Cronkite News offers an audio version of this story using an automated voice created by AI. Errors in pronunciation, pacing and intonation may occur. If you notice an error please contact cronkitenews@asu.edu.
TUCSON – When Bill Veeck was planning to sign Larry Doby, the American League’s first Black player, to integrate his Cleveland baseball team in 1947, the club was still training in Florida.
To escape the harsh racism of the South, Veeck moved his team’s spring training operation to Tucson. And with that move, Veeck helped launch what is now the Cactus League.
While all of MLB’s teams that call Arizona their spring training home have since migrated north to the Valley, Veeck is credited as the founding father of the Cactus League. He convinced the New York Giants to move to Phoenix the same year, beginning a spring training tradition in Arizona that continues today.
“March is historically a busy time in Tucson,” said Anthony Gimino, Pima County’s communications coordinator and a longtime Arizona sportswriter. “Spring training was part of the fabric of Tucson for so many years.”
Cleveland and the New York Giants made history by playing the first official Cactus League game on March 8, 1947, when the Giants beat Cleveland 3-1 at Tucson’s Randolph Park.
The Cubs became the third Cactus League team in 1952, playing at Rendezvous Park in Mesa.
In 1951, the Yankees and the Giants swapped spring training facilities for one year, bringing legends Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle to Arizona. The Giants played their games at the original Phoenix Municipal Stadium located near what is now downtown from 1947 to 1963, then moved to the new Phoenix Municipal Stadium when it opened 62 years ago in 1964 and continued playing there until 1981.
In the early days, spring training operations were far simpler.
“In the concourse behind the press box, there is a little stone building,” James Vujs, director of Phoenix Municipal Stadium said. “This was the original building. It was ticketing, it was operations, it was maintenance. And that’s all you needed 62 years ago to run spring training. If you look at the building, you can see the original ticket windows are still there.”
Following Veeck’s move to Tucson, a steady stream of major league teams established spring training homes in Arizona, marking the rapid expansion of the Cactus League.
Cleveland Indians — 1947
New York Giants — 1947
Chicago Cubs — 1952
Oakland Athletics — 1969
Milwaukee Brewers — 1971
Seattle Mariners — 1977
San Diego Padres — 1969
Los Angeles Angels — 1993
Colorado Rockies — 1993
Arizona Diamondbacks — 1998
Chicago White Sox — 1998
Kansas City Royals — 2003
Texas Rangers — 2003
Los Angeles Dodgers — 2009
In February of 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks moved into the newly opened Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium which at the time was called Tucson Electric Park.
Over time, as new teams joined the Cactus League, not only the way that the facilities operated changed, but where teams played became a big factor as teams began to centralize in the Phoenix area, leaving Tucson.
However, the Baltimore Orioles once trained and played games in Yuma, and the San Diego Padres headquartered there from 1969-93. The Giants played in Phoenix, but their headquarters was at Francisco Grande in Casa Grande for 20 springs. Inevitably, players grew tired of traveling so far, and the camps became more centralized.
“You can tell over the years as major league players grew bigger salaries and grew more important and had more say, you knew those superstars hated that bus ride down to Tucson,” Gimino said. “It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but they just didn’t like hopping on that bus two hours each way.”
On March 31, 1992, the team that paved the way for the Cactus League played its final game, defeating the Chicago Cubs 8-2. Cleveland returned to Florida for 1993 spring training, playing at Chains of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.
By 2007, the Rockies, Diamondbacks and White Sox were the only teams to train in Tucson as an inevitable exit to the Valley loomed over their heads.
“There was just so much history that I guess maybe you have to be of a certain age,” Gimino said. “But to think that one time Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, all the parade of Hall of Famers that came through here in the 50s, 60s and even through the 90s.”
On March 27, 2008, the White Sox played their final game in Tucson, losing to the Diamondbacks 8-4 in front of more than 7,000 fans.
“The agreement had been settled, in 2008 I think we knew the White Sox wanted to leave, and then the Diamondbacks and Rockies. The writing was on the wall,” Gimino said.
The Diamondbacks and the Rockies played the final spring training game on March 31, 2010, at Hi Corbett Field, ending a run that spanned more than six decades.
“It’s something Tucson residents seem to miss,” Gimino said. “Some of the older timers in town seem to miss that spring training atmosphere.”
By 2012, all 15 Cactus League teams had centralized to the Valley, leaving behind the place where the Cactus League was born.
But the memories remain.“I don’t think spring training is what it is today, without Tucson at the table very early on, being a welcoming party, and being open-minded to how that’s going to transition to the greater good,” Blake Eager, executive director of Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism, & Film Authority said. “I don’t think the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League exist without Tucson.”
