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Spring Training History

   Sunday, 07 December 2008 13:52
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   There is nothing as magical as spring training for a northern baseball
   fan: that sudden rush of warm air when departing from the three-hour
   airplane ride, the realization for the carbound that the snowline is
   firmly in the rear-view mirror and the outside temperature is fast
   approaching short-sleeve territory.

   Spring training is almost as old as baseball itself. The best evidence
   points to spring training first taking place in 1870, when the
   Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held organized
   baseball camps in New Orleans. Other baseball historians argue that the
   Washington Capitals of the National League pioneered spring training in
   1888, holding a four-day camp in Jacksonville.

   The specific origins really don't matter. By 1900, spring-training was
   firmly established as a baseball ritual, with most American and
   National League teams heading out of town so players could train and
   managers could evaluate. Small Florida and Arizona communities were
   suddenly known across the nation because of the allure provided by
   major-league baseball. St. Petersburg. Fort Lauderdale. Tucson.
   Sarasota. Bradenton.

   The history of spring training can be broken into three distinct eras:
     * 1901-1942: The Early Years
     * 1943-1945: The Wartime Years
     * 1945-present: Grapefruit and Cactus

   Many former spring training sites are still around:
     * Spring-training sites of the past: Tinker Field
     * Spring-training sites of the past: Baseball City
     * Spring-training sites of the past: Francisco Casa Grande


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   "People ask me what I do in the winter when there's no baseball. I'll
   tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring."
   --Rogers Hornsby

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