Salt Lake City Bees Baseball Photo 1918 Original Bill Bernhard Vintage

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Seller: memorabilia111 ✉️ (807) 100%, Location: Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, Ships to: US & many other countries, Item: 176269159302 SALT LAKE CITY BEES BASEBALL PHOTO 1918 ORIGINAL BILL BERNHARD VINTAGE. BILL BERNHARDT VINTAGE ORIGINAL PHOTO FROM 1918 FROM SALT LAKE CITY BASEBALL TEAM. PHOTO MEASURES APPROXIMATELY 5 X 8 INCHES William Henry "Bill" Bernhard Born: March 16, 1871 - Clarence, NY Died: March 30, 1949 - San Diego, CA Batted: Switch Threw: RH Position: P MLB Pitching Record: 116–82 ERA: 3.04 Teams: Philadelphia Phillies NL (1899–1900) Philadelphia Athletics AL (1901–1902) Cleveland Bronchos/Naps AL (1902–1907) Nicknamed for his red hair, “Strawberry Bill” Bernhard didn’t start playing pro ball until he was 28 years old. He was a consistent, steady pitcher who had a couple of excellent seasons. He was the first Cleveland pitcher to lead the American League in winning percentage, going 18–5 (.783) in 1902. Bernhard also went 23–13 in 1904, and won 15 or more games in five more seasons. He continued in the minors as player/manager, mainly for the Nashville Volunteers and the Memphis Turtles in the Southern Association, leading the Volunteers to the league pennant in 1908. After a short stint with the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League, Bernhard retired at age 46 after the 1917 season.
Bill Bernhard Nickname(s): Strawberry Bill 1871-1949 RHP 1899-1907 Phillies, A's, Indians IP W-L ERA Career 1792 116-82 3.04 Books and articles about Bill Bernhard Bill Bernhard was the first Cleveland pitcher to lead the American League in winning percentage, with a .783 mark (18-5) in 1902. Like Nap Lajoie, Bernhard was barred from playing in Philadelphia after jumping from the Phillies to the Athletics in 1901. He joined Cleveland after one game in 1902. In 1904, after being slowed by a broken finger in 1903, he again led his staff in winning percentage, going 23-13. Bernhard later had a long managerial career in the Southern Association. (ME) FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » July 12, 1900: Frank "Noodles" Hahn of Cincinnati twirls a 4–0 no-hitter over Philadelphia. The Reds lefty gives up five walks to the visiting Quakers who are playing without Nap Lajoie. Hahn strikes out 7, including the first two batters in the 9th. The last batter, Roy Thomas, is thrown out on his two-strike bunt. Philadelphia's Bill Bernhard allows seven hits, including a homer by Sam Crawford in the 7th. » February 8, 1901: News leaks out that Napoleon Lajoie, the Phillies star 2B and leading National League hitter, has jumped to the new Philadelphia American League club, along with pitchers Chick Fraser and Bill Bernhard. » March 28, 1901: Phillies owner John Rogers files for an injunction prohibiting Nap Lajoie, Bill Bernhard, and Chick Fraser from playing for any other team—the most serious legal test of the reserve clause to date. » May 2, 1901: Against the Philadelphia Athletics and their untested rookie pitcher Pete Loos, the visiting Boston Somersets score a pair in the first inning, explode for nine runs in the 2nd inning, then do better in the 3rd by scoring ten runs, a major-league record scoring spree of 19 runs for consecutive innings. The aptly named Loos walks the first four hitters in the 2nd, then exits after going 2-0 on the 5th batter. Vet Bill Bernhard relieves with little effect. The final score is 23-12, with a record nine players scoring two or more runs. The A's have four players scoring twice for 2-team ML-record 13, a mark not tied until the same two teams match it in 1950. For Pete Loos, it is his only major-league appearance. Parson Lewis is the winner. » May 8, 1901: In their long-delayed AL home opener, Boston defeats Philadelphia's Bill Bernhard, 12-4, behind Cy Young, who has jumped from the St. Louis NL team. Boston is led by Buck Freeman, who has a single, triple and homer. Young complains that he does not like the rule against pitchers warming up but he will still lead the AL with his 1.62 ERA. His 33 wins are 41.8 percent of his team’s 79 victories, a post-1900 record, it will stand until Steve Carlton wins 45.8 percent of the Phils’ 59 wins in 1972. Young also complains about catchers. "I do not like the league rule compelling the catcher to stand behind the bat all the time. It handicaps a pitcher. I cannot extend myself as I would like." » May 17, 1901: The Philadelphia Common Pleas Court rejects the Phillies’ suit against Nap Lajoie, Chick Fraser, and Bill Bernhard. The decision is appealed to the State Supreme Court, but the trio remains with the Athletics all season. Lajoie will hit .422, while Fraser wins 22 and Bernhard 17 for the 4th-place Athletics. » April 21, 1902: The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, reversing a lower court's decision, grants a permanent injunction (effective only in Pennsylvania) barring jumpers Nap Lajoie, Chick Fraser, and Bill Bernhard from playing for the A's, or any team but the Phillies. Not mentioned, but covered by the decision, are: Elmer Flick, Monte Cross, and Bill Duggleby of the A's; Ed Delahanty, Al Orth, Harry Wolverton, and Jack Townsend of Washington; Ed McFarland (White Stockings) and Red Donahue (Browns). William Henry "Bill" Bernhard Born: March 16, 1871 - Clarence, NY Died: March 30, 1949 - San Diego, CA Batted: Switch Threw: RH Position: P MLB Pitching Record: 116–82 ERA: 3.04 Teams: Philadelphia Phillies NL (1899–1900) Philadelphia Athletics AL (1901–1902) Cleveland Bronchos/Naps AL (1902–1907) Nicknamed for his red hair, “Strawberry Bill” Bernhard didn’t start playing pro ball until he was 28 years old. He was a consistent, steady pitcher who had a couple of excellent seasons. He was the first Cleveland pitcher to lead the American League in winning percentage, going 18–5 (.783) in 1902. Bernhard also went 23–13 in 1904, and won 15 or more games in five more seasons. He continued in the minors as player/manager, mainly for the Nashville Volunteers and the Memphis Turtles in the Southern Association, leading the Volunteers to the league pennant in 1908. After a short stint with the Salt Lake City Bees in the Pacific Coast League, Bernhard retired at age 46 after the 1917 season. The Salt Lake City Bees were a minor league baseball club, based in Salt Lake City, Utah from 1911 until 1984, under various names. The Bees were long-time members of both the Pacific Coast League and Pioneer League. The team played their home games at Derks Field. Contents 1 History 2 Notable players 3 Year-by-year record 4 References 5 External links 6 See also History The direct predecessor to the Bees were the Salt Lake City Skyscrapers that played in the class-D Union Association from 1911–1914. The Association folded after the 1914 season. However, in 15, the San Francisco Missions were sold to Utah businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane who moved the team to Salt Lake City. The club was named the Bees from 1915–1925. Due to the high altitude and the dimensions of the club's Bonneville Park stadium, the Bees recorded some of the best batting records in the PCL during this period.[1] The club was named the Bees name from 1915–1925. However Lane moved the team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. Originally they were known as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars. The Bees' baseball was still available though in the city with Salt Lake City's team in the Utah–Idaho League from 1926–1928. The team won its first title in their final 1928 season. In 1939 the third incarnation of the Bees was formed and played in the Pioneer League, winning titles in 1946 and 1953. The city returned to the Pacific Coast league from 1958–1965, winning the league title in 1959. From 1967–1968, the city was represented by Salt Lake City Giants again played in the Pioneer League, now a rookie-level class league. The team was affiliated with the San Francisco Giants [2] The team played the 1969 and 1970 seasons renamed as the Bees. After their 1969, the club returned to Triple-A status and the Pacific Coast League. In 1971 the club was renamed the Salt Lake City Angels, when they became the affiliate of the California Angels through the 1974 season. In their first season as the Angels, the club won the southern division of the Pacific Coast League with a 78-68 record. The team would then go on to defeat the Tacoma Twins 3 games to 1 to claim the league pennant. The team was renamed the Salt Lake City Gulls in 1975 but remained as the Angels' top affiliate through the 1981 season. In 1979, the team were able to sweep the Hawaii Islanders and capture their final league title. In 1982, The Gulls switched to the Seattle Mariners organization. Following the 1984 season, the team was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, and became the Calgary Cannons in 1985.[3] The current minor league team in the city, the Salt Lake Buzz chose their name in part to pay homage to the Bees heritage. In November 2005, the Buzz, now the Salt Lake Stingers, changed their name to the Salt Lake Bees, reviving the name once again. Notable players Lefty Gomez (1928) Inducted, Baseball Hall of Fame Jeff Newman, MLB All-Star catcher and manager Year-by-year record Salt Lake City Angels cap logo A program for the Gulls' 1978 season (from Angels Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Bees Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Giants Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Gulls Baseball Reference Bullpen) (from Skyscrappers Baseball Reference Bullpen) Year League Record Finish Manager Playoffs Salt Lake City Skyscrappers 1911 Union Association 85-58 2nd Cliff Blankenship 1912 Union Association 77-61 2nd Art Weaver 1913 Union Association 75-47 2nd John McCloskey 1914 Union Association 52-34 2nd Harry Hester Salt Lake City Bees I 1915 Pacific Coast League 108-89 2nd Cliff Blankenship 1916 Pacific Coast League 99-96 3rd Cliff Blankenship 1917 Pacific Coast League 102-97 3rd Bill Bernhard 1918 Pacific Coast League 48-49 5th Walter McCredie 1919 Pacific Coast League 88-83 3rd Ed Herr 1920 Pacific Coast League 95-92 5th Ernie Johnson 1921 Pacific Coast League 73-110 7th Gavvy Cravath 1922 Pacific Coast League 95-106 4th Duffy Lewis 1923 Pacific Coast League 94-105 5th Duffy Lewis 1924 Pacific Coast League 101-100 5th Duffy Lewis 1925 Pacific Coast League 116-84 2nd Oscar Vitt Salt Lake City Bees II 1926 Utah–Idaho League 52-70 5th Bud Orr / Bert Whaling / Chet Chadbourne 1927 Utah–Idaho League 59-50 2nd Harry O'Neill 1928 Utah–Idaho League 68-49 1st Bobby Coltrin Won League Championship vs. Boise Senators, 4-1 Salt Lake City Bees III 1939 Pioneer League 59-65 4th Eddie Mulligan 1940 Pioneer League 79-51 1st Tony Robello Lost first round 1941 Pioneer League 68-60 3rd Tony Robello Lost first round 1942 Pioneer League 55-63 4th Andy Harrington 1946 Pioneer League 76-40 1st Joe Orengo League Champs 1947 Pioneer League 81-57 1st Tommy Thompson Lost League Finals 1948 Pioneer League 60-65 5th Tommy Thompson 1949 Pioneer League 73-53 4th Tommy Thompson Lost first round 1950 Pioneer League 55-70 6th Earl Bolyard / Robert White 1951 Pioneer League 84-52 1st Hub Kittle Lost first round 1952 Pioneer League 60-71 6th Hub Kittle 1953 Pioneer League 69-62 4th Eddie Murphy / Burt Barkelew / Charlie Gassaway League Champs 1954 Pioneer League 78-53 1st Charlie Gassaway Lost League Finals 1955 Pioneer League 61-70 6th Bobby Sturgeon / Sven Jessen 1956 Pioneer League 70-62 2nd (tie) Frank Lucchesi 1957 Pioneer League 61-64 5th Cliff Dapper 1958 Pacific Coast League 77-77 5th Larry Shepard 1959 Pacific Coast League 85-69 1st Larry Shepard Won Championship No playoffs 1960 Pacific Coast League 80-73 3rd Larry Shepard 1961 Pacific Coast League 67-87 8th Herman Franks/ Fred Fitzsimmons 1962 Pacific Coast League 81-73 2nd Bob Kennedy 1963 Pacific Coast League 73-85 9th El Tappe 1964 Pacific Coast League 58-98 9th Vedie Himsl 1965 Pacific Coast League 56-91 10th Stan Hack Salt Lake City Giants 1967 Pioneer League 25-41 4th Harvey Koepf 1968 Pioneer League 16-45 5th Ray Malgradi Salt Lake City Bees IV 1969 Pioneer League 38-33 4th Dave Garcia 1970 Pacific Coast League 44-99 8th Don Zimmer Salt Lake City Angels 1971 Pacific Coast League 78-68 2nd Del Rice Won Championship vs. Tacoma Twins, 3-1 1972 Pacific Coast League 80-68 3rd Les Moss 1973 Pacific Coast League 79-65 3rd Les Moss 1974 Pacific Coast League 69-73 5th Norm Sherry Salt Lake City Gulls 1975 Pacific Coast League 80-64 2nd Norm Sherry Lost Championship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 4-2 1976 Pacific Coast League 90-54 1st Jimy Williams Lost Championship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 3-2 1977 Pacific Coast League 74-65 3rd Jimy Williams 1978 Pacific Coast League 72-65 5th Deron Johnson Lost Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 3-0 1979 Pacific Coast League 80-68 2nd Jimy Williams Won Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 2-0 Won Champsionship vs. Hawaii Islanders, 3-0 1980 Pacific Coast League 77-65 4th Moose Stubing 1981 Pacific Coast League 63-71 6th Moose Stubing 1982 Pacific Coast League 73-70 4th Bobby Floyd Lost Semifinals vs. Albuquerque Dukes, 2-0 1983 Pacific Coast League 67-75 7th Bobby Floyd 1984 Pacific Coast League 74-66 2nd Bobby Floyd Lost Semifinals vs. Edmonton Trappers, 3-2 William Henry "Strawberry Bill" Bernhard (March 16, 1871 – March 30, 1949) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1899 to 1907 for the Philadelphia Phillies, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Bronchos / Naps.[1] After his playing career ended, he became a manager in the Southern Association.[2] He most notably managed the 1908 Southern champion Nashville Vols. Nashville Ferdinand E. Kuhn hired him to the position as manager of the Nashville club. The Salt Lake Bees are a Minor League Baseball team of the Pacific Coast League (PCL) and the Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. They are located in Salt Lake City, Utah, and play their home games at Smith's Ballpark. Known to fans as the Apiary, the ballpark opened in 1994 and has a seating capacity of 15,411, the largest in the PCL. The team was previously known as the Salt Lake Buzz (1994–2000) and Salt Lake Stingers (2001–2005) before adopting their Bees moniker in 2006. Contents 1 History 1.1 Prior professional baseball in Salt Lake City 1.2 Salt Lake Bees (1994–present) 2 Playoffs 3 Roster 4 Notable past players 5 References 6 External links History Prior professional baseball in Salt Lake City After the 1914 Pacific Coast League season, Salt Lake City businessman Bill "Hardpan" Lane purchased the Sacramento Solons and brought the team to Utah as the Salt Lake City Bees. Though a charter member of the PCL, the Solons suffered on the field and at the gate, being exiled at times to Tacoma, Fresno, and San Francisco. On March 31, 1915, their first game was played with 10,000 fans pouring into Bonneville Park to cheer the Bees to a 9–3 win over the Vernon Tigers. The original Bees never won a PCL pennant, but they did draw attendees well, especially considering the small market size. Other PCL team owners, though, resented the high cost of travel to Salt Lake City. When the Vernon Tigers abandoned Los Angeles after the 1925 season, it was suggested to Lane that he would do well to transfer his team to southern California. So after eleven seasons, the Bees moved to Los Angeles for the 1926 season. At first known as the Hollywood Bees, the team soon became the Hollywood Stars. After ten seasons in Hollywood, the team transferred again, to San Diego, where it played as the San Diego Padres from 1936 to 1968. Salt Lake City was without a baseball team until 1946 when it received a franchise in the Pioneer League.[4] When the Brooklyn Dodgers moved to Los Angeles in 1958, the second version of the Hollywood Stars was forced to relocate and were sold and moved back to Salt Lake City, becoming the Salt Lake City Bees. In 1959, the Bees won their first PCL pennant, edging the Vancouver Mounties by ​1 1⁄2 games. In 1963, the team began its first season as a farm team, becoming a full affiliate of the Chicago Cubs. This second version of the Bees played in the PCL from 1958 to 1965 before moving to Tacoma. As before, the void created by the loss of the PCL was filled by the Pioneer League from 1967 to 1969. In 1970, the Pacific Coast League returned to Salt Lake City for the third time in the form of the new Salt Lake City Bees, the Triple-A farm team for the San Diego Padres. The affiliation lasted only one season, and in 1971, the Padres and California Angels swapped their Triple-A affiliates in Salt Lake City and Hawaii (where they had a short, but historic run of PCL dominance). Rather than continue as the Bees, the team took their parent's name of Angels and won the PCL title in 1971. After four seasons as the Angels, the team was renamed the Salt Lake City Gulls in 1975. The Gulls became the Triple-A affiliate of the Seattle Mariners in 1982. Though the team never achieved a first-place finish, it won PCL pennants in 1971 and 1979, winning the playoffs both years. Following the 1984 season, the team was sold and moved to Calgary, Alberta, and became the Calgary Cannons in 1985. Out of the PCL after 1984, Salt Lake City again fielded a team in the rookie-level Pioneer League, the Salt Lake City Trappers, from 1985 to 1992.[4] In 1987, the Trappers won 29 consecutive games to establish an all-time pro baseball record. Following a near decade-long absence, the PCL returned to Salt Lake City for a fourth time in 1994. Salt Lake Bees (1994–present) An entrance gate to Smith's Ballpark (former stadium name Spring Mobile Ballpark pictured), home of the Bees The current franchise dates from 1994, when Joe Buzas, a former major league player and the owner of the PCL Portland Beavers, moved the team to Salt Lake City. Buzas made a deal wherein the city would build a new ballpark on the site of historic Derks Field in exchange for relocating the team. The new ballpark, Franklin Quest Field, opened in 1994 with the renamed Salt Lake Buzz drawing 713,224 fans to home games during their inaugural season—breaking the PCL single-season attendance record that had stood for 48 years.[5] Buzas owned the team until his death in 2003. The team was purchased by Larry H. Miller, who also owned the NBA's Utah Jazz. Miller died in February 2009, and the team is currently owned by his widow, Gail Miller. Known as the Salt Lake Buzz from 1994 to 2000, the team changed its name to the Salt Lake Stingers in 2001. The change was forced by a trademark dilution lawsuit filed by Georgia Tech, whose yellowjacket mascot is named Buzz.[6] The name change coincided with a change of major league clubs, from the Minnesota Twins to the Anaheim Angels. Following the 2005 season, the team announced the Stingers would henceforth be known as the Salt Lake Bees, the name of the original PCL franchise which played in Salt Lake City from 1915 to 1926.[4] Bees have long been a symbol of Utah. The original name of the Mormon settlement, Deseret, is said to be the word for "honeybee" in the Book of Mormon; a beehive appears on the Utah state flag; the state motto is "Industry" (for which bees are known); and Utah is widely known as the "Beehive State." Playoffs 1994: Lost to Vancouver 3–2 in semifinals 1995: Defeated Vancouver 3–1 in semifinals; lost to Colorado Springs 3–2 in finals 1996: Lost to Edmonton 3–1 in semifinals 1999: Lost to Vancouver 3–2 in semifinals 2000: Defeated Sacramento 3–2 in semifinals; lost to Memphis 3–1 in finals 2002: Defeated Oklahoma 3–0 in semifinals; lost to Edmonton 3–1 in finals 2006: Lost to Tucson 3–1 in semifinals 2007: Lost to Sacramento 3–2 in semifinals 2008: Lost to Sacramento 3–1 in semifinals 2013: Defeated Las Vegas 3–1 in semifinals; lost to Omaha 3–1 in finals Roster Salt Lake Bees rostervte Players Coaches/Other Pitchers 10 Jason Alexander 29 Matt Ball 27 Jeremy Beasley 30 Tyler Carpenter -- Ryan Clark 33 Adrian De Horta 20 Adam Hofacket 38 Isaac Mattson 40 Jeremy Rhoades -- Zac Ryan Catchers Infielders  8 José Rojas -- Erick Salcedo Outfielders 26 Jo Adell  9 Brennon Lund Manager 12 Lou Marson Coaches 13 Brian Bethancourth (hitting) -- Jairo Cuevas (pitching)  4 Ray Olmedo (defense) Injury icon 2.svg 7-day injured list * On Los Angeles Angels 40-man roster # Rehab assignment ∞ Reserve list ‡ Restricted list § Suspended list † Temporary inactive list Roster updated February 7, 2020 Transactions → More rosters: MiLB • Pacific Coast League → Los Angeles Angels minor league players Notable past players Bernardo Brito[7] Chone Figgins[8] LaTroy Hawkins[9] John Lackey[10] David Ortiz[11] Todd Walker[12] Kendrys Morales Jered Weaver[13] Nick Adenhart[14] Joe Saunders[15] Howie Kendrick[16] Erick Aybar Torii Hunter Robb Quinlan Jose Molina Mike Trout Dontrelle Willis Tim Lincecum Marty Cordova A.J. Pierzynski Andrew Romine Sean Rodriguez Doug Mientkiewicz Jeff Mathis Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the capital and most populous municipality of the U.S. state of Utah, as well as the seat of Salt Lake County, the most populous county in Utah. With an estimated population of 200,591 in 2018,[9] the city is the core of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, which has a population of 1,222,540 (2018 estimate). Salt Lake City is further situated within a larger metropolis known as the Salt Lake City–Ogden–Provo Combined Statistical Area, a corridor of contiguous urban and suburban development stretched along a 120-mile (190 km) segment of the Wasatch Front, comprising a population of 2,606,548 (as of 2018 estimates).[10] It is one of only two major urban areas in the Great Basin.