Territory from 1863 to 1871, baseball made its way to the region through soldiers, settlers, and copper miners. The earliest known recordings of baseball date back to 1872, with military personnel at Fort Whipple and Camp Hualpai forming a baseball club, soon leading to the first official game.

The museum’s exhibits span from the sport’s introduction post-Civil War to contemporary highlights, such as the Diamondbacks’ 2001 World Championship. Visitors can explore the origins of the Cactus League, the sport’s role in Japanese internment camps, and the evolution of baseball equipment from primitive to modern times.

With interactive features such as a touchscreen trivia system, the museum invites visitors to delve deeper into renowned players and pivotal moments. Exhibition designer Tony Peters remarked, “The biggest thing is the narration of the content and how the story flows… We want people to walk out of here and go, ‘Wow, I did not know that.’”

The museum’s building itself is a piece of history, originally built in 1936 as a Works Progress Administration project intended to be the Lehi School Auditorium. Its robust construction led to its designation as a community bomb shelter during the Cold War. Renovating the facility was a significant challenge, requiring over $140,000 for essential repairs like roof truss replacement.

Ricci, an expert in fundraising, credits the city of Mesa for their crucial support, stating, “The city of Mesa really helped make this happen. They came in with resources in the ninth inning and really just helped us push this over the finish line.”

With hopes that the museum enhances Arizona’s baseball culture, Ricci anticipates the opening day will be a moment to reflect on their accomplishment. “It’s just surreal, because I’ve lived with it for over two years, so it’s hard to believe that this is done,” she shared.

This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.