And the West is History: Durango Baseballers – Ca. 1890

The city of Durango was still in its infancy when the local newspapers started publishing the results of the local baseball team’s games in 1882. Town baseball teams were considered semi-pro and every surrounding community fielded a team. The San Juan Smelter was an early sponsor. The sport was wildly popular and very competitive. Durangoans were outraged in 1892 when the locals were beaten 25-6 by the Silverton nine who had imported a professional pitcher and catcher for the contest. By the early 1900s, the Durango team was itself importing players from the east to play. In the 1890s, offense seemed to rule the day as one three-game series saw the locals beat Ouray 26-18 and 25-15 while losing a third game 21-19. This Durango team and their manager pictured from that period are not identified. – Ed Horvat for Animas Museum, edhorvat@animasmuseum.org (Courtesy of La Plata County Historical Society)