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Arizona’s spring training roots began in Tucson, shifted to Valley
Austin Gibbs, Cronkite News
March 31, 2026
Cronkite News offers an audio version of this story using an automated voice created by AI. Errors in pronunciation, pacing and intonation may occur. If you notice an error please contact cronkitenews@asu.edu.TUCSON – When Bill Veeck was planning to sign Larry Doby, the American League’s first Black player, to integrate his Cleveland baseball team in 1947, the club was still training in Florida.
To escape the harsh racism of the South, Veeck moved his team’s spring training operation to Tucson. And with that move, Veeck helped launch what is now the Cactus League.
While all of MLB’s teams that call Arizona their spring training home have since migrated north to the Valley, Veeck is credited as the founding father of the Cactus League. He convinced the New York Giants to move to Phoenix the same year, beginning a spring training tradition in Arizona that continues today.
“March is historically a busy time in Tucson,” said Anthony Gimino, Pima County’s communications coordinator and a longtime Arizona sportswriter. “Spring training was part of the fabric of Tucson for so many years.”
Cleveland and the New York Giants made history by playing the first official Cactus League game on March 8, 1947, when the Giants beat Cleveland 3-1 at Tucson’s Randolph Park.
The Cubs became the third Cactus League team in 1952, playing at Rendezvous Park in Mesa.
In 1951, the Yankees and the Giants swapped spring training facilities for one year, bringing legends Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle to Arizona. The Giants played their games at the original Phoenix Municipal Stadium located near what is now downtown from 1947 to 1963, then moved to the new Phoenix Municipal Stadium when it opened 62 years ago in 1964 and continued playing there until 1981.
In the early days, spring training operations were far simpler.
“In the concourse behind the press box, there is a little stone building,” James Vujs, director of Phoenix Municipal Stadium said. “This was the original building. It was ticketing, it was operations, it was maintenance. And that’s all you needed 62 years ago to run spring training. If you look at the building, you can see the original ticket windows are still there.”
Following Veeck’s move to Tucson, a steady stream of major league teams established spring training homes in Arizona, marking the rapid expansion of the Cactus League.
Cleveland Indians — 1947
New York Giants — 1947
Chicago Cubs — 1952
Oakland Athletics — 1969
Milwaukee Brewers — 1971
Seattle Mariners — 1977
San Diego Padres — 1969
Los Angeles Angels — 1993
Colorado Rockies — 1993
Arizona Diamondbacks — 1998
Chicago White Sox — 1998
Kansas City Royals — 2003
Texas Rangers — 2003
Los Angeles Dodgers — 2009
In February of 1998, the Arizona Diamondbacks moved into the newly opened Kino Veterans Memorial Stadium which at the time was called Tucson Electric Park.
Over time, as new teams joined the Cactus League, not only the way that the facilities operated changed, but where teams played became a big factor as teams began to centralize in the Phoenix area, leaving Tucson.
However, the Baltimore Orioles once trained and played games in Yuma, and the San Diego Padres headquartered there from 1969-93. The Giants played in Phoenix, but their headquarters was at Francisco Grande in Casa Grande for 20 springs. Inevitably, players grew tired of traveling so far, and the camps became more centralized.
“You can tell over the years as major league players grew bigger salaries and grew more important and had more say, you knew those superstars hated that bus ride down to Tucson,” Gimino said. “It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but they just didn’t like hopping on that bus two hours each way.”
On March 31, 1992, the team that paved the way for the Cactus League played its final game, defeating the Chicago Cubs 8-2. Cleveland returned to Florida for 1993 spring training, playing at Chains of Lakes Park in Winter Haven.
By 2007, the Rockies, Diamondbacks and White Sox were the only teams to train in Tucson as an inevitable exit to the Valley loomed over their heads.
“There was just so much history that I guess maybe you have to be of a certain age,” Gimino said. “But to think that one time Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Satchel Paige, Bob Feller, all the parade of Hall of Famers that came through here in the 50s, 60s and even through the 90s.”
On March 27, 2008, the White Sox played their final game in Tucson, losing to the Diamondbacks 8-4 in front of more than 7,000 fans.
“The agreement had been settled, in 2008 I think we knew the White Sox wanted to leave, and then the Diamondbacks and Rockies. The writing was on the wall,” Gimino said.
The Diamondbacks and the Rockies played the final spring training game on March 31, 2010, at Hi Corbett Field, ending a run that spanned more than six decades.
“It’s something Tucson residents seem to miss,” Gimino said. “Some of the older timers in town seem to miss that spring training atmosphere.”
By 2012, all 15 Cactus League teams had centralized to the Valley, leaving behind the place where the Cactus League was born.
But the memories remain.“I don’t think spring training is what it is today, without Tucson at the table very early on, being a welcoming party, and being open-minded to how that’s going to transition to the greater good,” Blake Eager, executive director of Southern Arizona Sports, Tourism, & Film Authority said. “I don’t think the Cactus League and the Grapefruit League exist without Tucson.”
This article first appeared on Cronkite News and is republished here under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
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