[11] Salt Lake City is the world headquarters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The city was founded in 1847 by followers of the church, led by Brigham Young, who were seeking to escape persecution that they had experienced while living farther east. The Mormon pioneers, as they would come to be known, entered an arid valley and immediately began building, planning, and extending an extensive irrigation network which could feed the population and foster future growth. Salt Lake City's street grid system is based on a standard compass grid plan, with the southeast corner of Temple Square (the area containing the Salt Lake Temple in downtown Salt Lake City) serving as the origin of the Salt Lake meridian. Due to its proximity to the Great Salt Lake, the city was named Great Salt Lake City. In 1868, the 17th Utah Territorial Legislature dropped the word "Great" from the city's name.[12] Immigration of international members of the church, mining booms, and the construction of the first transcontinental railroad initially brought economic growth, and the city was nicknamed the Crossroads of the West. It was traversed by the Lincoln Highway, the first transcontinental highway, in 1913. Two major cross-country freeways, I-15 and I-80, now intersect in the city. The city also had a belt route, I-215. Salt Lake City has developed a strong outdoor recreation tourist industry based primarily on skiing and outdoor recreation. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. It is the industrial banking center of the United States.[13] Contents 1 History 2 Geography 2.1 Layout 2.2 Neighborhoods 2.3 Climate 2.4 Parks 2.4.1 City parks 3 Demographics 4 Economy 5 Law and government 6 Education 7 Culture 7.1 Museums and the arts 7.2 Performing arts 7.3 Music 7.4 Festivals 7.5 Conventions 7.6 Events 7.7 Media 8 Main sights 9 Sports and recreation 9.1 Professional sports 9.2 Amateur sports 10 Transportation 10.1 Roads 10.2 Public transportation 10.2.1 Transit bus service 10.2.2 Light rail 10.2.3 Commuter rail 10.2.4 Intercity bus and rail services 10.3 Air transportation 10.4 Cycling 11 Sister cities 12 See also 13 Notes 14 References 14.1 Literature 15 External links History Main article: History of Salt Lake City External video 1866 Harper's Weekly View of Salt Lake City, Utah w- Brigham Young (Mormons) - Geographicus - SaltLakeCity-harpersweekly-1866.jpg  10 Towns that Changed America, WTTW, 56:02, segment from 12:00–16:20[14] Map showing Salt Lake as Mexican territory in 1838 Source: Britannica 7th Ed. Before settlement by members of the LDS Church, the Shoshone, Ute,[15] and Paiute[16] had dwelt in the Salt Lake Valley for thousands of years. At the time of Salt Lake City's founding, the valley was within the territory of the Northwestern Shoshone.[17] One local Shoshone tribe, the Western Goshute tribe, had names for the Jordan River, City Creek, and Red Butte Canyon (Pi'o-gwût, So'ho-gwût, and Mo'ni-wai-ni).[18] The Goshutes (or, Gosiutes) also lived in the vicinity of Salt Lake and the valleys to the west.[19] The land was treated by the United States as public domain; no aboriginal title by the Northwestern Shoshone was ever recognized by the United States or extinguished by treaty with the United States.[20] The first American explorer in the Salt Lake area was probably Jim Bridger in 1825, although others had been in Utah earlier, some as far north as the nearby Utah Valley (the 1776 Dominguez-Escalante expedition were undoubtedly aware of Salt Lake Valley's existence). U.S. Army officer John C. Frémont surveyed the Great Salt Lake and the Salt Lake Valley in 1843 and 1845.[21] The Donner Party, a group of ill-fated pioneers, had traveled through the Great Salt Lake Valley in August 1846. Salt Lake City c. 1880 by Carleton E. Watkins The valley's first permanent settlements date to the arrival of the Latter-day Saints in July 1847.[22] They had traveled beyond the boundaries of the United States into Mexican Territory[23] seeking a secluded area to safely practice their religion away from the violence and the persecution they experienced in the United States. Upon arrival at the Salt Lake Valley, president of the church Brigham Young is recorded as stating, "This is the right place, drive on." Brigham Young is said to have seen the area in a vision before the wagon train's arrival. They found the broad valley empty of any human settlement. Part of Main Street, 1890 Four days after arriving in the Salt Lake Valley, Brigham Young designated the building site for the Salt Lake Temple. The Salt Lake Temple, constructed on the block later called Temple Square, took 40 years to complete. Construction started in 1853, and the temple was dedicated on April 6, 1893. The temple has become an icon for the city and serves as its centerpiece. The southeast corner of Temple Square is the point of reference for the Salt Lake meridian, and for all addresses in the Salt Lake Valley. Settlers buried thirty-six Native Americans in one grave after an outbreak of measles occurred during the winter of 1847.[24] The pioneers organized a state called State of Deseret, and petitioned for its recognition in 1849. The United States Congress rebuffed the settlers in 1850 and established the Utah Territory, vastly reducing its size, and designated Fillmore as its capital city. Great Salt Lake City replaced Fillmore as the territorial capital in 1856, and the name later was shortened to Salt Lake City. The city's population continued to swell with an influx of converts to the LDS Church and Gold Rush gold seekers, making it one of the most populous cities in the American Old West. The first group of settlers brought African slaves with them, making Utah the only place in the western United States to have African slavery.[25] Three slaves, Green Flake, Hark Lay, and Oscar Crosby, came west with the first group of settlers in 1847.[26] The settlers also began to purchase Indian slaves in the well-established Indian slave trade,[27] as well as enslaving Indian prisoners of war.[28][29] In 1850, 26 slaves were counted in Salt Lake County.[30] In 1852, the territorial legislature passed the Act in Relation to Service and the Act for the relief of Indian Slaves and Prisoners formally legalizing slavery in the territory. Slavery was abolished in the territory during the Civil War. Explorer, ethnologist, and author Richard Francis Burton traveled by coach in the summer of 1860 to document life in Great Salt Lake City. He was granted unprecedented access during his three-week visit, including audiences with Brigham Young and other contemporaries of Joseph Smith. The records of his visit include sketches of early city buildings, a description of local geography and agriculture, commentary on its politics and social order, essays, speeches, and sermons from Young, Isaac Morley, George Washington Bradley and other leaders, and snippets of everyday life such as newspaper clippings and the menu from a high-society ball.[31] Men lounging outside a saloon and a Chinese laundry, 1910 Disputes with the federal government ensued over the church's practice of polygamy. A climax occurred in 1857 when President James Buchanan declared the area in rebellion after Brigham Young refused to step down as governor, beginning the Utah War. A division of the United States Army, commanded by Albert Sidney Johnston, later a general in the army of the Confederate States of America, marched through the city and found it had been evacuated. They continued their march through the deserted city to vacant land at the southwest corner of the valley. There they set up Camp Floyd (40 miles (64 km) south of the city). Another military installation, Fort Douglas, was established in 1862 to maintain Union allegiance during the American Civil War. Many area leaders were incarcerated at the territorial prison in Sugar House in the 1880s for violation of anti-polygamy laws. The church began its eventual abandonment of polygamy in 1890, releasing "The Manifesto", which officially suggested members obey the law of the land (which was equivalent to forbidding new polygamous marriages inside the US and its territories, but not in church member settlements in Canada and Mexico). This paved the way for statehood in 1896, when Salt Lake City became the state capital. The First Transcontinental Railroad was completed in 1869 at Promontory Summit on the north side of the Great Salt Lake.[32] A railroad was connected to the city from the Transcontinental Railroad in 1870, making travel less burdensome. Mass migration of different groups followed. Ethnic Chinese (who had laid most of the Central Pacific railway) established a flourishing Chinatown in Salt Lake City nicknamed "Plum Alley", which housed around 1,800 Chinese during the early 20th century. The Chinese businesses and residences were demolished in 1952 although a historical marker has been erected near the parking ramp which has replaced Plum Alley. Immigrants also found economic opportunities in the booming mining industries. Remnants of a once-thriving Japantown – namely a Buddhist temple and Japanese Christian chapel – remain in downtown Salt Lake City. European ethnic groups and East Coast missionary groups constructed St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in 1874, the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine in 1909 and the Greek Orthodox Holy Trinity Cathedral in 1923. This time period also saw the creation of Salt Lake City's now defunct red-light district that employed 300 courtesans at its height before being closed in 1911.[33] Panorama of Temple Square taken in 1912 During the late 19th and early 20th centuries, an extensive streetcar system was constructed throughout the city, with the first streetcar running in 1872 and electrification of the system in 1889. As in the rest of the country, the automobile usurped the streetcar, and the last trolley was approved for conversion in 1941, yet ran until 1945, due to World War II. Trolley buses ran until 1946. Light rail transit returned to the city when UTA's TRAX opened in 1999.[34] The S Line (formerly known as Sugar House Streetcar) opened for service in December 2013 on an old D&RGW right-of-way.[35][36] The city's population began to stagnate during the 20th century as population growth shifted to suburban areas north and south of the city. Few of these areas were annexed to the city, while nearby towns incorporated and expanded. As a result, the population of the surrounding metropolitan area greatly outnumbers Salt Lake City. A major concern of recent government officials has been combating inner-city commercial decay. The city lost population from the 1960s through the 1980s, but experienced some recovery in the 1990s. Presently, the city has gained an estimated 5 percent of its population since the year 2000.[37] The city has experienced significant demographic shifts in recent years.[38] Hispanics now account for approximately 22% of residents and the city has a significant LGBT community.[39] There is also a large Pacific Islander population (mainly Samoans and Tongans); they compose roughly 2% of the population of the Salt Lake Valley area. Salt Lake City was selected in 1995 to host the 2002 Winter Olympics. The games were plagued with controversy. A bid scandal surfaced in 1998 alleging bribes had been offered to secure the bid. During the games, other scandals erupted over contested judging scores and illegal drug use. Despite the controversies, the games were heralded as a financial success, being one of the few in recent history to turn a profit. In preparation major construction projects were initiated. Local freeways were expanded and repaired, and a light rail system was constructed. Olympic venues are now used for local, national, and international sporting events and Olympic athlete training.[40] Tourism has increased since the Olympic games,[41][failed verification] but business did not pick up immediately following.[42] Salt Lake City expressed interest in bidding for the 2022 Winter Olympics.[43][44] However, Beijing was selected to host the 2022 Winter Olympics.[45] Salt Lake City hosted the 16th Winter Deaflympic games in 2007, taking place in the venues in Salt Lake City and Park City,[46] and Rotary International chose the city as the host site of their 2007 convention, which was the single largest gathering in Salt Lake City since the 2002 Winter Olympics.[47] The U.S. Volleyball Association convention in 2005 drew 39,500 attendees. Geography Main article: Geography of Salt Lake City Astronaut photography of Salt Lake International Airport in west SLC, taken from the International Space Station (ISS). North is at bottom. Salt Lake City and adjacent suburbs, facing south Salt Lake City has an area of 110.4 square miles (286 km2) and an average elevation of 4,327 feet (1,319 m) above sea level. The lowest point within the boundaries of the city is 4,210 feet (1,280 m) near the Jordan River and the Great Salt Lake, and the highest is Grandview Peak,[48] at 9,410 feet (2,868 m).[49] The city is in the northeast corner of the Salt Lake Valley surrounded by the Great Salt Lake to the northwest, the steep Wasatch Range to the east, and Oquirrh Mountains to the west. Its encircling mountains contain several narrow canyons, including City Creek, Emigration, Millcreek, and Parley's which border the eastern city limits. The burgeoning population of Salt Lake City and the surrounding metropolitan area, combined with its geographical situation, has led to air quality becoming a concern. The Great Basin is subject to strong temperature inversions during the winter, which trap pollutants and decrease the air quality. The Utah Division of Air Quality monitors air quality and issues alerts for voluntary and mandatory actions when pollution exceeds federal safety standards. Protests have been held at the Utah State Capitol and Democratic lawmakers have introduced legislation in the Utah State Legislature to make public transportation free during January and July, when air quality is usually at its worst.[50] The population of the Salt Lake City metropolitan area is projected to double by 2040, putting further pressure on the region's air quality.[51] The Great Salt Lake is separated from Salt Lake City by extensive marshlands and mudflats. The metabolic activities of bacteria in the lake result in a phenomenon known as "lake stink", a scent reminiscent of foul poultry eggs, two to three times per year for a few hours.[52] The Jordan River flows through the city and is a drainage of Utah Lake that empties into the Great Salt Lake. The highest mountaintop visible from Salt Lake City is Twin Peaks, which reaches 11,330 feet (3,450 m).[53] Twin Peaks is southeast of Salt Lake City in the Wasatch Range. The Wasatch Fault is found along the western base of the Wasatch and is considered at high risk of producing an earthquake as large as 7.5. Catastrophic damage is predicted in the event of an earthquake with major damage resulting from the liquefaction of the clay- and sand-based soil and the possible permanent flooding of portions of the city by the Great Salt Lake.[54] On March 18, 2020, a 5.7 magnitude earthquake, the largest in the Salt Lake City area in modern times, hit Magna, just southwest of Salt Lake City, causing some minor damage throughout the valley.[55] The second-highest mountain range is the Oquirrhs, reaching a maximum height of 10,620 feet (3,237 m) at Flat Top.[56] The east–west-oriented Traverse Mountains to the south extend to 6,000' (1830m), nearly connecting the Wasatch and Oquirrh Mountains. The mountains near Salt Lake City are easily visible from the city and have sharp vertical relief caused by ancient earthquakes, with a maximum difference of 7,099 feet (2164 m) being achieved with the rise of Twin Peaks from the Salt Lake Valley floor.[53] The Salt Lake Valley floor is the ancient lakebed of Lake Bonneville, which existed at the end of the last Ice Age. Several Lake Bonneville shorelines can be distinctly seen as terraces on the foothills or benches of nearby mountains. A panoramic view of Salt Lake City, June 2009 Layout Plat of Salt Lake City, circa 1870s The city, as well as the county, is laid out on a grid plan.[57] Most major streets run very north–south and east–west. The grid's origin is the southeast corner of Temple Square, the block containing the Salt Lake Temple; the north–south axis is Main Street; and the east–west axis is South Temple Street. Addresses are coordinates within the system (similar to latitude and longitude). Odd and even address numbering depends on the quadrant of the grid in which an address is located. The rule is: When traveling away from the grid center (Temple Square) or its axes (Main Street, South Temple Street), odd numbers will be on the left side of the street. The streets are relatively wide due to the direction of Brigham Young, who wanted them wide enough to permit an ox-pulled wagon team to turn around without "resorting to profanity".[58] These wide streets and grid pattern are typical of other Mormon towns of the pioneer era throughout the West. Though the nomenclature may initially confuse new arrivals and visitors, most consider the grid system an aid to navigation. Some streets have names, such as State Street, which would otherwise be known as 100 East. Other streets have honorary names, such as the western portion of 300 South, named "Adam Galvez Street" (for a local Marine corporal killed in action) or others honoring Rosa Parks, Martin Luther King Jr., César Chávez, Harvey Milk, and John Stockton. These honorary names appear only on street signs and cannot be used in postal addresses. The Salt Palace In the Avenues neighborhood, north–south streets are given letters of the alphabet, and east–west streets are numbered in 2.5-acre (1.0 ha) blocks, smaller than those in the rest of the city. Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter-day Saint movement, planned the layout in the "Plat of the City of Zion" (intended as a template for Mormon towns wherever they might be built). In his plan the city was to be developed into 135 10-acre (4.0 ha) lots. However, the blocks in Salt Lake City became irregular during the late 19th century when the LDS Church lost authority over growth and before the adoption of zoning ordinances in the 1920s. The original 10-acre (4.0 ha) blocks allowed for large garden plots, and many were supplied with irrigation water from ditches that ran approximately where modern curbs and gutters would be laid. The original water supply was from City Creek. Subsequent development of water resources was from successively more southern streams flowing from the mountains east of the city. Some old irrigation ditches are still visible in the eastern suburbs, or are still marked on maps, years after they were gone. There are still some canals that deliver water as required by water rights. Many lots, in Salt Lake City and surrounding areas, have irrigation water rights attached to them. Local water systems, in particular Salt Lake City Public Utilities, have a tendency to acquire or trade for these water rights. These can then be traded for culinary water rights to water imported into the valley. At its peak, irrigation in the valley comprised over one hundred distinct canal systems, many originating at the Jordan Narrows at the south end of the valley. Water and water rights were important in the 19th and early 20th centuries. As heavy agricultural usage changed into a more urban and suburban pattern, canal water companies were gradually replaced by culinary water systems. Neighborhoods See also: List of Salt Lake City neighborhoods and Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City, Utah § Neighborhoods and areas Salt Lake City has many distinct neighborhoods. There is a general east-west socioeconomic divide. The eastern neighborhoods of the city, such as 9th & 9th, Yalecrest, and Sugar House tend to be more affluent. The areas are popular with professionals, families, and students due to their proximity to Downtown, the University of Utah, commercial precincts, and the Wasatch foothills. The western neighborhoods of the city, such as Poplar Grove and Glendale tend to be more working-class and ethnically diverse and are popular with immigrants and young people. This divide is a result of the railroad being built in the western half as well as panoramic views from inclined ground in the eastern portion. Housing is more economically diverse on the west side, which results in demographic differences. Interstate 15 was also built in a north–south line, further dividing east and west sides of the city. The west side of the city has historically been more culturally diverse. People of many faiths, races, and backgrounds live in the neighborhoods of Rose Park, Westpointe, Poplar Grove, and Glendale. It has always been considered a classic and diverse area, although recently its affordability has attracted many professionals and the more youthful generation. Sugar House Sugar House, in southeastern Salt Lake City, has a reputation as an older neighborhood with small shops in the center.[59] Sugar House is an area which has been the focus of redevelopment efforts such as the UTA S-Line Streetcar. In late 2015 there were approximately 900 apartment units either recently built or under construction in the Sugar House area, with an additional 492 units proposed.