Baseball in Orange County

Chris Epting

jun 2012 · Arcadia Publishing

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Organized baseball in Orange County began in the late 1880s when community teams began forming among oil well workers. Around 1900, a farm boy from Kansas named Walter Johnson arrived with his family. Soon, the flame-throwing future hall-of-fame pitcher would be dominating games throughout the county as a star for Fullerton Union High School. As the popularity of baseball grew, more teams and leagues formed in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Huntington Beach, and other cities. Connie Mack brought the Philadelphia Athletics to spring train in Orange County in the 1940s. Joe DiMaggio played for his Santa Ana Air Base team after joining the Army. Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Jackie Robinson, and many other legends visited Orange County over the years. Dozens of well-known players grew up here, and many are laid to rest here. In 1966, the California Angels played their first game in Orange County, where they remain today as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. The baseball history in Orange County is richand surprising.

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Chris Epting is the author of 19 books, including Roadside Baseball, Images of Baseball: The Early Polo Grounds, and Images of America: Los Angeless Historic Ballparks. Many of the images come from the authors private collection, augmented with images from the Orange County Historical Society and the Anaheim Public Library.