MISSION, Texas - Mission Historical Museum is currently displaying a Baseball exhibit that will run until September.
The exhibit is called “Leagues Of Our Own.”
It runs Friday, July 7, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the Museum annex, which is located at 200 E. Tom Landry Avenue in Mission.
“Baseball made its way to the Lower Rio Grande Valley in the 1800s when soldiers stationed at forts Brown and Ringgold introduced the sport,” a flyer for the exhibit states.
“Public games between local teams became a popular form of entertainment and helped unite the community in the absence of radio and televisions. As the population of the Valley grew in the 1910s and 1920s, baseball’s popularity increased.
“With minimal equipment required, impromptu games among friends could be played in any open space. From the 1920s to the 1950s, baseball was at its peak in the Valley, with local teams represented in multiple professional minor leagues and various youth leagues also gaining popularity.
“However, the advent of television in the 1950s and 1960s led to a shift in entertainment preferences, moving spectator sport to indoor settings. Despite this, baseball and softball remain popular in South Texas, with the early to mid-1900s considered the glory days of baseball.”
Geoffrey Alger is exhibits coordinator for Mission Historical Museum. Here he previews the Leagues Of Our Own exhibit:
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