[60] Northeast of Downtown is The Avenues, a neighborhood outside of the regular grid system on smaller blocks. The area between 6th Avenue to South Temple Street is a Historical District that is nearly entirely residential, and contains many historical Victorian era homes. Recently the Avenues is becoming known for restaurants and shops opening in old retail space mixed within the community. The Avenues are situated on the upward-sloping bench in the foothills of the Wasatch Range, with the earlier built homes in the lower elevation. The Avenues, along with Federal Heights, just to the east and north of the University of Utah, and the Foothill area, south of the university, contain gated communities, large, multimillion-dollar houses, and panoramic views of the valley. Many consider this some of the most desirable real estate in the valley. In addition to larger centers like Sugar House and Downtown, Salt Lake City contains several smaller neighborhoods, each named after the closest major intersection. Two examples are the 9th and 9th (at the intersection of 900 East and 900 South Streets) and 15th & 15th (at the intersection of 1500 East and 1500 South Streets) neighborhoods. These areas are home to foot-traffic friendly, amenities-based businesses such as art galleries, clothing retail, salons, restaurants and coffee shops. During the summer of 2007, 9th and 9th saw sidewalk and street improvements as well as an art installation by Troy Pillow of Seattle, Washington inspired by the 9 Muses of Greek myth, thanks in part to a monetary grant from Salt Lake City. Many of the homes in the valley date from pre–World War II times, and only a select few areas, such as Federal Heights and the East Bench, as well as the far west side, including parts of Rose Park and Glendale, have seen new home construction since the 1970s. Climate Main article: Climate of Salt Lake City Köppen climate types of Utah Under the Köppen climate classification, Salt Lake City has a semi-arid continental climate (or Dsa), with cold snowy winters, hot and dry summers, and modest seasonal rainfall. [61] The primary source of precipitation in Salt Lake City is massive storms that move in from the Pacific Ocean along the jet stream from October to May. In mid-to-late summer, when the jet stream retreats far to the north, precipitation mainly comes from afternoon thunderstorms caused by monsoon moisture moving up from the Gulf of California. Although rainfall can be heavy, these storms are usually scattered in coverage and rarely severe. However, downtown was hit by an F2 tornado on August 11, 1999, killing 1 person, injuring 60, and causing $170 million in damage. The remnants of tropical cyclones from the East Pacific can rarely reach the city during Fall. The remnants of Hurricane Olivia helped bring the record monthly precipitation of 7.04 inches (179 mm) in September 1982.[62][63] 1983 was the wettest year on record, with 24.26 inches (616 mm), while 1979 was the driest, when 8.70 inches (221 mm) were recorded.[64] Spring snowmelt from the surrounding mountains can cause localized stream flooding during late spring and early summer, the worst examples being in 1952 and especially 1983, when City Creek burst its banks, (Creek-bed scouring in Memory Grove, caused by high spring run-off in City Creek, filled much of the submerged waterway running westward under North Temple Street towards the Jordan River) forcing city engineers to convert several downtown streets into waterways.[65] Salt Lake City, Utah Climate chart (explanation) J F M A M J J A S O N D   1.3  3722   1.3  4325   1.8  5434   2  6240   2  7248   1  8356   0.6  9365   0.7  9163   1.2  7953   1.5  6541   1.5  4931   1.4  3823 Average max. and min. temperatures in °F Precipitation totals in inches Metric conversion Climate data for Salt Lake City, Utah (2010-2019 Averages) Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year Average high °F (°C) 38 (3) 46 (8) 57 (14) 62 (17) 71 (22) 86 (30) 94 (34) 92 (33) 82 (28) 66 (19) 52 (11) 39 (4) 65 (18) Average low °F (°C) 23 (−5) 29 (−2) 36 (2) 41 (5) 49 (9) 60 (16) 69 (21) 67 (19) 57 (14) 43 (6) 33 (1) 25 (−4) 44 (7) Source: [66] Snow falls on average from November 6 to April 18, producing a total average of 60 inches (152 cm), although measurable snow has fallen as early as September 17 and as late as May 28.[67][68][69] The snowiest season was 1951–52, with 117.3 inches (298 cm), while the least snowy season was 16.6 inches (42 cm) in 1933–34.[70] The snowiest month on record was January 1993, in which 50.3 inches (128 cm) were recorded.[71] The nearby Great Salt Lake is a significant contributor to precipitation in the city. The lake effect can enhance rain from summer thunderstorms and produces lake-effect snow approximately 6 to 8 times per year, some of which can produce prodigious snowfall amounts. It is estimated about 10% of the annual precipitation in the city can be attributed to the lake effect.[72] Salt Lake City features large variations in temperatures between seasons. During summer, there are an average of 56 days per year with temperatures of at least 90 °F (32.2 °C), 23 days of at least 95 °F (35 °C), and 5 days of 100 °F (37.8 °C).[73] However, average daytime July humidity is only 22%.[74] Winters are quite cold but rarely frigid. While an average of 127 days drop to or below freezing, and 26 days with high temperatures that fail to rise above freezing, the city only averages 2.3 days at or below 0 °F (−17.8 °C). The record high temperature is 107 °F (42 °C), which occurred first on July 26, 1960 and again on July 13, 2002, while the record low is −30 °F (−34 °C), which occurred on February 9, 1933.[75] During mid-winter, strong areas of high pressure often stagnate over the Great Basin, leading to strong temperature inversions. This causes air stagnation and thick smog in the valley from several days to weeks at a time and can result in the nation's worst air-pollution levels.[76][77] This same effect will also occasionally play a role in the summer months, causing tropospheric ozone to peak in July & August, but in 2015 it started at the beginning of June.[78] In 2016 Salt Lake's air quality was ranked 6th worst in the nation by the American Lung Association. It received an F grade for both ozone and particulate matter. Particulate pollution is considered especially dangerous, as the tiny pollutants can lodge deep in lung tissue. Both ozone and particulate pollution are associated with increased rates of strokes, heart attacks, respiratory disease, cancer and premature death.[79] Outdoor air particulates have been associated with low and very low birth weight, premature birth, congenital defects, and death.[80] Climate data for Salt Lake City International Airport (1981–2010 normals,[a] extremes 1874–present)[b] Parks The largest park in Salt Lake City is This Is the Place Heritage Park, a part of the Utah State Parks system.[85] At 217.5 acres, This is the Place Heritage Park re-creates typical 19th century LDS pioneer life and contains over 50 restored or replicated historical buildings. This is the Place Monument also is located within the park, marking the end of the Mormon trail. Sugar House Park is the second largest park in Salt Lake City at 110 acres (45 ha) and is a part of the Salt Lake County park system. The park is known for its large, rolling hills surrounding a 4.5 acres (1.8 ha) pond with fountains.[86] It was also the site of an annual Fourth of July fireworks display until 2018. Red Butte Garden and Arboretum, in the foothills of Salt Lake City, features many different exhibits and also hosts many musical concerts. It is operated by the University of Utah. City parks Salt Lake City has a system of 85 municipal parks.[87] Some of the most notable are: Liberty Park (100 acres (40 ha))[88] is the city's largest park and features a lake with two islands in the middle and the Tracy Aviary. The park is home to a large number of birds, both wild and in the aviary. City Creek Park (4 acres (1.6 ha))[89] Pioneer Park (10 acres (4.0 ha))[90] Lindsey Gardens (15.25 acres (6.17 ha))[91] Gilgal Garden (3 acres (1.2 ha))[92] Jordan Park (33.5 acres (13.6 ha)) is home to the International Peace Gardens. Bonneville Shoreline Trail is a popular hiking and biking nature trail which spans 90 miles (140 km) through the foothills of the Wasatch Front. Demographics Historical population Census Pop. %± 1850 6,157 — 1860 8,236 33.8% 1870 12,854 56.1% 1880 20,768 61.6% 1890 44,843 115.9% 1900 53,531 19.4% 1910 92,777 73.3% 1920 116,110 25.1% 1930 140,267 20.8% 1940 149,934 6.9% 1950 182,121 21.5% 1960 189,454 4.0% 1970 175,885 −7.2% 1980 163,034 −7.3% 1990 159,936 −1.9% 2000 181,743 13.6% 2010 186,440 2.6% Est. 2018 200,591 [4] 7.6% Source:[93]U.S. Decennial Census[94] 2018 Estimate[95] Racial composition 2018 (est.)[96] 2010[97] 1990[98] 1970[98] 1950[98] White 73.1% 75.1% 87.0% 96.8% 98.3% —Non-Hispanic 65.4% 65.7% 82.6% 90.6%[99] n/a Black or African American 2.3% 2.6% 1.7% 1.2% 0.6% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) 21.6% 22.3% 9.7% 6.4%[99] n/a Asian (includes Pacific Islander up to 1990) 5.4% 4.4% 4.7% 1.1% 1.0% Pacific Islander 1.5% 2.0% n/a n/a n/a Native American and Alaska Native 1.5% 1.2% n/a n/a n/a Map of racial distribution in Salt Lake City, 2010 U.S. Census. Each dot is 25 people: White, Black, Asian, Hispanic or Other (yellow) US Census Bureau estimates for 2018[100] listed 200,591 people in Salt Lake City. The racial makeup of the county was 65.4% non-Hispanic White, 2.3% Black, 1.5% Native American, 5.4% Asian, 1.5% Pacific Islander, and 3.4% from two or more races. 21.6% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. At the 2010 census, Salt Lake City's population was 75.1% White, 2.6% African American, 1.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 4.4% Asian, 2.0% Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander, 10.7% from other races and 3.7% of mixed descent. 22.3% of the total population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.[101] The city's population has historically been predominantly white.[98] Between 1860 and 1950 whites represented about 99% of the city's population but this somewhat changed in the decades that followed.[98] As of 2010, 37.0% of the population had a bachelor's degree or higher. 18.5% of the population was foreign born and another 1.1% was born in Puerto Rico, U.S. insular territories, or born abroad to American parent(s). 27.0% spoke a language other than English at home. There are 186,440 people (up from 181,743 in 2000), 75,177 households, and 57,543 families in the city. This amounts to 6.75% of Utah's population, 18.11% of Salt Lake County's population, and 16.58% of the new Salt Lake metropolitan population.[7] The area within the city limits covers 14.2% of Salt Lake County. Salt Lake City is more densely populated than the surrounding metro area with a population density of 1,688.77/sqmi (1,049.36/km²). There are 80,724 housing units at an average density of 731.2/sqmi (454.35/km²). The Salt Lake City-Ogden metropolitan area, which included Salt Lake, Davis, and Weber counties, had a population of 1,333,914 in 2000, a 24.4% increase over the 1990 figure of 1,072,227. Since the 2000 Census, the Census Bureau has added Summit and Tooele counties to the Salt Lake City metropolitan area, but removed Davis and Weber counties and designated them as the separate Ogden-Clearfield metropolitan area. The Salt Lake City-Ogden-Clearfield combined statistical area, together with the Provo-Orem metropolitan area, which lies to the south, have a combined population of 2,094,035 as of July 1, 2008. There are 75,177 households, out of which 27.0% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% are married couples living together, 10.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 44.3% are other types of households. Of the 75,177 households, 3,904 were reported to be unmarried partner households: 3,047 heterosexual, 458 same-sex male, and 399 same-sex female. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals, and 9.7% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.48, and the average family size is 3.24. The city's age distribution (as of 2000): 23.6% under 18 15.2% from 18 to 24 33.4% from 25 to 44 16.7% from 45 to 64 11.0% 65 or older The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females, there are 102.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 101.2 males. The median income for a household in the city is $36,944, and the median income for a family is $45,140. Males have a median income of $31,511 versus $26,403 for females. The per capita income for the city is $20,752. 15.3% of the population and 10.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 18.7% of those under the age of 18 and 8.5% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. Large family sizes and low housing vacancy rates, which have inflated housing costs along the Wasatch Front, have led to one out of every six residents living below the poverty line. According to the Census Bureau's American Community Survey of 2017, the highest disparity in income in Utah is in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City's GINI Index score was 0.4929, compared with the state's overall score of 0.423. The west-side areas of Salt Lake have the lowest-incomes while areas like the upper Avenues, have much higher incomes. Other Utah cities with relatively high scores include Provo, 0.4734; and Ogden, 0.4632.[102] Fewer than 50% of Salt Lake City's residents are members of the LDS Church. This is a much lower proportion than in Utah's more rural municipalities; altogether, LDS members make up about 62% of Utah's population.[103] The Rose Park and Glendale sections are predominantly Spanish-speaking with Hispanic and Latino Americans accounting for 60% of public school-children.[104] The Centro Civico Mexicano acts as a community gathering point for the Wasatch Front's estimated 300,000 Latinos,[105] Mexican President Vicente Fox began his 2006 US tour in Salt Lake City. Salt Lake City is home to a Bosnian American community of more than 8,000, most of whom arrived during the Bosnian War in the 1990s.[106] The large Pacific Islander population, mainly Samoan and Tongan, is also centered in the Rose Park, Glendale, and Poplar Grove sectors. Most of Salt Lake City's ethnic Pacific Islanders are members of the LDS Church,[107] though various Samoan and Tongan-speaking congregations are situated throughout the Salt Lake area including Samoan Congregational, Tongan Wesleyan Methodist, and Roman Catholic. Just outside Salt Lake City limits, newer immigrant communities include Nepalis, and refugees of Karen origin from Myanmar (former Burma). Salt Lake City also has the third largest Sri Lankan community in the United States.[108] Salt Lake City has been considered one of the top 51 "gay-friendly places to live" in the U.S.[109] The city is home to a large, business savvy, organized, and politically supported gay community. Leaders of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Utah,[110][111] as well as leaders of Utah's largest Jewish congregation, the Salt Lake Kol Ami,[112] along with three elected representatives of the city identify themselves as gay. These developments have attracted controversy from socially conservative officials representing other regions of the state. A 2006 study by UCLA estimates approximately 7.6% of the city's population, or almost 14,000 people, are openly gay or bisexual, compared to just 3.7%, or just over 60,000 people, for the metropolitan area as a whole.[113] In 2007, Salt Lake City was ranked by Forbes as the most vain city in America, based on the number of plastic surgeons per 100,000 and their spending habits on cosmetics, which exceed cities of similar size.[114] However, this likely reflects a concentration of plastic surgeons within the city limits but whose client base includes the entire metropolitan area.[citation needed] Forbes also found the city to be the 8th most stressful. In contrast to the 2007 ranking by Forbes, a 2010 study conducted by Portfolio.com and bizjournals concluded Salt Lake City was the least stressful city in the United States.[115] In 2014, CNN deemed Salt Lake City to be the least stressed-out city in the United States, citing the low cost of living and abundance of jobs.[116] A 2008 study by the magazines Men's Health and Women's Health found Salt Lake City to be the healthiest city for women by looking at 38 different factors, including cancer rates, air quality, and the number of gym memberships.[117] Economy Main article: Economy of Salt Lake City Recreational tourism in the Wasatch Mountains is a major source of employment. Zions Bancorporation headquarters in Salt Lake City Ambox current red.svg This section needs to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information. (July 2014) Historically known as the "Crossroads of the West" for its railroads, when nearby steel, mining and railroad operations provided a strong source of income with Silver King Coalition Mines, Geneva Steel, Bingham Canyon Mine, and oil refineries, Salt Lake City's modern economy is service-oriented. Today the city's major sectors are government, trade, transportation, utilities, and professional and business services. The daytime population of Salt Lake City proper swells to over 315,000 people, not including tourists or students.[118] Local, state, and federal governments have a large presence in the city, and trade, transportation, and utilities provide significant employment, with the major employer being the Delta hub at Salt Lake City International Airport. Equally significant are the professional and business services, while health services and health educational services are significant areas of employment, including the largest health care provider in the Intermountain West, Intermountain Healthcare. Other major employers include the University of Utah, Sinclair Oil Corporation, and the LDS Church. Besides its central offices, the LDS Church owns and operates a for-profit division, Deseret Management Corporation and its subsidiaries, which are headquartered in the city. Salt Lake City is home to two Fortune 1000 companies, Zions Bancorporation and Questar Corporation.[119] Other notable firms headquartered in the city include AlphaGraphics, Sinclair Oil Corporation, Smith's Food and Drug (owned by national grocer Kroger), MonaVie, Myriad Genetics, Creminelli Fine Meats and Vehix.com.[120] Notable firms based in nearby cities within the metropolitan area include Arctic Circle Restaurants, FranklinCovey, and Overstock.com. Metropolitan Salt Lake was also once the headquarters of American Stores, the Skaggs Companies, and ZCMI, one of the first department stores; it is now owned by Macy's, Inc. Former ZCMI stores now operate under the Macy's label. High-tech firms with a large presence in the suburbs include Adobe, ColcaSac, eBay, Unisys, Siebel, Micron, L-3 Communications, Telarus, and 3M. Goldman Sachs has its second-largest presence in Salt Lake City.[121] Other economic activities include tourism, conventions, and major suburban call centers. Tourism has increased since the 2002 Olympic Winter Games,[41] and many hotels and restaurants were built for the events. The convention industry has expanded since construction of the Salt Palace convention center in the late 1990s, which hosts trade shows and conventions, including the Novell BrainShare conference. Law and government Seat of Salt Lake City government c. 1894 The Salt Lake City and County Building has been the seat of city government since 1894. It also served as Utah's first statehouse from 1896 until the current Utah State Capitol was dedicated on October 9, 1916.[122] Since 1979, Salt Lake City has had a non-partisan mayor-council form of government. The mayor and the seven councillors are elected to staggered four-year terms. Council seats are defined by geographic population boundaries. Each councilor represents approximately 26,000 citizens. Officials are not subject to term limits. Municipal elections throughout Utah are non-partisan. The most recent election was held on November 5, 2019. Councilwoman Erin Mendenhall was elected mayor, Daniel E. Dugan won against incumbent Charlie Luke, while Andrew Johnston and Ana Valdemoros retained their seats on the council.[123] Darin Mano was appointed by the council to serve the rest of Mendenhall's term.[124] Members of the city council also serve as the governing board of the city's Redevelopment Agency. Elected officials of Salt Lake City as of 2020 Official Position Assumed office Term ends Erin Mendenhall (D) Mayor 2020 2024 City Council James Rogers District 1 2014 2022 Andrew Johnston, Vice Chair District 2 2016 2024 Chris Wharton, Chair District 3 2018 2022 Ana Valdemoros District 4 2019 2024 Darin Mano District 5 2020 2022 Daniel E. Dugan District 6 2020 2024 Amy Fowler District 7 2018 2022 Elections are held in odd-numbered years. Candidates take office in January of the following year. The separation of church and state was the most heated topic in the days of the Liberal Party and People's Party of Utah, when many candidates were also would-be LDS Church bishops. This tension is still reflected today with the Bridging the Religious Divide campaign.[125] This campaign was initiated when some city residents complained the Utah political establishment was unfair in its dealings with non-LDS residents by giving the LDS Church preferential treatment, while LDS residents perceived a growing anti-Mormon bias in city politics. The city's political demographics are considerably more liberal than the rest of Utah. While Utah as a whole is a strongly conservative and Republican state, Salt Lake City is considered a Democratic bastion. Since 1976, all of the city's mayors have been Democrats. The city is home to several non-governmental think-tanks and advocacy groups such as the conservative Sutherland Institute, the progressive Alliance for a Better Utah, the gay-rights group Equality Utah, and the quality-growth advocates Envision Utah. Salt Lake hosted many foreign dignitaries during the 2002 Winter Olympics, and in 2006 the president of Mexico began his U.S. tour in the city and Israel's ambassador to the United States opened a cultural center.[126] President George W. Bush visited in 2005 and again in 2006 for national veterans' conventions; both visits were protested by then-Mayor Rocky Anderson. Other political leaders such as Howard Dean and Harry Reid gave speeches in the city in 2005. In July 2013, a new Public Safety Building housing police, fire, and emergency dispatch employees opened. It was billed as the largest net zero energy building in the nation at opening, and is expected to be certified LEED Platinum.