Florida Spring Training History: Wrestling Alligators and Cash

The Florida Grapefruit League, otherwise known as the annual baseball spring training ritual, has been a part of the history and tradition of central Florida for more than 120 years.

According to numerous history accounts, including a Florida publication, Spring Training Online:

 “Spring training is almost as old as baseball itself. The best evidence points to spring training first taking place in 1870, when the Cincinnati Red Stockings and the Chicago White Stockings held organized baseball camps in New Orleans… Other baseball historians argue that the Washington Capitals of the National League pioneered spring training in 1888, holding a four-day camp in Jacksonville.”

Above and beyond the obvious fact that February in Florida is a whole lot warmer than Maryland, Pennsylvania and the frozen north, many folks have asked about the history of the Grapefruit League — and why Florida.

Certainly, the weather had something to do with it … Then again, in 1913, cash was also a strong attraction.

A 1998 history article originally published in the Florida Humanities Council's FORUM magazine and appears on the Florida Grapefruit League Associationreported:

“Lured to Tampa by Mayor D.B. McKay's promise to cover the team's expenses up to $100 per player, the Cubs began workouts at Plant Field (just north of the elegant Tampa Bay Hotel, the present site of the University of Tampa) on February 19, (1913) as a crush of curious fans looked on …

“In Central Florida the tradition began in October 1908 with a single exhibition game between the Cincinnati Reds and the semi-pro St. Petersburg Saints, and resumed in February 1913, when the Chicago Cubs arrived in Tampa for the region's first spring training …”

However, in the early days, it was also the railroad that made the Grapefruit League successful. However, there was a misstep or two involving various misadventures …

“The 1903 Athletics finished a disappointing 14 1/2 games behind the Red Sox,” according to the Grapefruit League article. “Predictably, Mack blamed the year-long slump on the tropical temptations of Jacksonville, where his star pitcher, Rube Waddell, had been distracted by several misadventures, including a wrestling match with a live alligator and an attempted suicide following a jilting by a local brunette.

“By the time Mack returned to Jacksonville in 1914, the Athletics were the reigning World Champions and Florida, no longer an isolated backwater in the world of baseball, was on the verge of becoming the hub of spring training.

The age of the automobile made Florida a destination and given the warm weather and other attractions, owners would do their own snowbirding with a Major League team, the article reported.

Today, as the Florida and national economies slogs its way into the fifth year of economic sluggishness, not only does spring training provide great entertainment and jobs, but it is an immeasurable shot in the pitching arm of the local economy, of which the local businesses are only too happy to play catcher. 

All we need now is an improved outlook at the other key positions in the economy – and a few homeruns.

Kevin Dayhoff has been a Florida snowbird for more than 15 years. He writes about history, art, and government for a number of publications, including Westminster, Eldersburg and North BaltimorePatch sites in Maryland. He may be reached at kevindayhoff@gmail.com.