Cactus League Timeline

A look back at the

HISTORY OF THE CACTUS LEAGUE

It’s been 72 years since Arizona’s sunshine convinced two Major League baseball teams to make their spring training home in the Grand Canyon state. Since then, a who’s who of baseball royalty have helped make the Cactus League what it is today. Names like Bill Veeck, Ernie Banks, Del Webb, Dwight Patterson, Ted Williams, Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle have all played roles in the history of the Cactus League. Here’s a look at the history of spring training in Arizona.

Chicago’s White Stockings (White Sox) are the first Major League team to play a barnstorming game in Arizona. They defeat Yuma’s team 9-1.

Chicago Cubs treasurer Earl Nelson visits Mesa to discuss the possibility of moving the Cubs to town for spring training.

1909

1929

1942 The Detroit Tigers become the first team to hold their spring training in Arizona. They play several games against local teams and two exhibitions against big league competition at Phoenix Riverside Park. But in 1930, the Tigers move their spring camp to California and never return to Arizona.

Larry Doby, who joined the Indians during the 1947 season, arrives for spring training in Tucson, becoming the first AfricanAmerican to play in the Cactus League.

The New York Yankees and their cross-town rival Giants swap spring training sites. The one-year-only swap is at the request of Yankees co-owner Del Webb, who wants to show off his World Series champion Yankees in his hometown. Phoenix fans are treated to seeing the first spring season of Mickey Mantle and the last of Joe DiMaggio.

The Boston Red Sox take up residence at Scottsdale Stadium and stay until 1965. Cactus League fans are treated to the final two seasons of Ted Williams’ career and the beginning years of Carl Yastrzemski’s career. After relocating to San Francisco in 1958, Horace Stoneham’s Giants begin training at a new practice facility in Casa Grande known as Francisco Grande. Built with modern amenities, Francisco Grande is primarily a training site for the team – the Giants will continue to play games at Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

The Giants move from “old” Phoenix Municipal Stadium to a new Phoenix Muni. Willie McCovey inaugurates the new $891,380 park with the first hit and Willie Mays hits the stadium’s first home run. 1947

1948

1951

1952

1954

1959

1961

1962

1964

1969

1970

The Chicago Cubs become the third team to take up residence in Arizona when they move their spring training base from Catalina Island to Mesa’s Rendezvous Park. After buying the Cleveland Indians in 1946, Bill Veeck, who owns a ranch near Tucson, convinces New York Giants owner Horace Stoneham to move his club’s spring training operation to Phoenix, while the Indians will train in Tucson. It marks the first time two Major League teams hold spring training in Arizona, establishing the foundation for what will become the Cactus League.

(spring)

The Baltimore Orioles train in Yuma. With their arrival, spring training in Arizona is officially referred to as the “Cactus League” as there are now four teams. After a year in Florida in 1955, the Orioles are lured back to Scottsdale with a brand-new ballpark and stay until 1959.

(fall)

The New York Giants win the first allCactus League World Series, sweeping the Cleveland Indians in four games. Among the highlights in the now legendary over-the-shoulder catch by Giants center fielder Willie Mays that prevents a Cleveland rally with two men on base.

The American League-expansion Los Angeles Angels join the Cactus League, playing half of its games in Palm Springs and half in Arizona.

The National League-expansion Houston Colt 45s (now the Astros) make their spring training home at Geronimo Park in Apache Junction. The team’s arrival expands the Cactus League to six teams.

The American League Seattle Pilots (Tempe) and the National League San Diego Padres (Yuma) join other teams training in Arizona. Charlie Finley’s A’s become the third addition to the league when they bring spring training back to Mesa. The A’s go on to win World Series titles three straight years (1972-74) while training in Mesa. The Pilots show up to spring training wearing one uniform and leave to wear another. During spring training, the bankrupt Seattle team is sold to Milwaukee businessman and future MLB Commissioner Bud Selig. When they left spring training, they left as the Milwaukee Brewers.

Hohokam Stadium replaces Rendezvous Park in Mesa for spring training. The Oakland Athletics move into the new ballpark. Another expansion team — the Seattle Mariners — moves into Tempe’s ballpark. Unlike the previous tenant, the Mariners commit themselves for the long haul. They will be partners with the City of Tempe for the next 25 years.

The A’s and Giants trade places when San Francisco moves to Scottsdale and Oakland takes over Phoenix Municipal Stadium.

Enticed by a new stadium and complex, the Indians leave Tucson for Florida, but expansion softens the blow as the Colorado Rockies take up spring residence at Hi Corbett Field. That same year, the Angels leave Palm Springs completely for a renovated Tempe Diablo Stadium. A new era begins when the City of Peoria opens a new $32 million complex and the San Diego Padres relocate from Yuma to share the new facility with the Mariners. The idea of shared facilities is one that will drive ballpark construction for the future.

As teams demand bigger, better facilities, a new Hohokam Stadium replaces the smaller park of the same name. The new park sets a Cactus League single-game record for attendance when 12,833 fans watch the Cubs play the Rockies on March 28.

The Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers relocate their spring operations from Florida and move into a new $48 million shared complex in Surprise as the Cactus League grows to 12 teams.

The Cleveland Indians return to the Cactus League at a new complex in the Town of Goodyear. The Cincinnati Reds join the Indians in Goodyear in 2010.

Two teams from the Cactus League once again face off in the World Series, as the Chicago Cubs defeat the Cleveland Indians in seven games.

Four pioneering African-American players are inducted to the Cactus Hall of Fame: Larry Doby, Willie Mays, Monte Irvin and Ernie Banks, all four of whom were among the first group of players to integrate spring training baseball in Arizona.

1977

1984

1993

1994

1997

1998

2003

2006

2009

2010

2011

2014

2015

2016

2017

2019

2020

The Arizona Diamondbacks are born and so is a new-shared complex with the Chicago White Sox in Tucson. The $37 million Electric Park opens that spring, giving Tucson three teams as the Cactus League grows to 10 teams.

The White Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers announce that they will be moving their spring operations to a new complex in Glendale. Camelback Ranch in Glendale opens to rave reviews in 2009.

With the addition of the Dodgers, Indians and Reds, the Cactus League now boasts a 15-team circuit. Half of all Major League teams now train in Arizona and for the first time, the Cactus League is equal to Florida’s Grapefruit League in size. The Rockies and Diamondbacks open a new facility within the Salt River PimaMaricopa Indian Community in Scottsdale. The move leaves Tucson without spring training baseball for the first time since 1947. Mesa opens a new ballpark for the Chicago Cubs. The stadium has several elements reminiscent of Wrigley Field, including dark green light towers, metal work on the upper deck and a press box facade that looks similar to Wrigley.

Actor Will Ferrell plays all nine positions in Cactus League games while filming a baseball special with HBO and Funny or Die. He uses a helicopter to get around between different games.

Following a year-long, $60 million renovation, the Milwaukee Brewers played in a completely renovated ballpark that was renamed the American Family Fields of Phoenix. The Brewers saw the Cactus League’s biggest jump, with an average of 7,434 per game, up 31 percent from 2018.

The Cactus League cancels play just two weeks into the season in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.