[127] The Salt Lake City Fire Department operates out of 14 fire stations. See also: List of mayors of Salt Lake City See also: Joe_Hill § Trial Education Main articles: Education in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake County—Education Salt Lake City Public Library. The American Library Association called it the best in the US in 2006. The University of Utah Medical Center In 1847 LDS pioneer Jane Dillworth held the first classes in her tent for the children of the first LDS families. In the last part of the 19th century, there was much controversy over how children in the area should be educated. LDS and non-LDS could not agree on the level of religious influence in schools. Today, many LDS youths in grades 9 through 12 attend some form of religious instruction in addition to the public-school sessions, referred to as seminary. Students are released from public schools at various times of the day to attend seminary.[128][129] LDS seminaries are usually on church-owned property adjacent to the public school and within walking distance.[130] Because of high birth rates and large classrooms, Utah spends less per student than any other state, yet also spends more per capita (of total state population) than any state with the exception of Alaska. Money is always a challenge, and many businesses donate to support schools. Several districts have set up foundations to raise money. Recently, money was approved for the reconstruction of more than half of the elementary schools and one of the middle schools in the Salt Lake City School District, which serves most of the area within the city limits. There are twenty-three K-6 elementary schools, five 7–8 middle schools, three 9–12 high schools (Highland, East, and West, with the former South High being converted to the South City campus of the Salt Lake Community College), and an alternative high school (Horizonte) within the school district. In addition, Highland has recently been selected as the site for the charter school Salt Lake School for the Performing Arts (SPA). Many Catholic schools are in the city, including Judge Memorial Catholic High School. Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School, established in 1867 by Episcopal Bishop Daniel Tuttle,[131] is the area's premier independent school. The Salt Lake City Public Library system consists of the main library downtown, and five branches in various neighborhoods. The main library, designed by renowned architect Moshe Safdie, opened in 2003. In 2006, the Salt Lake City Public Library was named "Library of the Year" by the American Library Association.[132] Postsecondary educational options in Salt Lake City include the University of Utah, Westminster College, Salt Lake Community College, Stevens-Henager College, Eagle Gate College, The Art Institute of Salt Lake City, Violin Making School of America (now named Peter Prier & Sons Violins), and LDS Business College. Utah State University, Neumont College of Computer Science and Brigham Young University also operate education centers in the city. There are also many trade and technical schools such as Healing Mountain Massage School and the Utah College of Massage Therapy. The University of Utah is noted for its research and medical programs. It was one of the original four universities to be connected to ARPANET, the predecessor to the Internet,[133] in 1969, and was the site of the first artificial heart transplant in 1982.[134] Culture Museums and the arts The Denver and Rio Grande Western Depot now serves as home to the Utah Department of Heritage and Arts and the Rio Gallery. Salt Lake City is home to several museums. Near Temple Square is the Church History Museum. Operated by the LDS Church, the museum contains collections of artifacts, documents, art, photographs, tools, clothing and furniture from the history of the LDS Church, which spans nearly two centuries. West of Temple Square, at The Gateway, is the Clark Planetarium, which houses an IMAX theater, and Discovery Gateway, a children's museum. The University of Utah campus is home to the Utah Museum of Fine Arts as well as the Natural History Museum of Utah. Other museums in the area include the Utah State Historical Society, Daughters of Utah Pioneers Memorial Museum, Fort Douglas Military Museum, the Social Hall Heritage Museum, and The Leonardo, a new art, science and technology museum housed in the previous Salt Lake City Library building. Salt Lake City is home to several classic movie theaters including the Tower Theatre and the Broadway Theater, both of which host the Salt Lake Film Society members and shows. The Utah Film Center hosts free film screenings, many with post film Q and A's with filmmakers or subject experts every Tuesday night at the Salt Lake Public Library and monthly at the Rose Wagner Theater. On December 5, 2007, the Salt Lake Chamber and Downtown Alliance announced a two-block section of downtown south of the planned City Creek Center is planned to become a new arts hub. This will include renovations to two theaters in the area and a new theater with a seating capacity of 2,400 and increased space for galleries and artists. The opening of the new facilities was anticipated to coincide with the opening of the City Creek Center in 2011, but they have yet to be completed.[135] The $81.5 million theater site was announced, and attempts to secure funding began.[136] The theater plans have come under criticism, however, especially from nearby smaller theaters which host Off-Broadway tours and claim such a theater cannot be supported and will hurt their business.[137] Performing arts Abravanel Hall Salt Lake City provides venues for both professional and amateur theatre. The city attracts traveling Broadway and Off-Broadway performances in the historic Capitol Theatre. Local professional acting companies include the Pioneer Theatre Company, Salt Lake Acting Company, and Plan-B Theatre Company, which is the only theatre company in Utah fully devoted to developing new plays by Utah playwrights. The Off-Broadway Theatre, in Salt Lake's historic Clift Building,[138] features comedy plays and Utah's longest-running improv comedy troupe, Laughing Stock. Salt Lake City is home to The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, founded in 1847 as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. The choir's weekly program, called Music and the Spoken Word, is the world's longest-running continuous network broadcast.[139] Salt Lake City is the home to the Utah Symphony Orchestra, which was founded in 1940 and grew to become a major US orchestra during the tenure of its former music director,Maurice Abravanel, who led the orchestra from 1947 through 1979. Its current music director is Thierry Fischer. The orchestra's original home was the Salt Lake Tabernacle, but since 1979 has performed at Abravanel Hall in the western downtown area. In 2002, Utah Symphony merged with Utah Opera, which was founded in 1978 by Glade Peterson and under current Artistic Director Christopher McBeth annually presents four opera productions in the Capitol Theatre. Salt Lake City area is home to the renowned children's choir from The Madeleine Choir School, and the Salt Lake Children's Choir (established in 1979). The University of Utah is home to two highly ranked dance departments, the Ballet Department and the Department of Modern Dance. Professional dance companies in Salt Lake City include Ballet West, Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company (which celebrated its 45th anniversary season in 2008/2009) and Repertory Dance Theatre. The Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center is host to both RWDC and RDT. Music The city has an eclectic music scene that includes hip hop, blues, rock and roll, punk, deathcore, horrorcore and indie groups. Popular groups or persons who started in the Wasatch Front area, or were raised in and influenced by it, include Iceburn, Eagle Twin, The Almost, The Brobecks, Meg and Dia, Royal Bliss, Shedaisy, The Summer Obsession, Theater of Ice, The Used and Chelsea Grin. Salt Lake has an underground metal scene with bands such as Gaza and Bird Eater. During the summer, Salt Lake City hosts the Twilight Concert series, a low-cost summer concert series. The series has been a part of the Salt Lake City music scene since the late 1980s. In 2010, crowds peaked at 40,000 attendees in downtown's Pioneer Park.[140] Festivals Salt Lake City has a thriving festival culture. Various festivals happen throughout the year, celebrating the diversity of the valley's communities. From culture, food, religion and spirituality, to dance, music, spoken word, and film, almost any type of festival can be found. Many of the festivals have been ongoing for decades. The rainbow flag at the conclusion of the 2014 Utah Pride parade. The Utah Pride Festival is an annual LGBTQ festival, held in June. Started in 1983, it has grown to a three-day festival with attendance exceeding 50,000. It is sponsored by the Utah Pride Center. It is the second largest festival behind Days of '47 and is one of the nation's largest festivals.[141][142][143] The festival includes hundreds of vendors, food, music stars, a 5k run, a dyke and trans march[clarification needed], and an interfaith service by the Utah Pride Interfaith Coalition.[144] The Utah Arts Festival has been held annually since 1977 with an average attendance of 80,000. About 130 booths are available for visual artists, and five performance venues for musicians.[145] The Dark Arts Festival is an annual 3-day festival dedicated to the goth and industrial subcultures. The festival started in 1993, and is hosted at the local goth club Area 51.[146][147][148] The festival contracts bands to play during the event. 2015's lineup included Tragic Black, The Gothsicles, Adrian H & the Wounds, and Hocico.[149] Hocico performing at the 2015 Dark Arts Festival The Utah Arts Alliance hosts an annual Urban Arts Festival, usually drawing over 20,000, and featuring artists displaying and selling paintings, sculpture, photography, and jewelry. Live music is provided, mixing rock, hip hop, R&B, funk, and jazz, and workshops for interests such as skateboarding and gardening take place. The festival also hosts the Voice of the City film festival which allows local filmmakers to show their version of Salt Lake.[150] The Jewish Arts Festival, hosted by the IJ and Jeanné Wagner JCC of Salt Lake City, showcases Jewish culture through workshops, theater, food, film, art, and contemporary music from the local and global Jewish communities.[151][152] The Sugar House neighborhood[153] holds an annual arts festival on July 4, with local artists, performances, music, food, and vendors. The festival coincides with the fireworks show at Sugar House Park in the evening.[154][155] Salt Lake City also hosts portions of the Sundance Film Festival. The festival, which is held each year, brings many cultural icons, movie stars, celebrities, and thousands of film buffs to see the largest independent film festival in the United States. The headquarters of the event is in nearby Park City. There are several other annual festivals, including FilmQuest, Salty Horror Con & Film, Damn These Heels, and the Voice of the City. FilmQuest began in 2014 and features selected genres such as fantasy and science fiction.[156] Salty Horror, which began in 2010, is a competition-based horror film festival.[157] The Utah Film Center presents two annual film festivals Damn These Heels, which began in 1994 focuses on independent, documentary, and foreign feature-length films surrounding LGBTQ issues, ideas, and art.[158][159] The second festival of the Utah Film center is the Tumbleweeds film festival for kids. This festival began in 2010, allows families to experience international films and media workshops. Tumbleweeds works to increasing kids awareness of different cultures, encourages independent voices, nurtures media making skills and strengthens critical review. Voice of the City film festival is part of the Urban Arts Festival and allows local filmmakers to show their version of Salt Lake. The 2015 Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival was the first performance festival in Salt Lake City. The 4-day festival included various performances involving music, dance, theatre, spoken word, circus arts, magic, and puppetry.[160][161] The Living Traditions Festival is a 3-day multicultural arts festival hosted by the Salt Lake City Arts Council, started in 1985. The festival celebrates traditional dance, music, crafts and food from the various contemporary ethnic communities of Salt Lake City.[162][163] Earth Jam is an annual festival celebrated in Salt Lake's Liberty Park to celebrate Earth Day through music. The free festival focuses on music, and hosts speakers, vendors, food, performing art, a Goddess pageant, and children's garden.[164] The Live Green SLC! Festival aims to showcase sustainable products, ideas, and solutions from renewable technologies for the everyday household.[165] The festival promotes education, sustainability, and accessibility to green and organic products and services.[166] Craft Lake City DIY (Do-It-Yourself) festival is an artisan festival that promotes the use of science and technology to help local artists produce their crafts such as silk screens, jewelry, and other mediums. The festival promotes education through workshops, galleries, and demonstrations which includes various vendors and food.[167] The 9th and 9th Street Festival is an annual neighborhood festival celebration of art, music, and crafts, held at 900 East/900 South Streets.[168] Carmelite Festival 2015 live band at the Carmelite Monastery of Salt Lake City The Catholic Nuns of Carmelite Monastery hold an annual fair each autumn in Holladay, a suburb of Salt Lake City. The festival includes music, food, a live auction, Golf for the Nuns tournament, a prize giveaway, and a 5k Run for the Nuns marathon.[169][170] The Sri Sri Ganesh Hindu Temple of Utah, in Salt Lake City, has an annual Ganesh Festival called Ganesh Chathurthi.[171] The 10-day festival is devoted to rites of worship of the Hindu God Ganesh. In 2014 the festival was hosted at the Krishna Temple of Salt Lake since the Ganesh temple's exterior was under construction, which made the inner temple inaccessible.[172] India Fest is hosted by the Krishna Temples of Salt Lake City and Spanish Fork, Utah. The festival includes food, dances, drama and a pageant of the Ramayana.[173] Since 2011 the Krishna Temple of Salt Lake City has held an annual Festival of Colors, similar to the famous festival at the Krishna Temple in Spanish Fork.[174] The Great Salt Lake City Yoga Festival was in its fifth year (as of 2015). 2015 saw the first Downtown Yoga festival in Salt Lake City. Both festivals are intended to inspire yogis in the community by teaching about yoga, healthy living, raw food, and traditional yoga music.[175][176] Harts Hearth Clan of Tooele, Utah performing the closing Norse rite, Salt Lake City Pagan Pride Day 2015 The local Pagan community has celebrated an annual Salt Lake City Pagan Pride Day since 2001. The festival features rituals, workshops, dancers, bards, vendors, and requires only a can of food donation for admission.[177][178][179][180][181][182][183][184][185] Cosplayers (left) receive steampunk tarot readings at the 2015 Salt City Steamfest Members of the steampunk subculture have an annual two-day festival, Steamfest. It hosts vendors, panels, and cosplayers dressed in the fashion of various punk cultures, mostly around steam, deco, and diesel punk.[186][187] Rose Park hosts an annual spring festival, to display the community's diversity. It includes dancers, music, a 5k run, silent auction and food.[188] The 2014 Greek Festival The Greek Festival, held at the downtown Greek Orthodox Church cathedral during the weekend after Labor Day, celebrates Utah's Greek heritage. The 3-day event includes Greek music, dance groups, cathedral tours, booths and a large buffet. Attendance ranges from 35,000 to 50,000. It celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2015. Two Italian-themed annual fests are held in Salt Lake City. The Italian cultural street festival Ferragosto (in August) celebrates Italian food and culture from Italian communities in Salt Lake City.[189] Festa Italian is a 2-day festival in September that highlights regions of Italy with music, food, and entertainment. The proceeds go to local charities.[190] Other cultural festivals in Salt Lake City include the Peruvian Festival,[191] the Utah Brazilian Festival,[192] the Polynesian Cultural Festival,[193] the Nihon Matsuri Japanese Festival,[194] and the Buddhist Obon Japanese Festival.[195] Conventions Salt Lake City is host to a number of conventions that come to the Crossroads of the West. With several large venues, including the Salt Palace and Vivint Smart Home Arena in downtown, Salt Lake is capable of accommodating conventions upwards of 100,000 people. 2015 Comic Con at Salt Palace Convention Center Salt Lake Comic Con, which started in 2013, had over 100,000 attendance within its first few years. Because of this, Salt Lake Comic Con started having a second event, FanX (Fan Experience) to give those who were not able to come to the fall Comic Con, a spring-time opportunity. The convention broke inaugural records in 2013, hosting the largest crowd of any inaugural comic convention.[196] The second event, FanX of 2014, and the fall event of 2014 both broke attendance records for the event, surpassing 120,000 people.[197] The convention was sued[198][199] by San Diego Comic Con, but won the right to use the trademark of comic con in its name.[200][201] In 2014, Stan Lee called the Salt Lake Comic Con "the greatest comic con in the world".[202] On September 25, 2015, the Con broke the world record for the most costumed comic book cosplay characters in one location. At 1784 people, this beat the previous record.[203] Crystal Mountain Pony Con, an annual My Little Pony convention, features cosplayers, vendors, and panels. 2015 saw more than 800 bronies in attendance.[204][205] Salt Lake hosts an annual International Tattoo Convention in the spring, featuring mostly nationally and internationally noted tattoo artists.[206][207] Fantasy Con hosted its first convention, the first of its kind, in Salt Lake City in 2014. After a successful run, the convention reorganized to better serve the needs of the fantasy community. Intended to be annual, it did not host one for 2015, and further plans have not been announced.[208][209] Salt Lake City saw its first Gaming Convention in 2015. It included contests, cosplay, panels, and focused on console, computer, card, and tabletop gaming.[210][211][212] Events The Olympic flame burns at Rice-Eccles Stadium. Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. Although the LDS church holds a large influence, the city is culturally and religiously diverse and the site of many cultural activities.[213] A major state holiday is Pioneer Day, July 24, the anniversary of the Mormon pioneers' entry into the Salt Lake Valley. It is celebrated with a week's worth of activities, including a children parade,[214] a horse parade, the featured Days of '47 Parade (one of the nation's largest parades), a rodeo, and a fireworks show at Liberty Park. Fireworks can be legally sold and set off around July 24. First Night on New Year's Eve, a celebration emphasizing family-friendly entertainment and activities held at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah, culminates with a fireworks display at midnight. Beginning in 2004, Salt Lake City has been the host of the international Salt Lake City Marathon. In 2006, Real Madrid and many of the nation's best cyclist had engagements.[215] Salt Lake City has begun to host its own events in the last few years, most notably the Friday Night Flicks,[216] free movies in the city's parks, and the Mayor's health and fitness awareness program, Salt Lake City Gets Fit.[217] Salt Lake City hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. At that time, Salt Lake City was the most populated area to hold a Winter Olympic Games. The event put Salt Lake City in the international spotlight and is regarded by many as one of the most successful Winter Olympics ever.[218] In February 2002, Torino, Italy was granted an Olympic Sister City relationship with Salt Lake City, which became a Friendship City relationship in October 2003. On January 13, 2007 an agreement was signed, where Salt Lake City and Torino officially became Olympic Sister Cities.