Manzanar Baseball

Play ball! It was a call that brought cheers from players and thousands of fans at Manzanar.

By the summer of 1942 , nearly 100 men's and 14 women's baseball teams were playing a full schedule of games. Teams like the San Fernando Aces and San Pedro Gophers came intact from their pre-war communities while other teams formed in camp. The ManzaKnights grew out of a young men's social club; older men formed their own league. Women's teams included the Dusty Chicks and Modernaires.

Thousands of fans gathered at Manzanar's main baseball field for epic match-ups between the Scorpions, Padres, Has-Beens, and other teams in the camp's 12 leagues.

Baseball was a powerful symbol of an American way of life; it boosted morale and brought some sense of normalcy to a confined community. In the words of Takeo Suo: "Putting on a baseball uniform was like wearing the American flag."

This hand-stitched hardball comes in the interpretive gift box shown.