1847.7

Occupation Army Takes Ballgame to Natives In . . . Santa Barbara?

Salience	Noteworthy
Tags	MilitaryMilitary
Location	CaliforniaCalifornia
City/State/Country:	[[{{{Country}}}]]
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Text	The New York Volunteer Regiment reached California in April 1847 after the end of the Mexican War, and helped to occupy the province. They laid out a diamond [where State and Cota Streets now meet], made a ball from gutta percha, and used a mesquite stick as a bat. Partly because batted balls found their way into the windowless nearby adobes, there were some problems. "Largely because of the baseball games, the Spanish-speaking people of Santa Barbara came to look upon the New Yorkers as loudmouthed, uncouth hoodlums. . . . the hostilities between Californians and Americanos continued to fester for generations." Walter A. Tompkins, "Baseball Began Here in 1847," It Happened in Old Santa Barbara (Santa Barbara National Bank, undated), pages 77-78.
Sources
Warning	Caveat: Angus McFarland has not been able to verify this account as of November 2008.
Comment	Note -- Actually, an earlier account of California ballplaying was recorded a month before this, in San Diego. See 1847.15. Edit with form to add a comment
Query	Is there any indication of what Tompkins' source might have been? Edit with form to add a query
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