[219] On the third Friday of every month, the Salt Lake Gallery Stroll presents a free evening of visual art; many galleries and other art-related businesses stay open late, allowing enthusiasts to tour various exhibits after hours. Sidewalk artists, street performers and musicians also sometimes participate in these monthly events. Media KUTV News Studio in the Wells Fargo Center building in Salt Lake City KSL TV, KSL Radio, and the Deseret News are located in the Triad Center in Salt Lake City. See also: Media in Salt Lake City and Salt Lake City in film Salt Lake City has many diverse media outlets. Most of the major television and radio stations are based in or near the city. The Salt Lake City metropolitan area is ranked as the 31st largest radio[220] and 33rd largest television[221] market in the United States. Print media include two major daily newspapers, The Salt Lake Tribune and the Deseret News (previously the Deseret Morning News). Other more specialized publications include Now Salt Lake, Salt Lake City Weekly (a weekly independent publication), Nuestro Mundo of the Spanish-speaking community, QSaltLake and The Pillar for the LGBT community. Other Spanish-language newspapers include El Estandar, Amigo Hispano (online only), and El Observador de Utah, which offers free residential delivery. There are a number of local magazines, such as Wasatch Journal (a quarterly magazine covering Utah's arts, culture, and outdoors), Utah Homes & Garden, Salt Lake Magazine (a bimonthly lifestyle magazine), CATALYST Magazine (a monthly environmental, health, arts and politics magazine), SLUG Magazine, an alternative underground music magazine. Utah Stories is a magazine that covers local issues, primarily focused on the Salt Lake Valley. KTVX 4 signed on the air as Utah's first television station in 1947 under the experimental callsign W6SIX, becoming the Mountain Time Zone's oldest and third-oldest west of the Mississippi. It is Salt Lake City's current ABC affiliate. KSL-TV 5, the local NBC affiliate, has downtown studios at "Broadcast House" in the Triad Center office complex. KSL is operated by Deseret Media Companies, a company owned by the LDS Church. KUTV 2 is Salt Lake City's CBS affiliate. KSTU 13 is the area's Fox affiliate. KUCW 30 is the CW affiliate and part of a duopoly with KTVX. KJZZ-TV 14 is an independent station owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group, and is part of a triopoly with KUTV and St. George-licensed MyNetworkTV affiliate KMYU 12. Because television and radio stations serve a larger area (usually the entire state of Utah, as well as parts of western Wyoming, southern Idaho, parts of Montana, and eastern Nevada), ratings returns tend to be higher than those in similar-sized cities. Some Salt Lake radio stations are carried on broadcast translator networks throughout the state. Salt Lake City has become a case of market saturation on the FM dial; one cannot go through more than about two frequencies on an FM radio tuner before encountering another broadcasting station. Several companies, most notably Millcreek Broadcasting and Simmons Media, have constructed broadcast towers on Humpy Peak in the Uinta Mountains to the east. These towers allow frequencies allocated to nearby mountain communities to be boosted by smaller, low-powered FM transmitters along the Wasatch Front. Main sights Main article: Buildings and sites of Salt Lake City Salt Lake Temple Salt Lake City is the headquarters of the LDS Church and has many LDS-related sites open to visitors. The most popular is Temple Square, which includes the Salt Lake Temple (not open to the general public) and visitor centers open to the public, free of charge. Temple Square includes the historic Salt Lake Tabernacle, home of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, now called The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. The LDS Conference Center is north of Temple Square. The Family History Library, the world's largest genealogical library, is west of Temple Square. It is run by the LDS Church and is open to the public and free of charge. The Eagle Gate Monument is east of Temple Square. In 2004, the Salt Lake City main library received an Institute Honor Award for Architecture by the American Institute of Architects [222] and features a distinctive architectural style. The building's roof serves as a viewpoint for the Salt Lake Valley. The Utah State Capitol Building offers marble floors and a dome similar to the building that houses the US Congress. Other notable historical buildings include the Thomas Kearns Mansion (now the Governor's Mansion), City and County Building (built 1894), the Kearns Building on Main Street, St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral (built 1874), and the Roman Catholic Cathedral of the Madeleine (built 1909). Utah State Capitol The Olympic Cauldron Park at Rice-Eccles Stadium features the Olympic Cauldron from the games, a visitor's center, and the Hoberman Arch. The Olympic Legacy Plaza, at The Gateway, features a dancing fountain set to music and the names of 30,000 Olympic volunteers carved in stone. The Utah Olympic Park, near Park City, features the Olympic ski jumps, as well as bobsleigh, luge, and skeleton runs. Today, the Olympic Park is used for year-round training and competitions. Visitors can watch the various events and even ride a bobsled. The Utah Olympic Oval, in nearby Kearns, was home to the speed skating events and is now open to the public. Other popular Olympic venues include Soldier Hollow, the site of cross-country skiing events, southeast of Salt Lake near Heber City. Salt Lake City is near several world-class ski and summer resorts, including Snowbird, Alta, Brighton, Solitude, Park City Mountain Resort, and Deer Valley. The resorts cater to millions of visitors each year and offer year-round activities. Salt Lake City is home to a few major shopping centers. Trolley Square is an indoor and outdoor mall with independent art boutiques, restaurants, and national retailers. The buildings housing the shops are renovated trolley barns with cobblestone streets. The Gateway, an outdoor shopping mall, has many national restaurants, clothing retailers, a movie theater, the Clark Planetarium, the Discovery Gateway (formerly The Children's Museum of Utah), a music venue called The Depot, and the Olympic Legacy Plaza. City Creek Center is the city's newest major shopping center and features high-end retailers not found anywhere else in Utah. The Gateway, where the Clark Planetarium is located. On October 3, 2006, the LDS Church, which owned the ZCMI Center Mall and Crossroads Mall, both on Main Street, announced plans to demolish the malls, a skyscraper, and several other buildings to make way for the $1.5 billion City Creek Center redevelopment. It combined new office and residential buildings (one of which is the city's third-tallest building) around an outdoor shopping center featuring a stream, fountain, and other outdoor amenities;[223] it opened on March 22, 2012. Sugar House is a neighborhood with a small town main street shopping area and numerous old parks, which is served by the S Line (formerly known as Sugar House Streetcar). Other attractions near Salt Lake City include Hogle Zoo, Timpanogos Cave National Monument, Golden Spike National Historic Site (where the world's first transcontinental railroad was joined), Lagoon Amusement Park, the Great Salt Lake, the Bonneville Salt Flats, Gardner Historic Village, one of the nation's largest dinosaur museums at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, and the world's largest man-made excavation at Bingham Canyon Mine. Sports and recreation Winter sports, such as skiing and snowboarding, are popular activities in the Wasatch Mountains east of Salt Lake City. Eight ski resorts lie within 50 miles (80 km) of the city. Alta, Brighton, Solitude, and Snowbird all lie directly to the southeast in the Wasatch Mountains, while nearby Park City contains three more resorts. The popularity of the ski resorts has increased by a third since the 2002 Winter Olympics.[224] Summer activities such as hiking, camping, rock climbing, mountain biking, and other related outdoor activities are popular in the mountains. The many small reservoirs and rivers in the Wasatch Mountains are popular for boating, fishing, and other water-related activities. Professional sports Vivint Smart Home Arena has been the home of the Utah Jazz since 1991. Salt Lake City is home to the Utah Jazz of the National Basketball Association (NBA), who moved from New Orleans in 1979 and play their home games in Vivint Smart Home Arena (formerly known as the Delta Center and later known as EnergySolutions Arena). They are the only team from one of the four top-level professional sports leagues in the state. The franchise has enjoyed steady success, at one point making the playoffs in 22 out of 25 seasons, led by Hall of Fame duo Karl Malone and John Stockton. However, the franchise has yet to win a championship. Salt Lake City was home to a professional basketball team, the Utah Stars of the American Basketball Association (ABA), between 1970–75. They won one championship in the city (in 1971) and enjoyed some of the strongest support of any ABA team, but they folded just months before the ABA–NBA merger, thus preventing them from being absorbed by the NBA. Their success may have had a hand in the decision by the struggling Jazz to relocate to Salt Lake City in 1979. Real Salt Lake of Major League Soccer was founded in 2004, initially playing at Rice-Eccles Stadium at the University of Utah before the soccer-specific Rio Tinto Stadium was completed in 2008 in neighboring Sandy.[225] The team won their first MLS championship by defeating the Los Angeles Galaxy at the 2009 MLS Cup. RSL advanced to the finals of the CONCACAF Champions League in 2011 but lost 3–2 on aggregate, and also advanced to the 2013 MLS Cup Final. In 2019, the club expanded to include the Utah Royals FC, a professional women's team in the National Women's Soccer League. The city has also played host to several international soccer games. Utah Warriors is a professional Major League Rugby team that launched its first season in 2018,[226] with Zions Bank Stadium as its home venue. Smith's Ballpark, home of the Salt Lake Bees Arena football expanded into the city in 2006 with the Utah Blaze of the Arena Football League. They recorded the highest average attendance in the league in their first season.[227] After the original AFL folded in 2009, the future of the Blaze was unclear. However, a new league branded as the Arena Football League began play in 2010. The Blaze franchise was restored and is playing in the new league.[228] The Salt Lake Stallions of the AAF were also based in the city. There are also two minor league teams in the city. The Salt Lake Bees, a Pacific Coast League Triple-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels, play at Smith's Ballpark and were established in 1994 as the Buzz. Their name was changed to the Stingers in 2002 and to the Bees, a historical Salt Lake City baseball team name, in 2006. The Utah Grizzlies ice hockey team of the ECHL were established in 2005, replacing the previous Grizzlies team that existed from when they relocated from Denver in 1995 to 2005 in the International Hockey League (IHL) and, later, the American Hockey League (AHL). They play at the Maverik Center in neighboring West Valley City. Club Sport League Venue Established Titles Attendance Utah Jazz Basketball National Basketball Association Vivint Smart Home Arena 1979 0 19,911 Real Salt Lake Soccer Major League Soccer Rio Tinto Stadium (in Sandy) 2004 1 20,160 Utah Royals FC Soccer National Women's Soccer League Rio Tinto Stadium (in Sandy) 2017 0 20,160 Utah Warriors Rugby Major League Rugby Zions Bank Stadium (in Herriman) 2017 0 5,000 Salt Lake Bees Baseball Pacific Coast League Smith's Ballpark 1994 0 15,411 Utah Grizzlies Hockey ECHL Maverik Center (in West Valley City) 2005 0 4,622 Real Monarchs SLC Soccer USL Championship Zions Bank Stadium (in Herriman) 2014 1 4,698 Salt Lake City Stars Basketball NBA G League Lifetime Activities Center (in Taylorsville) 2016 0 3,156 Salt Lake Stallions Football Alliance of American Football Rice-Eccles Stadium 2018 0 45,807 Amateur sports Utah lacks a professional football team of its own, and college football is popular in the state. The University of Utah and Brigham Young University (BYU) both maintain large followings in the city, and the rivalry between the two colleges has a long and storied history. Despite the fact Utah is a secular university, the rivalry is sometimes referred to as the Holy War because of BYU's status as an LDS Church-owned university. Until the 2011–12 season, they both played in the Mountain West Conference of the NCAA's Division I and have played each other 90 times since 1896 (continuously since 1922). The University of Utah was the first school from a BCS non-AQ conference to win two BCS bowl games (and was the first from outside the BCS affiliated conferences to be invited to one) since the system was introduced in 1998. Brigham Young University defeated the University of Michigan in the 1984 Holiday Bowl to win the state's only National Championship in a major sport. The University of Utah was a part of the controversy surrounding the fairness of the Bowl Championship Series (BCS) of college football. Despite undefeated seasons in both 2004 and 2008, Utah was not invited to participate in the national championship in either season because it was a member of the Mountain West Conference, a BCS non-AQ conference.[229] The Utah Avalanche, formed in January 2011, were a development rugby league team for the now defunct American National Rugby League.[230] In June 2012, Salt Lake City hosted the IRB Junior World Rugby Trophy, a major international rugby union tournament for under-20 national teams from "second-tier" nations.[231] Utah became the first state outside Minnesota where bandy exists when Olympic Bandy Club was formed in Salt Lake City.[232] Salt Lake is also home to two roller derby leagues: the Salt City Derby Girls[233] and Wasatch Roller Derby,[234] both of which field travel teams.[235] Transportation Main article: Transportation in Salt Lake City Roads The beginning of State Street at the foot of the Utah State Capitol Salt Lake City lies at the convergence of two cross-country freeways; I-15 running north–south, and I-80, which connects downtown with Salt Lake City International Airport to the west and exits to the east through Parley's Canyon. I-215 forms a 270-degree loop around the city. SR-201 extends to the western Salt Lake City suburbs. The Legacy Parkway (SR-67), a controversial and oft-delayed freeway, opened September 2008, heading north from I-215 into Davis County along the east shore of the Great Salt Lake. Travel to and from Davis County is complicated by geography as roads have to squeeze through the narrow opening between the Great Salt Lake to the west and the Wasatch Mountains to the east. Only four roads run between the two counties to carry the load of rush hour traffic from Davis County. Salt Lake City's surface street system is laid out on a simple grid pattern. Road names are numbered with a north, south, east, or west designation, with the grid originating at the southeast corner of Temple Square downtown. One of the visions of Brigham Young and the early settlers was to create wide, spacious streets, which characterizes downtown. The grid pattern remains fairly intact in the city, except on the East Bench, where geography makes it impossible. The entire Salt Lake Valley is laid out on the same numbered grid system, although it becomes increasingly irregular further into the suburbs. Many streets carry both a name and a grid coordinate. Usually both can be used as an address. US-89 enters the city from the northwest, becomes 900 West Street through the northern part of the city, and exits Salt Lake City as State Street (100 East). Public transportation UTA transit buses at the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub (Salt Lake Central Station) Salt Lake City's mass transit service is operated by the Utah Transit Authority (UTA) and includes a bus system, light rail, and a commuter rail line. Intercity services are provided by Amtrak and various intercity bus lines. These services are all interconnected at the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub (Salt Lake Central Station), west of the city center. The Brookings Institution in 2011 rated Salt Lake City's mass transit system as the nation's third-best at connecting people to jobs, providing access to 59% of the jobs in the valley.[236] Transit bus service UTA's bus system extends throughout the Wasatch Front from Brigham City in the north to Santaquin in the south and as far west as Grantsville, as well as east to Park City. UTA also operates routes to the ski resorts in Big and Little Cottonwood Canyons, as well as Sundance in Provo Canyon, during the ski season (typically November to April). Approximately 60,000 people ride the bus daily, although ridership has reportedly declined since TRAX was constructed.[237] Light rail Main article: TRAX (light rail) TRAX Green Line train at the Gallivan Plaza Station The 44.8-mile (72.1 km)[238] light rail system, called TRAX, has three lines. The Blue Line, which opened in 1999 and was expanded in 2008, travels from the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub (Salt Lake Central Station), south to Draper. The Red Line, which originally opened in 2001 and was expanded in 2011, runs from the University of Utah, southwest through Salt Lake to Daybreak in South Jordan. The Green Line, opened in 2011 and runs from the Salt Lake City International Airport to West Valley City (via Downtown Salt Lake City), with the extension to the airport having opened in April 2013. The system has 50 stations, 23 of which are within the city limits.[239] Daily ridership averaged 60,600 as of the fourth quarter of 2012,[240] making TRAX the ninth most-ridden light rail system in the country. Commuter rail Main article: FrontRunner FrontRunner at the North Temple Bridge/Guadalupe Station in Salt Lake City The commuter rail system, FrontRunner, opened April 26, 2008, extends from the Intermodal Hub north through Davis County to Pleasant View on the northern border of Weber County.[241] Daily ridership on the line averages 7,800, as of the fourth quarter of 2012.[240] An expansion called "FrontRunner South", which extended FrontRunner to Provo in central Utah County, was completed in December 2012 as part of UTA's FrontLines 2015 project.[239][242][243] These extensions were made possible by a sales tax hike for road improvements, light rail, and commuter rail approved by voters on November 7, 2006.[244] In addition, a $500 million letter of intent was signed by the Federal Transit Administration for all four of the planned TRAX extensions in addition to the FrontRunner extension to Provo.[245] In March 2018, UTA announced FrontRunner would no longer run from Ogden to Pleasant View beginning in mid-August.[246] Intercity bus and rail services Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service to Salt Lake City operating its California Zephyr daily between Chicago and Emeryville, California. Greyhound Lines serves Salt Lake City as well. Their nine daily buses provide service to Denver, Reno, Las Vegas, and Portland, Oregon. Both of these stations are at the Salt Lake City Intermodal Hub. Air transportation Salt Lake International Airport sits between downtown Salt Lake City and the Great Salt Lake. Salt Lake City International Airport is 4 miles (6.4 km) west of downtown, and falls entirely within the boundary of Salt Lake City. Delta Air Lines operates a hub at the airport, serving over 100 non-stop destinations in the United States, Mexico, and Canada, as well as Paris, London and Amsterdam.[247] SkyWest Airlines operates its largest hub at the airport as Delta Connection, and serves 243 cities as Delta Connection and United Express. The airport is served by four UTA bus routes, and a UTA-operated light rail line (TRAX) opened services on April 14, 2013. A total of 22,029,488 passengers flew through Salt Lake City International Airport in 2007, representing a 2.19% increase over 2006.[248] The airport ranks as the 21st busiest airport in the United States in total passengers, is consistently rated first in the country in on-time arrivals and departures, and has the second-lowest number of cancellations.[249] The airport is currently undergoing a $3.6 billion redesign that is expected to be completed in 2024, resulting in a complete reworking of the terminals and parking areas. There are two general aviation airports nearby, although they lie outside Salt Lake City: South Valley Regional Airport in West Jordan Skypark Airport in Woods Cross. Cycling Salt Lake City is considered a bicycle-friendly city. In 2010, Salt Lake City was designated as a Silver-level Bicycle Friendly Community[250] by the League of American Bicyclists, placing the city in the top 18 bicycling cities in the U.S. with a population of at least 100,000. Many streets in the city have bike lanes, and the city has published a bicycle map.[251] However, off-road biking in the valley has suffered significantly as access to trails and paths has declined with the increase of housing developments and land privatization. In 2012, the Salt Lake Transportation Division launched BikeSLC.com, which consolidates the city's information about bicycle routes, bicycle safety, and promotions. The website includes a form for business owners to request bicycle parking racks to be installed on public property free of charge close to their businesses, a service that has a months-long waiting list.[252] Salt Lake City was the first US city to use the "Green Shared Lane", or "super sharrow",[253] a 4-foot (1.2 m) wide green band down the middle of a travel lane where adding a dedicated bike lane is unfeasible. Other cities such as Long Beach, Oakland, and Edina, Minnesota have introduced similar designs. These four cities are participating in a study by the Federal Highway Administration to measure the effect of the design on automobile speed and passing distance when overtaking bicycles, crashes between automobiles and bicycles, and whether it encourages more bicycle ridership, along with other metrics.[254] On September 25, 2010, UTA in partnership with Salt Lake City, the Utah Department of Transportation, the Wasatch Front Regional Council, and the Mayor's Bicycle Advisory Committee, opened a Bicycle Transit Center (BTC) at the Intermodal Hub. The BTC is anticipated to serve multi-modal commuters from TRAX and FrontRunner, as well as providing a secure bicycle parking space for bicycle tourists who want to tour the city on foot or transit. In April 2013, Salt Lake City launched a bike share program known as GREENbike. The program allows users to pay $5 per day to access bicycles, with the option of purchasing a weekly or annual pass.[255] The program launched with ten stations in the downtown core.[256] By October 2014, the number of stations had expanded to 20.[257] In addition to the bike-sharing program, eighty businesses in the city participate in the Bicycle Benefits program,[258] which provides discounts to customers who arrive by bicycle. The city is also home to the Salt Lake City Bicycle Collective. As a result of this increasing support, Salt Lake City's on-road bikeway network has grown to encompass 200 lane miles. In July 2014, the city began construction of a protected bicycle lane on a 1.35 miles (2.17 km) segment of 300 South between 300 West and 600 East. The project received significant opposition from business owners and residents along the route because of concerns about the 30% reduction in car parking spaces and disruptions resulting from construction. The construction proceeded in stages, with the last stage completed in October 2014. The performance of the protected bicycle lane (specifically, its role in encouraging more bicycle ridership) will influence future plans for making the city more bicycle-friendly.[259] One example of the city's cycling and walking routes is the loop around City Creek Canyon on Bonneville Boulevard.[260] The city has designated the road as one lane only (one-way) for motor vehicles, turning the other lane over to two-way cyclists and pedestrians. From the last Monday in May to the last weekend in September, City Creek Canyon Road itself is closed to motor vehicles on odd-numbered days, while bicycles are prohibited on even-numbered days and holidays. Bicycles are allowed every day for the rest of the year. Sister cities Salt Lake City has several sister cities/towns,[261][262] including: City/Town Division Nation/Region Oruro Flag of Oruro.svg Oruro Department  Bolivia Sarajevo  Sarajevo Canton  Bosnia and Herzegovina Manaus  Amazonas  Brazil Thurles County Tipperary  Ireland Izhevsk  Udmurtia  Russia Tabriz East Azerbaijan Province  Iran Turin[263]  Piedmont  Italy Matsumoto  Nagano Prefecture  Japan Quezon City[264] Metro Manila  Philippines Chernivtsi  Chernivtsi Oblast  Ukraine Trujillo[265] La Libertad Flag(PER).png La Libertad Region  Peru Keelung Keelung  Taiwan
