Southwest Sierra #57 — Baseball

Far into the past and not long ago, baseball was an integral thread in the fabric of life here in southwest Sierra County. The last Alleghany-Pike Little League team was active in the 1990s and included kids from the following families: Arbogast, Baird, Buckbee, Tenney plus several others who I have forgotten. Our kids eventually had to join a North San Juan team due to a lack of participants. There were adult teams too, “The Pink Panthers” was the name of the women’s team that my mom and Aunt Eydie were on in the mid-1980s. Don “Sonny” and Bernice McCleod of Alleghany ran the adult teams that played in the local leagues. The field at Plum Valley was, and remains our local ballfield, although it is used as a medevac helicopter landing pad more often than for playing baseball these days.

Going much further back, on Sept. 9, 1907, baseball was a major part of the Admission Day Activities for the big event held in Alleghany (see SS#26). In the early days of Sierra County, each town had its own men’s baseball team. Gold miners, merchants, schoolteachers…men of all occupations played ball. The ballfield in Alleghany was located at what is now the junction of Main and Miners Street at the south end of town. The field sat between Main Street and Foote’s Crossing Road and was used as recently as the 1960s. By the 1970s it was already becoming overgrown.

I got inspiration for this week’s article from The Forest City Historical Society’s recent newsletter. It includes a few great baseball photos and information about Forest City’s ballfield. To receive a copy of the newsletter by email: burrobird@gmail.com or write to the FCHA at 202 Main Street, Forest City, CA 95910 for a hard copy. Please support our local history organizations. A few dedicated individuals are doing much to preserve local history!

About the author: Rae Bell (aka Pauline) grew up in the Ruby Mine area. She currently resides in Alleghany proper and can be reached at raebell44@gmail.com or PO Box 919, Alleghany, CA 95910.