Hot Springs in Garland County, Arkansas — The American South (West South Central)

Hot Springs Baseball Grounds

— Hot Springs Historic Baseball Trail —

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 14, 2024

1. Hot Springs Baseball Grounds Marker

Inscription.
You are standing where the tradition of baseball spring training began. In 1886, baseball legends A. G. Spalding and Cap Anson brought the Chicago White Stockings (now the Cubs) to this field to train and play spring games. They were joined by fellow Hall of Famers Mike “King” Kelly, John Clarkson and future evangelist Billy Sunday. On March 28, 1887, Cap Anson hit three home runs here.

Erected 2012 by Hot Springs Advertising & Promotion Commission. (Marker Number 17.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Sports. A significant historical date for this entry is March 28, 1887.

Location. 34° 30.311′ N, 93° 3.525′ W. Marker is in Hot Springs, Arkansas, in Garland County. It is at the intersection of Ouachita Avenue and Hawthorne Street, on the right when traveling east on Ouachita Avenue. The marker is located near the northeast corner of the Garland County Courthouse grounds. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 501 Ouachita Avenue, Hot Springs National Park AR 71901, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Arkansas’ Ouachita Mountains.

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is also in the American South

and specifically in the Upper South.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

the Louisiana Purchase,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Ed. B. Mooney Tree (a few steps from this marker); Garland County Courthouse (within shouting distance of this marker); Orange Street Presbyterian Church (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Central Methodist Church (approx. 0.2 miles away); Walter Beauchamp House (approx. 0.2 miles away); Dr. and Mrs. D.E. Kloss (approx. ¼ mile away); Honus Wagner (approx. ¼ mile away); Walter Johnson (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Hot Springs.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . .
1. Major League Spring Training in Hot Springs (Encyclopedia of Arkansas).

Excerpt: In 1886, Albert
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, September 14, 2024

2. Hot Springs Baseball Grounds Marker
Looking south from Ouachita Avenue; the Garland County Courthouse is in the background. The marker is just inside the fence — near the northeast corner of the courthouse grounds.
Goodwill (A. G.) Spalding, president of the Chicago White Stockings of the National League, decided to train in a warmer climate. Thus, Hot Springs (Garland County) became one of the first spring training locations south of the Mason-Dixon Line for major league teams.
The Daily Gazette reported on Wednesday, March 17, 1886, “The Chicago base-ball club are in the city (Hot Springs) and will practice every day as soon as suitable grounds can be made.” While in Hot Springs, the National League team played on a field behind what is now the Garland County Courthouse on Ouachita Avenue. The team featured such notables as Adrian “Cap” Anson, John Clarkson, and Mike “King” Kelly, all of whom were later inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, as was Spalding. With them was the “fastest man in baseball,” outfielder Billy Sunday, who later became a famed evangelist.
Spalding’s spring training idea of 1886 was the signal for other major league teams to head south, many to the Arkansas resort. The floodgates opened wide, and major and minor league teams, as well as individual players, flocked to the spa city from 1886 to the 1940s.

(Submitted on December 11, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

2. The Early Years of Spring Training History: 1886-1910.

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Excerpt: The origins of spring training are lost in the shadows, like most of early baseball history. But we know this: Spring training is almost as old as baseball itself. On an 1886 barnstorming tour of the South the Chicago White Sox were said to stopped off at Hot Springs, Ark., to basically sober up before the start of the season. The best evidence points to spring training first taking place in 1870, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held organized baseball camps in New Orleans. Other baseball historians argue that the Washington Capitals of the National League pioneered spring training in 1888, holding a four-day camp in Jacksonville. In a well-documented argument for spring training, Gus Schmelz, when managing the Cincinnati Red Stockings of the original American Association in 1888, petitioned team owner Aaron Stern to allow the team to train down south.

(Submitted on December 11, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on December 11, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 11, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 208 times since then and 25 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 11, 2024, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.