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding team, called the pitcher, throws a ball that a player on the batting team, called the batter, tries to hit with a bat. The objective of the offensive team (batting team) is to hit the ball into the field of play, away from the other team's players, allowing its players to run the bases, having them advance counter-clockwise around four bases to score what are called "runs". The objective of the defensive team (referred to as the fielding team) is to prevent batters from becoming runners, and to prevent runners' advance around the bases.[2] A run is scored when a runner legally advances around the bases in order and touches home plate (the place where the player started as a batter). The principal objective of the batting team is to have a player reach first base safely; this generally occurs either when the batter hits the ball and reaches first base before an opponent retrieves the ball and touches the base, or when the pitcher persists in throwing the ball out of the batter's reach. Players on the batting team who reach first base without being called "out" can attempt to advance to subsequent bases as a runner, either immediately or during teammates' turns batting. The fielding team tries to prevent runs by getting batters or runners "out", which forces them out of the field of play. The pitcher can get the batter out by throwing three pitches which result in strikes, while fielders can get the batter out by catching a batted ball before it touches the ground, and can get a runner out by tagging them with the ball while the runner is not touching a base. The opposing teams switch back and forth between batting and fielding; the batting team's turn to bat is over once the fielding team records three outs. One turn batting for each team constitutes an inning. A game is usually composed of nine innings, and the team with the greater number of runs at the end of the game wins. Most games end after the ninth inning, but if scores are tied at that point, extra innings are usually played. Baseball has no game clock, though some competitions feature pace-of-play regulations such as the pitch clock to shorten game time. Baseball evolved from older bat-and-ball games already being played in England by the mid-18th century. This game was brought by immigrants to North America, where the modern version developed. Baseball's American origins, as well as its reputation as a source of escapism during troubled points in American history such as the American Civil War and the Great Depression, have led the sport to receive the moniker of "America's Pastime"; since the late 19th century, it has been unofficially recognized as the national sport of the United States, though in modern times is considered less popular than other sports, such as American football. In addition to North America, baseball is considered the most popular sport in parts of Central and South America, the Caribbean, and East Asia, particularly in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan. In Major League Baseball (MLB), the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, teams are divided into the National League (NL) and American League (AL), each with three divisions: East, West, and Central. The MLB champion is determined by playoffs that culminate in the World Series. The top level of play is similarly split in Japan between the Central and Pacific Leagues and in Cuba between the West League and East League. The World Baseball Classic, organized by the World Baseball Softball Confederation, is the major international competition of the sport and attracts the top national teams from around the world. Baseball was played at the Olympic Games from 1992 to 2008, and was reinstated in 2020. Rules and gameplay Further information: Baseball rules and Outline of baseball Diagram of a baseball field Diamond may refer to the square area defined by the four bases or to the entire playing field. The dimensions given are for professional and professional-style games. Children often play on smaller fields. 2013 World Baseball Classic championship match between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico, March 20, 2013 A baseball game is played between two teams, each usually composed of nine players, that take turns playing offense (batting and baserunning) and defense (pitching and fielding). A pair of turns, one at bat and one in the field, by each team constitutes an inning. A game consists of nine innings (seven innings at the high school level and in doubleheaders in college, Minor League Baseball and, since the 2020 season, Major League Baseball; and six innings at the Little League level).[3] One team—customarily the visiting team—bats in the top, or first half, of every inning. The other team—customarily the home team—bats in the bottom, or second half, of every inning. The goal of the game is to score more points (runs) than the other team. The players on the team at bat attempt to score runs by touching all four bases, in order, set at the corners of the square-shaped baseball diamond. A player bats at home plate and must attempt to safely reach a base before proceeding, counterclockwise, from first base, to second base, third base, and back home to score a run. The team in the field attempts to prevent runs from scoring by recording outs, which remove opposing players from offensive action, until their next turn at bat comes up again. When three outs are recorded, the teams switch roles for the next half-inning. If the score of the game is tied after nine innings, extra innings are played to resolve the contest. Many amateur games, particularly unorganized ones, involve different numbers of players and innings.[4] The game is played on a field whose primary boundaries, the foul lines, extend forward from home plate at 45-degree angles. The 90-degree area within the foul lines is referred to as fair territory; the 270-degree area outside them is foul territory. The part of the field enclosed by the bases and several yards beyond them is the infield; the area farther beyond the infield is the outfield. In the middle of the infield is a raised pitcher's mound, with a rectangular rubber plate (the rubber) at its center. The outer boundary of the outfield is typically demarcated by a raised fence, which may be of any material and height. The fair territory between home plate and the outfield boundary is baseball's field of play, though significant events can take place in foul territory, as well.[5] There are three basic tools of baseball: the ball, the bat, and the glove or mitt: The baseball is about the size of an adult's fist, around 9 inches (23 centimeters) in circumference. It has a rubber or cork center, wound in yarn and covered in white cowhide, with red stitching.[6] The bat is a hitting tool, traditionally made of a single, solid piece of wood. Other materials are now commonly used for nonprofessional games. It is a hard round stick, about 2.5 inches (6.4 centimeters) in diameter at the hitting end, tapering to a narrower handle and culminating in a knob. Bats used by adults are typically around 34 inches (86 centimeters) long, and not longer than 42 inches (110 centimeters).[7] The glove or mitt is a fielding tool, made of padded leather with webbing between the fingers. As an aid in catching and holding onto the ball, it takes various shapes to meet the specific needs of different fielding positions.[8] Protective helmets are also standard equipment for all batters.[9] At the beginning of each half-inning, the nine players of the fielding team arrange themselves around the field. One of them, the pitcher, stands on the pitcher's mound. The pitcher begins the pitching delivery with one foot on the rubber, pushing off it to gain velocity when throwing toward home plate. Another fielding team player, the catcher, squats on the far side of home plate, facing the pitcher. The rest of the fielding team faces home plate, typically arranged as four infielders—who set up along or within a few yards outside the imaginary lines (basepaths) between first, second, and third base—and three outfielders. In the standard arrangement, there is a first baseman positioned several steps to the left of first base, a second baseman to the right of second base, a shortstop to the left of second base, and a third baseman to the right of third base. The basic outfield positions are left fielder, center fielder, and right fielder. With the exception of the catcher, all fielders are required to be in fair territory when the pitch is delivered. A neutral umpire sets up behind the catcher.[10] Other umpires will be distributed around the field as well.[11] David Ortiz, the batter, awaiting a pitch, with the catcher and umpire Play starts with a member of the batting team, the batter, standing in either of the two batter's boxes next to home plate, holding a bat.[12] The batter waits for the pitcher to throw a pitch (the ball) toward home plate, and attempts to hit the ball[13] with the bat.[12] The catcher catches pitches that the batter does not hit—as a result of either electing not to swing or failing to connect—and returns them to the pitcher. A batter who hits the ball into the field of play must drop the bat and begin running toward first base, at which point the player is referred to as a runner (or, until the play is over, a batter-runner). A batter-runner who reaches first base without being put out is said to be safe and is on base. A batter-runner may choose to remain at first base or attempt to advance to second base or even beyond—however far the player believes can be reached safely. A player who reaches base despite proper play by the fielders has recorded a hit. A player who reaches first base safely on a hit is credited with a single. If a player makes it to second base safely as a direct result of a hit, it is a double; third base, a triple. If the ball is hit in the air within the foul lines over the entire outfield (and outfield fence, if there is one), or if the batter-runner otherwise safely circles all the bases, it is a home run: the batter and any runners on base may all freely circle the bases, each scoring a run. This is the most desirable result for the batter. The ultimate and most desirable result possible for a batter would be to hit a home run while all three bases are occupied or "loaded", thus scoring four runs on a single hit. This is called a grand slam. A player who reaches base due to a fielding mistake is not credited with a hit—instead, the responsible fielder is charged with an error.[12] Any runners already on base may attempt to advance on batted balls that land, or contact the ground, in fair territory, before or after the ball lands. A runner on first base must attempt to advance if a ball lands in play, as only one runner may occupy a base at any given time. If a ball hit into play rolls foul before passing through the infield, it becomes dead and any runners must return to the base they occupied when the play began. If the ball is hit in the air and caught before it lands, the batter has flied out and any runners on base may attempt to advance only if they tag up (contact the base they occupied when the play began, as or after the ball is caught). Runners may also attempt to advance to the next base while the pitcher is in the process of delivering the ball to home plate; a successful effort is a stolen base.[14] A pitch that is not hit into the field of play is called either a strike or a ball. A batter against whom three strikes are recorded strikes out. A batter against whom four balls are recorded is awarded a base on balls or walk, a free advance to first base. (A batter may also freely advance to first base if the batter's body or uniform is struck by a pitch outside the strike zone, provided the batter does not swing and attempts to avoid being hit.)[15] Crucial to determining balls and strikes is the umpire's judgment as to whether a pitch has passed through the strike zone, a conceptual area above home plate extending from the midpoint between the batter's shoulders and belt down to the hollow of the knee.[16] Any pitch which does not pass through the strike zone is called a ball, unless the batter either swings and misses at the pitch, or hits the pitch into foul territory; an exception generally occurs if the ball is hit into foul territory when the batter already has two strikes, in which case neither a ball nor a strike is called. A shortstop tries to tag out a runner who is sliding head first, attempting to reach second base. While the team at bat is trying to score runs, the team in the field is attempting to record outs. In addition to the strikeout and flyout, common ways a member of the batting team may be put out include the ground out, force out, and tag out. These occur either when a runner is forced to advance to a base, and a fielder with possession of the ball reaches that base before the runner does, or the runner is touched by the ball, held in a fielder's hand, while not on a base. (The batter-runner is always forced to advance to first base, and any other runners must advance to the next base if a teammate is forced to advance to their base.) It is possible to record two outs in the course of the same play. This is called a double play. Three outs in one play, a triple play, is possible, though rare. Players put out or retired must leave the field, returning to their team's dugout or bench. A runner may be stranded on base when a third out is recorded against another player on the team. Stranded runners do not benefit the team in its next turn at bat as every half-inning begins with the bases empty.[17] An individual player's turn batting or plate appearance is complete when the player reaches base, hits a home run, makes an out, or hits a ball that results in the team's third out, even if it is recorded against a teammate. On rare occasions, a batter may be at the plate when, without the batter's hitting the ball, a third out is recorded against a teammate—for instance, a runner getting caught stealing (tagged out attempting to steal a base). A batter with this sort of incomplete plate appearance starts off the team's next turn batting; any balls or strikes recorded against the batter the previous inning are erased. A runner may circle the bases only once per plate appearance and thus can score at most a single run per batting turn. Once a player has completed a plate appearance, that player may not bat again until the eight other members of the player's team have all taken their turn at bat in the batting order. The batting order is set before the game begins, and may not be altered except for substitutions. Once a player has been removed for a substitute, that player may not reenter the game. Children's games often have more lenient rules, such as Little League rules, which allow players to be substituted back into the same game.[3][18] If the designated hitter (DH) rule is in effect, each team has a tenth player whose sole responsibility is to bat (and run). The DH takes the place of another player—almost invariably the pitcher—in the batting order, but does not field. Thus, even with the DH, each team still has a batting order of nine players and a fielding arrangement of nine players.[19] Personnel See also: Baseball positions Players Defensive positions on a baseball field, with abbreviations and scorekeeper's position numbers (not uniform numbers) See also the categories Baseball players and Lists of baseball players The number of players on a baseball roster, or squad, varies by league and by the level of organized play. A Major League Baseball (MLB) team has a roster of 26 players with specific roles. A typical roster features the following players:[20] Eight position players: the catcher, four infielders, and three outfielders—all of whom play on a regular basis Five starting pitchers who constitute the team's pitching rotation or starting rotation Seven relief pitchers, including one closer, who constitute the team's bullpen (named for the off-field area where pitchers warm up) One backup, or substitute, catcher Five backup infielders and backup outfielders, or players who can play multiple positions, known as utility players. Most baseball leagues worldwide have the DH rule, including MLB, Japan's Pacific League, and Caribbean professional leagues, along with major American amateur organizations.[21] The Central League in Japan does not have the rule and high-level minor league clubs connected to National League teams are not required to field a DH.[22] In leagues that apply the designated hitter rule, a typical team has nine offensive regulars (including the DH), five starting pitchers,[23] seven or eight relievers, a backup catcher, and two or three other reserve players.[24][25] Managers and coaches The manager, or head coach, oversees the team's major strategic decisions, such as establishing the starting rotation, setting the lineup, or batting order, before each game, and making substitutions during games—in particular, bringing in relief pitchers. Managers are typically assisted by two or more coaches; they may have specialized responsibilities, such as working with players on hitting, fielding, pitching, or strength and conditioning. At most levels of organized play, two coaches are stationed on the field when the team is at bat: the first base coach and third base coach, who occupy designated coaches' boxes, just outside the foul lines. These coaches assist in the direction of baserunners, when the ball is in play, and relay tactical signals from the manager to batters and runners, during pauses in play.[26] In contrast to many other team sports, baseball managers and coaches generally wear their team's uniforms; coaches must be in uniform to be allowed on the field to confer with players during a game.[27] Umpires Any baseball game involves one or more umpires, who make rulings on the outcome of each play. At a minimum, one umpire will stand behind the catcher, to have a good view of the strike zone, and call balls and strikes. Additional umpires may be stationed near the other bases, thus making it easier to judge plays such as attempted force outs and tag outs. In MLB, four umpires are used for each game, one near each base. In the playoffs, six umpires are used: one at each base and two in the outfield along the foul lines.[28] Strategy See also: Baseball positioning Many of the pre-game and in-game strategic decisions in baseball revolve around a fundamental fact: in general, right-handed batters tend to be more successful against left-handed pitchers and, to an even greater degree, left-handed batters tend to be more successful against right-handed pitchers.[29] A manager with several left-handed batters in the regular lineup, who knows the team will be facing a left-handed starting pitcher, may respond by starting one or more of the right-handed backups on the team's roster. During the late innings of a game, as relief pitchers and pinch hitters are brought in, the opposing managers will often go back and forth trying to create favorable matchups with their substitutions. The manager of the fielding team trying to arrange same-handed pitcher-batter matchups and the manager of the batting team trying to arrange opposite-handed matchups. With a team that has the lead in the late innings, a manager may remove a starting position player—especially one whose turn at bat is not likely to come up again—for a more skillful fielder (known as a defensive substitution).[30] Tactics Pitching and fielding A first baseman receives a pickoff throw, as the runner dives back to first base. See also: Pitch (baseball) The tactical decision that precedes almost every play in a baseball game involves pitch selection.[31] By gripping and then releasing the baseball in a certain manner, and by throwing it at a certain speed, pitchers can cause the baseball to break to either side, or downward, as it approaches the batter, thus creating differing pitches that can be selected.[32] Among the resulting wide variety of pitches that may be thrown, the four basic types are the fastball, the changeup (or off-speed pitch), and two breaking balls—the curveball and the slider.[33] Pitchers have different repertoires of pitches they are skillful at throwing. Conventionally, before each pitch, the catcher signals the pitcher what type of pitch to throw, as well as its general vertical and/or horizontal location.[34] If there is disagreement on the selection, the pitcher may shake off the sign and the catcher will call for a different pitch. With a runner on base and taking a lead, the pitcher may attempt a pickoff, a quick throw to a fielder covering the base to keep the runner's lead in check or, optimally, effect a tag out.[35] Pickoff attempts, however, are subject to rules that severely restrict the pitcher's movements before and during the pickoff attempt. Violation of any one of these rules could result in the umpire calling a balk against the pitcher, which permits any runners on base to advance one base with impunity.[36] If an attempted stolen base is anticipated, the catcher may call for a pitchout, a ball thrown deliberately off the plate, allowing the catcher to catch it while standing and throw quickly to a base.[37] Facing a batter with a strong tendency to hit to one side of the field, the fielding team may employ a shift, with most or all of the fielders moving to the left or right of their usual positions. With a runner on third base, the infielders may play in, moving closer to home plate to improve the odds of throwing out the runner on a ground ball, though a sharply hit grounder is more likely to carry through a drawn-in infield.[38] Batting and baserunning Several basic offensive tactics come into play with a runner on first base, including the fundamental choice of whether to attempt a steal of second base. The hit and run is sometimes employed, with a skillful contact hitter, the runner takes off with the pitch, drawing the shortstop or second baseman over to second base, creating a gap in the infield for the batter to poke the ball through.[39] The sacrifice bunt, calls for the batter to focus on making soft contact with the ball, so that it rolls a short distance into the infield, allowing the runner to advance into scoring position as the batter is thrown out at first. A batter, particularly one who is a fast runner, may also attempt to bunt for a hit. A sacrifice bunt employed with a runner on third base, aimed at bringing that runner home, is known as a squeeze play.[40] With a runner on third and fewer than two outs, a batter may instead concentrate on hitting a fly ball that, even if it is caught, will be deep enough to allow the runner to tag up and score—a successful batter, in this case, gets credit for a sacrifice fly.[38] In order to increase the chance of advancing a batter to first base via a walk, the manager will sometimes signal a batter who is ahead in the count (i.e., has more balls than strikes) to take, or not swing at, the next pitch. The batter's potential reward of reaching base (via a walk) exceeds the disadvantage if the next pitch is a strike.[41] History Main article: History of baseball Further information: Origins of baseball The evolution of baseball from older bat-and-ball games is difficult to trace with precision. Consensus once held that today's baseball is a North American development from the older game rounders, popular among children in Great Britain and Ireland.[42][43][44] American baseball historian David Block suggests that the game originated in England; recently uncovered historical evidence supports this position. Block argues that rounders and early baseball were actually regional variants of each other, and that the game's most direct antecedents are the English games of stoolball and "tut-ball".[42] The earliest known reference to baseball is in a 1744 British publication, A Little Pretty Pocket-Book, by John Newbery.[45] Block discovered that the first recorded game of "Bass-Ball" took place in 1749 in Surrey, and featured the Prince of Wales as a player.[46] This early form of the game was apparently brought to Canada by English immigrants.[47] By the early 1830s, there were reports of a variety of uncodified bat-and-ball games recognizable as early forms of baseball being played around North America.[48] The first officially recorded baseball game in North America was played in Beachville, Ontario, Canada, on June 4, 1838.[49] In 1845, Alexander Cartwright, a member of New York City's Knickerbocker Club, led the codification of the so-called Knickerbocker Rules,[50] which in turn were based on rules developed in 1837 by William R. Wheaton of the Gotham Club.[51] While there are reports that the New York Knickerbockers played games in 1845, the contest long recognized as the first officially recorded baseball game in U.S. history took place on June 19, 1846, in Hoboken, New Jersey: the "New York Nine" defeated the Knickerbockers, 23–1, in four innings.[52] With the Knickerbocker code as the basis, the rules of modern baseball continued to evolve over the next half-century.[53] By the time of the Civil War, baseball had begun to overtake its fellow bat-and-ball sport cricket in popularity within the United States, due in part to baseball being of a much shorter duration than the form of cricket played at the time, as well as the fact that troops during the Civil War did not need a specialized playing surface to play baseball, as they would have required for cricket.[54][55] In the United States Further information: Baseball in the United States and History of baseball in the United States Establishment of professional leagues In the mid-1850s, a baseball craze hit the New York metropolitan area,[56] and by 1856, local journals were referring to baseball as the "national pastime" or "national game".[57] A year later, the sport's first governing body, the National Association of Base Ball Players, was formed. In 1867, it barred participation by African Americans.[58] The more formally structured National League was founded in 1876.[59] Professional Negro leagues formed, but quickly folded.[60] In 1887, softball, under the name of indoor baseball or indoor-outdoor, was invented as a winter version of the parent game.[61] The National League's first successful counterpart, the American League, which evolved from the minor Western League, was established in 1893, and virtually all of the modern baseball rules were in place by then.[62][63] The National Agreement of 1903 formalized relations both between the two major leagues and between them and the National Association of Professional Base Ball Leagues, representing most of the country's minor professional leagues.[64] The World Series, pitting the two major league champions against each other, was inaugurated that fall.[65] The Black Sox Scandal of the 1919 World Series led to the formation of the office of the Commissioner of Baseball.[66] The first commissioner, Kenesaw Mountain Landis, was elected in 1920. That year also saw the founding of the Negro National League; the first significant Negro league, it would operate until 1931. For part of the 1920s, it was joined by the Eastern Colored League.[67] Rise of Ruth and racial integration Compared with the present, professional baseball in the early 20th century was lower-scoring, and pitchers were more dominant.[68] The so-called dead-ball era ended in the early 1920s with several changes in rule and circumstance that were advantageous to hitters. Strict new regulations governed the ball's size, shape and composition, along with a new rule officially banning the spitball and other pitches that depended on the ball being treated or roughed-up with foreign substances, resulted in a ball that traveled farther when hit.[69] The rise of the legendary player Babe Ruth, the first great power hitter of the new era, helped permanently alter the nature of the game.[70] In the late 1920s and early 1930s, St. Louis Cardinals general manager Branch Rickey invested in several minor league clubs and developed the first modern farm system.[71] A new Negro National League was organized in 1933; four years later, it was joined by the Negro American League. The first elections to the National Baseball Hall of Fame took place in 1936. In 1939, Little League Baseball was founded in Pennsylvania.[72] Robinson posing in the uniform cap of the Kansas City Royals, a California Winter League barnstorming team, November 1945 (photo by Maurice Terrell) Jackie Robinson in 1945, with the era's Kansas City Royals, a barnstorming squad associated with the Negro American League's Kansas City Monarchs A large number of minor league teams disbanded when World War II led to a player shortage. Chicago Cubs owner Philip K. Wrigley led the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League to help keep the game in the public eye.[73] The first crack in the unwritten agreement barring blacks from white-controlled professional ball occurred in 1945: Jackie Robinson was signed by the National League's Brooklyn Dodgers and began playing for their minor league team in Montreal.[74] In 1947, Robinson broke the major leagues' color barrier when he debuted with the Dodgers.[75] Latin-American players, largely overlooked before, also started entering the majors in greater numbers. In 1951, two Chicago White Sox, Venezuelan-born Chico Carrasquel and black Cuban-born Minnie Miñoso, became the first Hispanic All-Stars.[76][77] Integration proceeded slowly: by 1953, only six of the 16 major league teams had a black player on the roster.[76] Attendance records and the age of steroids In 1975, the union's power—and players' salaries—began to increase greatly when the reserve clause was effectively struck down, leading to the free agency system.[78] Significant work stoppages occurred in 1981 and 1994, the latter forcing the cancellation of the World Series for the first time in 90 years.[79] Attendance had been growing steadily since the mid-1970s and in 1994, before the stoppage, the majors were setting their all-time record for per-game attendance.[80][81] After play resumed in 1995, non-division-winning wild card teams became a permanent fixture of the post-season. Regular-season interleague play was introduced in 1997 and the second-highest attendance mark for a full season was set.[82] In 2000, the National and American Leagues were dissolved as legal entities. While their identities were maintained for scheduling purposes (and the designated hitter distinction), the regulations and other functions—such as player discipline and umpire supervision—they had administered separately were consolidated under the rubric of MLB.[83] In 2001, Barry Bonds established the current record of 73 home runs in a single season. There had long been suspicions that the dramatic increase in power hitting was fueled in large part by the abuse of illegal steroids (as well as by the dilution of pitching talent due to expansion), but the issue only began attracting significant media attention in 2002 and there was no penalty for the use of performance-enhancing drugs before 2004.[84] In 2007, Bonds became MLB's all-time home run leader, surpassing Hank Aaron, as total major league and minor league attendance both reached all-time highs.[85][86] Around the world With the historic popular moniker as "America's national pastime", baseball is well established in several other countries as well. As early as 1877, a professional league, the International Association, featured teams from both Canada and the United States.[87] While baseball is widely played in Canada and many minor league teams have been based in the country,[88][89] the American major leagues did not include a Canadian club until 1969, when the Montreal Expos joined the National League as an expansion team. In 1977, the expansion Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League.[90] Sadaharu Oh managing the Japan national team in the 2006 World Baseball Classic. Playing for the Central League's Yomiuri Giants (1959–80), Oh set the professional world record for home runs. In 1847, American soldiers played what may have been the first baseball game in Mexico at Parque Los Berros in Xalapa, Veracruz.[91] The first formal baseball league outside of the United States and Canada was founded in 1878 in Cuba, which maintains a rich baseball tradition. The Dominican Republic held its first islandwide championship tournament in 1912.[92] Professional baseball tournaments and leagues began to form in other countries between the world wars, including the Netherlands (formed in 1922), Australia (1934), Japan (1936), Mexico (1937), and Puerto Rico (1938).[93] The Japanese major leagues have long been considered the highest quality professional circuits outside of the United States.[94] Pesäpallo, a Finnish variation of baseball, was invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s,[95] and after that, it has changed with the times and grown in popularity. Picture of Pesäpallo match in 1958 in Jyväskylä, Finland. After World War II, professional leagues were founded in many Latin American countries, most prominently Venezuela (1946) and the Dominican Republic (1955).[96] Since the early 1970s, the annual Caribbean Series has matched the championship clubs from the four leading Latin American winter leagues: the Dominican Professional Baseball League, Mexican Pacific League, Puerto Rican Professional Baseball League, and Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. In Asia, South Korea (1982), Taiwan (1990) and China (2003) all have professional leagues.[97] The English football club, Aston Villa, were the first British baseball champions winning the 1890 National League of Baseball of Great Britain.[98][99] The 2020 National Champions were the London Mets. Other European countries have seen professional leagues; the most successful, other than the Dutch league, is the Italian league, founded in 1948.[100] In 2004, Australia won a surprise silver medal at the Olympic Games.[101] The Confédération Européene de Baseball (European Baseball Confederation), founded in 1953, organizes a number of competitions between clubs from different countries. Other competitions between national teams, such as the Baseball World Cup and the Olympic baseball tournament, were administered by the International Baseball Federation (IBAF) from its formation in 1938 until its 2013 merger with the International Softball Federation to create the current joint governing body for both sports, the World Baseball Softball Confederation (WBSC).[102] Women's baseball is played on an organized amateur basis in numerous countries.[103] After being admitted to the Olympics as a medal sport beginning with the 1992 Games, baseball was dropped from the 2012 Summer Olympic Games at the 2005 International Olympic Committee meeting. It remained part of the 2008 Games.[104] While the sport's lack of a following in much of the world was a factor,[105] more important was MLB's reluctance to allow its players to participate during the major league season.[106] MLB initiated the World Baseball Classic, scheduled to precede its season, partly as a replacement, high-profile international tournament. The inaugural Classic, held in March 2006, was the first tournament involving national teams to feature a significant number of MLB participants.[107][108] The Baseball World Cup was discontinued after its 2011 edition in favor of an expanded World Baseball Classic.[109] Distinctive elements Baseball has certain attributes that set it apart from the other popular team sports in the countries where it has a following. All of these sports use a clock,[110] play is less individual,[111] and the variation between playing fields is not as substantial or important.[112] The comparison between cricket and baseball demonstrates that many of baseball's distinctive elements are shared in various ways with its cousin sports.[113] No clock to kill A well-worn baseball In clock-limited sports, games often end with a team that holds the lead killing the clock rather than competing aggressively against the opposing team. In contrast, baseball has no clock, thus a team cannot win without getting the last batter out and rallies are not constrained by time. At almost any turn in any baseball game, the most advantageous strategy is some form of aggressive strategy.[114] Whereas, in the case of multi-day Test and first-class cricket, the possibility of a draw (which occurs because of the restrictions on time, which like in baseball, originally did not exist[115]) often encourages a team that is batting last and well behind, to bat defensively and run out the clock, giving up any faint chance at a win, to avoid an overall loss.[116] While nine innings has been the standard since the beginning of professional baseball, the duration of the average major league game has increased steadily through the years. At the turn of the 20th century, games typically took an hour and a half to play. In the 1920s, they averaged just less than two hours, which eventually ballooned to 2:38 in 1960.[117] By 1997, the average American League game lasted 2:57 (National League games were about 10 minutes shorter—pitchers at the plate making for quicker outs than designated hitters).[118] In 2004, Major League Baseball declared that its goal was an average game of 2:45.[117] By 2014, though, the average MLB game took over three hours to complete.[119] The lengthening of games is attributed to longer breaks between half-innings for television commercials, increased offense, more pitching changes, and a slower pace of play, with pitchers taking more time between each delivery, and batters stepping out of the box more frequently.[117][118] Other leagues have experienced similar issues. In 2008, Nippon Professional Baseball took steps aimed at shortening games by 12 minutes from the preceding decade's average of 3:18.[120] In 2016, the average nine-inning playoff game in Major League baseball was 3 hours and 35 minutes. This was up 10 minutes from 2015 and 21 minutes from 2014.[121] In response to the lengthening of the game, MLB decided from the 2023 season onward to institute a pitch clock rule to penalize batters and pitchers who take too much time between pitches.[122] Individual focus Babe Ruth in 1920, the year he joined the New York Yankees Although baseball is a team sport, individual players are often placed under scrutiny and pressure. While rewarding, it has sometimes been described as "ruthless" due to the pressure on the individual player.[123] In 1915, a baseball instructional manual pointed out that every single pitch, of which there are often more than two hundred in a game, involves an individual, one-on-one contest: "the pitcher and the batter in a battle of wits".[124] Pitcher, batter, and fielder all act essentially independent of each other. While coaching staffs can signal pitcher or batter to pursue certain tactics, the execution of the play itself is a series of solitary acts. If the batter hits a line drive, the outfielder is solely responsible for deciding to try to catch it or play it on the bounce and for succeeding or failing. The statistical precision of baseball is both facilitated by this isolation and reinforces it. Cricket is more similar to baseball than many other team sports in this regard: while the individual focus in cricket is mitigated by the importance of the batting partnership and the practicalities of tandem running, it is enhanced by the fact that a batsman may occupy the wicket for an hour or much more.[125] There is no statistical equivalent in cricket for the fielding error and thus less emphasis on personal responsibility in this area of play.[126] Uniqueness of parks Further information: Ballpark Fenway Park, home of the Boston Red Sox. The Green Monster is visible beyond the playing field on the left. Unlike those of most sports, baseball playing fields can vary significantly in size and shape. While the dimensions of the infield are specifically regulated, the only constraint on outfield size and shape for professional teams, following the rules of MLB and Minor League Baseball, is that fields built or remodeled since June 1, 1958, must have a minimum distance of 325 feet (99 m) from home plate to the fences in left and right field and 400 feet (122 m) to center.[127] Major league teams often skirt even this rule. For example, at Minute Maid Park, which became the home of the Houston Astros in 2000, the Crawford Boxes in left field are only 315 feet (96 m) from home plate.[128] There are no rules at all that address the height of fences or other structures at the edge of the outfield. The most famously idiosyncratic outfield boundary is the left-field wall at Boston's Fenway Park, in use since 1912: the Green Monster is 310 feet (94 m) from home plate down the line and 37 feet (11 m) tall.[129] Similarly, there are no regulations at all concerning the dimensions of foul territory. Thus a foul fly ball may be entirely out of play in a park with little space between the foul lines and the stands, but a foulout in a park with more expansive foul ground.[130] A fence in foul territory that is close to the outfield line will tend to direct balls that strike it back toward the fielders, while one that is farther away may actually prompt more collisions, as outfielders run full speed to field balls deep in the corner. These variations can make the difference between a double and a triple or inside-the-park home run.[131] The surface of the field is also unregulated. While the adjacent image shows a traditional field surfacing arrangement (and the one used by virtually all MLB teams with naturally surfaced fields), teams are free to decide what areas will be grassed or bare.[132] Some fields—including several in MLB—use artificial turf. Surface variations can have a significant effect on how ground balls behave and are fielded as well as on baserunning. Similarly, the presence of a roof (seven major league teams play in stadiums with permanent or retractable roofs) can greatly affect how fly balls are played.[133] While football and soccer players deal with similar variations of field surface and stadium covering, the size and shape of their fields are much more standardized. The area out-of-bounds on a football or soccer field does not affect play the way foul territory in baseball does, so variations in that regard are largely insignificant.[134] A New York Yankees batter (Andruw Jones) and a Boston Red Sox catcher at Fenway Park These physical variations create a distinctive set of playing conditions at each ballpark. Other local factors, such as altitude and climate, can also significantly affect play. A given stadium may acquire a reputation as a pitcher's park or a hitter's park, if one or the other discipline notably benefits from its unique mix of elements. The most exceptional park in this regard is Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies. Its high altitude—5,282 feet (1,610 m) above sea level—is partly responsible for giving it the strongest hitter's park effect in the major leagues due to the low air pressure.[135] Wrigley Field, home of the Chicago Cubs, is known for its fickle disposition: a pitcher's park when the strong winds off Lake Michigan are blowing in, it becomes more of a hitter's park when they are blowing out.[136] The absence of a standardized field affects not only how particular games play out, but the nature of team rosters and players' statistical records. For example, hitting a fly ball 330 feet (100 m) into right field might result in an easy catch on the warning track at one park, and a home run at another. A team that plays in a park with a relatively short right field, such as the New York Yankees, will tend to stock its roster with left-handed pull hitters, who can best exploit it. On the individual level, a player who spends most of his career with a team that plays in a hitter's park will gain an advantage in batting statistics over time—even more so if his talents are especially suited to the park.[137] Statistics Further information: Baseball statistics Organized baseball lends itself to statistics to a greater degree than many other sports. Each play is discrete and has a relatively small number of possible outcomes. In the late 19th century, a former cricket player, English-born Henry Chadwick of Brooklyn, was responsible for the "development of the box score, tabular standings, the annual baseball guide, the batting average, and most of the common statistics and tables used to describe baseball."[138] The statistical record is so central to the game's "historical essence" that Chadwick came to be known as Father Baseball.[138] In the 1920s, American newspapers began devoting more and more attention to baseball statistics, initiating what journalist and historian Alan Schwarz describes as a "tectonic shift in sports, as intrigue that once focused mostly on teams began to go to individual players and their statistics lines."[139] The Official Baseball Rules administered by MLB require the official scorer to categorize each baseball play unambiguously. The rules provide detailed criteria to promote consistency. The score report is the official basis for both the box score of the game and the relevant statistical records.[140] General managers, managers, and baseball scouts use statistics to evaluate players and make strategic decisions. Rickey Henderson—the major leagues' all-time leader in runs and stolen bases—stealing third base in a 1988 game Certain traditional statistics are familiar to most baseball fans. The basic batting statistics include:[141] At bats: plate appearances, excluding walks and hit by pitches—where the batter's ability is not fully tested—and sacrifices and sacrifice flies—where the batter intentionally makes an out in order to advance one or more baserunners Hits: times a base is reached safely, because of a batted, fair ball without a fielding error or fielder's choice Runs: times circling the bases and reaching home safely Runs batted in (RBIs): number of runners who scored due to a batter's action (including the batter, in the case of a home run), except when batter grounded into double play or reached on an error Home runs: hits on which the batter successfully touched all four bases, without the contribution of a fielding error Batting average: hits divided by at bats—the traditional measure of batting ability The basic baserunning statistics include:[142] Stolen bases: times advancing to the next base entirely due to the runner's own efforts, generally while the pitcher is preparing to deliver or delivering the ball Caught stealing: times tagged out while attempting to steal a base Cy Young—the holder of many major league career marks, including wins and innings pitched, as well as losses—in 1908. MLB's annual awards for the best pitcher in each league are named for Young. The basic pitching statistics include:[143] Wins: credited to pitcher on winning team who last pitched before the team took a lead that it never relinquished (a starting pitcher must pitch at least five innings to qualify for a win) Losses: charged to pitcher on losing team who was pitching when the opposing team took a lead that it never relinquished Saves: games where the pitcher enters a game led by the pitcher's team, finishes the game without surrendering the lead, is not the winning pitcher, and either (a) the lead was three runs or less when the pitcher entered the game; (b) the potential tying run was on base, at bat, or on deck; or (c) the pitcher pitched three or more innings Innings pitched: outs recorded while pitching divided by three (partial innings are conventionally recorded as, e.g., "5.2" or "7.1", the last digit actually representing thirds, not tenths, of an inning) Strikeouts: times pitching three strikes to a batter Winning percentage: wins divided by decisions (wins plus losses) Earned run average (ERA): runs allowed, excluding those resulting from fielding errors, per nine innings pitched The basic fielding statistics include:[144] Putouts: times the fielder catches a fly ball, tags or forces out a runner, or otherwise directly effects an out Assists: times a putout by another fielder was recorded following the fielder touching the ball Errors: times the fielder fails to make a play that should have been made with common effort, and the batting team benefits as a result Total chances: putouts plus assists plus errors Fielding average: successful chances (putouts plus assists) divided by total chances Among the many other statistics that are kept are those collectively known as situational statistics. For example, statistics can indicate which specific pitchers a certain batter performs best against. If a given situation statistically favors a certain batter, the manager of the fielding team may be more likely to change pitchers or have the pitcher intentionally walk the batter in order to face one who is less likely to succeed.[145] Sabermetrics Sabermetrics refers to the field of baseball statistical study and the development of new statistics and analytical tools. The term is also used to refer directly to new statistics themselves. The term was coined around 1980 by one of the field's leading proponents, Bill James, and derives from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).[146] The growing popularity of sabermetrics since the early 1980s has brought more attention to two batting statistics that sabermetricians argue are much better gauges of a batter's skill than batting average:[147] On-base percentage (OBP) measures a batter's ability to get on base. It is calculated by taking the sum of the batter's successes in getting on base (hits plus walks plus hit by pitches) and dividing that by the batter's total plate appearances (at bats plus walks plus hit by pitches plus sacrifice flies), except for sacrifice bunts.[148] Slugging percentage (SLG) measures a batter's ability to hit for power. It is calculated by taking the batter's total bases (one per each single, two per double, three per triple, and four per home run) and dividing that by the batter's at bats.[149] Some of the new statistics devised by sabermetricians have gained wide use: On-base plus slugging (OPS) measures a batter's overall ability. It is calculated by adding the batter's on-base percentage and slugging percentage.[150] Walks plus hits per inning pitched (WHIP) measures a pitcher's ability at preventing hitters from reaching base. It is calculated by adding the number of walks and hits a pitcher surrendered, then dividing by the number of innings pitched.[151] Wins Above Replacement (WAR) measures number of additional wins his team has achieved above the number of expected team wins if that player were substituted with a replacement-level player.[152] Popularity and cultural impact Two players on the baseball team of Tokyo, Japan's Waseda University in 1921 Writing in 1919, philosopher Morris Raphael Cohen described baseball as the national religion of the US.[153] In the words of sports columnist Jayson Stark, baseball has long been "a unique paragon of American culture"—a status he sees as devastated by the steroid abuse scandal.[154] Baseball has an important place in other national cultures as well: Scholar Peter Bjarkman describes "how deeply the sport is ingrained in the history and culture of a nation such as Cuba, [and] how thoroughly it was radically reshaped and nativized in Japan."[155] In the United States The major league game in the United States was originally targeted toward a middle-class, white-collar audience: relative to other spectator pastimes, the National League's set ticket price of 50 cents in 1876 was high, while the location of playing fields outside the inner city and the workweek daytime scheduling of games were also obstacles to a blue-collar audience.[156] A century later, the situation was very different. With the rise in popularity of other team sports with much higher average ticket prices—football, basketball, and hockey—professional baseball had become among the most blue-collar-oriented of leading American spectator sports.[157] The Tampere Tigers celebrating the 2017 title in Turku, Finland Overall, baseball has a large following in the United States; a 2006 poll found that nearly half of Americans are fans.[158] In the late 1900s and early 2000s, baseball's position compared to football in the United States moved in contradictory directions. In 2008, MLB set a revenue record of $6.5 billion, matching the NFL's revenue for the first time in decades.[159] A new MLB revenue record of more than $10 billion was set in 2017.[160] On the other hand, the percentage of American sports fans polled who named baseball as their favorite sport was 9%, compared to pro football at 37%.[161] In 1985, the respective figures were pro football 24%, baseball 23%.[162] Because there are so many more major league games played, there is no comparison in overall attendance.[163] In 2008, total attendance at major league games was the second-highest in history: 78.6 million, 0.7% off the record set the previous year.[85] The following year, amid the U.S. recession, attendance fell by 6.6% to 73.4 million.[164] Eight years later, it dropped under 73 million.[165] Attendance at games held under the Minor League Baseball umbrella set a record in 2008, with 43.3 million.[166] While MLB games have not drawn the same national TV viewership as football games, MLB games are dominant in teams' local markets and regularly lead all programs in primetime in their markets during the summer.[167] Caribbean Since the early 1980s, the Dominican Republic, in particular the city of San Pedro de Macorís, has been the major leagues' primary source of foreign talent.[168] In 2017, 83 of the 868 players on MLB Opening Day rosters (and disabled lists) were from the country. Among other Caribbean countries and territories, a combined 97 MLB players were born in Venezuela, Cuba, and Puerto Rico.[169] Hall-of-Famer Roberto Clemente remains one of the greatest national heroes in Puerto Rico's history.[170] While baseball has long been the island's primary athletic pastime, its once well-attended professional winter league has declined in popularity since 1990, when young Puerto Rican players began to be included in the major leagues' annual first-year player draft.[171] In Cuba, where baseball is by every reckoning the national sport,[172] the national team overshadows the city and provincial teams that play in the top-level domestic leagues.[173] Asia An Afghan girl playing baseball in August 2002 In Asia, baseball is among the most popular sports in Japan and South Korea.[174] In Japan, where baseball is inarguably the leading spectator team sport, combined revenue for the twelve teams in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB), the body that oversees both the Central and Pacific Leagues, was estimated at $1 billion in 2007. Total NPB attendance for the year was approximately 20 million. While in the preceding two decades, MLB attendance grew by 50 percent and revenue nearly tripled, the comparable NPB figures were stagnant. There are concerns that MLB's growing interest in acquiring star Japanese players will hurt the game in their home country.[175] Revenue figures are not released for the country's amateur system. Similarly, according to one official pronouncement, the sport's governing authority "has never taken into account attendance ... because its greatest interest has always been the development of athletes".[176] In Taiwan, baseball is one of the most widely spectated sports, with the origins dating back to Japanese rule.[177] Among children As of 2018, Little League Baseball oversees leagues with close to 2.4 million participants in over 80 countries.[178] The number of players has fallen since the 1990s, when 3 million children took part in Little League Baseball annually.[179] Babe Ruth League teams have over 1 million participants.[180] According to the president of the International Baseball Federation, between 300,000 and 500,000 women and girls play baseball around the world, including Little League and the introductory game of Tee Ball.[181] A varsity baseball team is an established part of physical education departments at most high schools and colleges in the United States.[182] In 2015, nearly half a million high schoolers and over 34,000 collegians played on their schools' baseball teams.[183] By early in the 20th century, intercollegiate baseball was Japan's leading sport. Today, high school baseball in particular is immensely popular there.[184] The final rounds of the two annual tournaments—the National High School Baseball Invitational Tournament in the spring, and the even more important National High School Baseball Championship in the summer—are broadcast around the country. The tournaments are known, respectively, as Spring Koshien and Summer Koshien after the 55,000-capacity stadium where they are played.[185] In Cuba, baseball is a mandatory part of the state system of physical education, which begins at age six. Talented children as young as seven are sent to special district schools for more intensive training—the first step on a ladder whose acme is the national baseball team.[173] In popular culture The American Tobacco Company's line of baseball cards featured shortstop Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1909 to 1911. In 2007, the card shown here sold for $2.8 million.[186] Baseball has had a broad impact on popular culture, both in the United States and elsewhere. Dozens of English-language idioms have been derived from baseball; in particular, the game is the source of a number of widely used sexual euphemisms.[187] The first networked radio broadcasts in North America were of the 1922 World Series: famed sportswriter Grantland Rice announced play-by-play from New York City's Polo Grounds on WJZ–Newark, New Jersey, which was connected by wire to WGY–Schenectady, New York, and WBZ–Springfield, Massachusetts.[188] The baseball cap has become a ubiquitous fashion item not only in the United States and Japan, but also in countries where the sport itself is not particularly popular, such as the United Kingdom.[189] Baseball has inspired many works of art and entertainment. One of the first major examples, Ernest Thayer's poem "Casey at the Bat", appeared in 1888. A wry description of the failure of a star player in what would now be called a "clutch situation", the poem became the source of vaudeville and other staged performances, audio recordings, film adaptations, and an opera, as well as a host of sequels and parodies in various media. There have been many baseball movies, including the Academy Award–winning The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and the Oscar nominees The Natural (1984) and Field of Dreams (1989). The American Film Institute's selection of the ten best sports movies includes The Pride of the Yankees at number 3 and Bull Durham (1988) at number 5.[190] Baseball has provided thematic material for hits on both stage—the Adler–Ross musical Damn Yankees—and record—George J. Gaskin's "Slide, Kelly, Slide", Simon and Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson", and John Fogerty's "Centerfield".[191] The baseball-inspired comedic sketch "Who's on First?", popularized by Abbott and Costello in 1938, quickly became famous. Six decades later, Time named it the best comedy routine of the 20th century.[192] Literary works connected to the game include the short fiction of Ring Lardner and novels such as Bernard Malamud's The Natural (the source for the movie), Robert Coover's The Universal Baseball Association, Inc., J. Henry Waugh, Prop., John Grisham's Calico Joe and W. P. Kinsella's Shoeless Joe (the source for Field of Dreams). Baseball's literary canon also includes the beat reportage of Damon Runyon; the columns of Grantland Rice, Red Smith, Dick Young, and Peter Gammons; and the essays of Roger Angell. Among the celebrated nonfiction books in the field are Lawrence S. Ritter's The Glory of Their Times, Roger Kahn's The Boys of Summer, and Michael Lewis's Moneyball. The 1970 publication of major league pitcher Jim Bouton's tell-all chronicle Ball Four is considered a turning point in the reporting of professional sports.[193] Baseball has also inspired the creation of new cultural forms. Baseball cards were introduced in the late 19th century as trade cards. A typical example featured an image of a baseball player on one side and advertising for a business on the other. In the early 1900s they were produced widely as promotional items by tobacco and confectionery companies. The 1930s saw the popularization of the modern style of baseball card, with a player photograph accompanied on the rear by statistics and biographical data. Baseball cards—many of which are now prized collectibles—are the source of the much broader trading card industry, involving similar products for different sports and non-sports-related fields.[194] Modern fantasy sports began in 1980 with the invention of Rotisserie League Baseball by New York writer Daniel Okrent and several friends. Participants in a Rotisserie league draft notional teams from the list of active MLB players and play out an entire imaginary season with game outcomes based on the players' latest real-world statistics. Rotisserie-style play quickly became a phenomenon. Now known more generically as fantasy baseball, it has inspired similar games based on an array of different sports.[195] The field boomed with increasing Internet access and new fantasy sports-related websites. By 2008, 29.9 million people in the United States and Canada were playing fantasy sports, spending $800 million on the hobby.[196] The burgeoning popularity of fantasy baseball is also credited with the increasing attention paid to sabermetrics—first among fans, only later among baseball professionals.[197] Derivative games Main article: Variations of baseball Informal variations of baseball have popped up over time, with games like corkball reflecting local traditions and allowing the game to be played in diverse environments.[198] Two variations of baseball, softball and Baseball5, are internationally governed alongside baseball by the World Baseball Softball Confederation.[199] British baseball Main article: British baseball American professional baseball teams toured Britain in 1874 and 1889, and had a great effect on similar sports in Britain. In Wales and Merseyside, a strong community game had already developed with skills and plays more in keeping with the American game and the Welsh began to informally adopt the name "baseball" (Pêl Fas), to reflect the American style. By the 1890s, calls were made to follow the success of other working class sports (like Rugby in Wales and Soccer in Merseyside) and adopt a distinct set of rules and bureaucracy.[200] During the 1892 season rules for the game of "baseball" were agreed and the game was officially codified.[201] Finnish baseball Main article: Pesäpallo Finnish baseball, known as pesäpallo, is a combination of traditional ball-batting team games and North American baseball, invented by Lauri "Tahko" Pihkala in the 1920s.[202] The basic idea of pesäpallo is similar to that of baseball: the offense tries to score by hitting the ball successfully and running through the bases, while the defense tries to put the batter and runners out. One of the most important differences between pesäpallo and baseball is that the ball is pitched vertically, which makes hitting the ball, as well as controlling the power and direction of the hit, much easier. This gives the offensive game more variety, speed, and tactical aspects compared to baseball.[202] See also icon Baseball portal Baseball awards Baseball clothing and equipment List of baseball films List of organized baseball leagues Women in baseball Related sports Brännboll (Scandinavian bat-and-ball game) Comparison of baseball and cricket Lapta (game) (Russian bat-and-ball game) Oină (Romanian bat-and-ball game) Snow baseball (with similar rules played in India during winters) Stickball Stoop ball Vitilla Wiffle ball
  • Condition: Used
  • Type: Photograph
  • Subject: Baseball
  • Year of Production: 1918
  • Original/Licensed Reprint: Original

PicClick Insights - Salt Lake City Bees Baseball Photo 1918 Original Bill Bernhard Vintage PicClick Exclusive

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