1900s | 1910s | 1920s | 1930s | 1940s | 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s

See also "The Cactus League: A Brief History" by Rodney Johnson

1900s

1909: On March 30, the Chicago White Sox became the first Major League team to play in Arizona when they took on a local team in Yuma as they barnstormed back to Chicago for the start of the regular season. They also made a stop in Tucson for another game against a local team.

 

1910s

1913: In a November postseason barnstorming tour, the National League Champion New York Giants and the Chicago White Sox played the first contest between two Major League teams when they met at Warren Ballpark in Bisbee. Future Hall of Famer Christy Mathewson and Olympic legend Jim Thorpe were on the Giants roster.

 

1920s

1924: After hosting exhibition games for Major League teams nearly every spring since 1913, the people of Phoenix put up $10,000 to build a grandstand and new diamond at Riverside Park in hopes of attracting more big league games. 

1929: The Detroit Tigers became the first club to base their spring training in Arizona. They set up camp at Riverside park where they took on local teams, traveled to California to play teams training there and played two home games against big league competition; March 26 vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates and March 27 vs. The Chicago Cubs.

 

1930s

1930-46: Interrupted only by war restrictions in 1943-45, teams made annual spring stops in Arizona. The White Sox, Cubs and Pirates were the most frequent visitors.

 

1940s

1947: Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck, who owned a guest ranch  near Tucson, persuaded Giants owner Horace Stoneham to join Veeck in moving their spring bases to Arizona. The Indians set up operations at Randolph Field in Tucson and the Giants called Phoenix Municipal Stadium home.

1948: Larry Doby of the Cleveland Indians became the first African American to play in the American League when he joined the club in June, 1947. In spring, 1948 he trained in Tucson with the Tribe.

 

1950s

1951: Stoneham and New York Yankees owner Del Webb engineered an interesting trade when they swapped spring training sites for the one and only time. Webb, who lived in Phoenix, wanted to show off his world champion team to his hometown. Phoenicians got their first look at 19-year old Mickey Mantle and a last look at soon to retire Joe DiMaggio.The Yankees spent their spring in Phoenix while the Giants trained in St. Petersburg, FL. The two clubs would meet in the World Series in October.

1952: The Chicago Cubs became Arizona’s third Cactus League team when they moved from their longtime spring training home on Catalina Island to Mesa’s Rendezvous Park.

1954: Future Hall-of-Famer Ernie Banks spent his first spring training with the Cubs; The relocated Baltimore Orioles (the were formerly the St. Louis Browns) spent their first ever spring training in Yuma, however they lasted only one season there before moving on to Florida the next season;  The Indians and Giants met in the first all Cactus League World Series. New York swept past Cleveland in four games.

1956: After a season in Florida, the Orioles return to the Cactus League and set up camp in brand new Scottsdale Stadium. The O’s return makes the league a four team circuit.

1959: The Orioles return to Florida after spending three seasons in Scottsdale. The Boston Red Sox take over the Scottsdale site keeping the Cactus League four teams strong.

 

1960s

1960: Cactus League fans witnessed the changing of the guard as Ted Williams spent his last spring as a player with the Red Sox. Youngster Carl Yastrzemski would take over for Williams as the regular left-fielder the next season.

1961: The American League expansion Los Angeles Angels became the fifth Cactus League team when they opened camp in Palm Springs, CA.

1962:  The National League expands and the Houston Colt 45’s make Apache Junction their spring home as Cactus League membership swells to six teams. Their stay would only last two seasons before they moved their training camp to Florida.

1964: New Phoenix Municipal Stadium opens as the Giants defeat the Indians 6-2 on March 8. Willie McCovey gets the first hit at the new ballpark.

1965: The Red Sox play their final spring in Scottsdale and return to Florida the following year. Meanwhile, the Cubs also decide to leave the Cactus League as they play their last game at Rendezvous Park and head to Long Beach, CA to train in 1966. 

1966: With the loss of the Red Sox and Cubs, the Cactus League shrinks to just three teams. Only the Indians and Giants, the two original Cactus League clubs, train in Arizona while the Angels hold camp in Palm Springs.

1967: The Cubs return to Arizona and become the third team to train at Scottsdale Stadium.

1969: Two expansion teams take up residence in the Cactus League when the Seattle Pilots move into new Tempe Diablo Stadium and the San Diego Padres set up camp in Yuma. After setting empty for two springs, Mesa’s Rendezvous Park finds a new tenant in the Oakland Athletics. Cactus League membership reaches a new high with seven teams.

 

1970s

1970: The Seattle Pilots arrive for spring training in Tempe, but leave as the Milwaukee Brewers. The bankrupt Seattle franchise was sold to Milwaukee car dealer Bud Selig just one week before the start of the regular season.

1973: Milwaukee moves their spring training headquarters from Tempe to Sun City.

1976: About half of all Cactus League games are cancelled because of a labor dispute.

1977: Expansion once again grows the Cactus League as the Seattle Mariners take up residence in Tempe Diablo Stadium. They become the eighth Cactus League team. In Mesa, the Mariners and the A’s play the inaugural game at new HoHoKam Park.

1979: The A’s and the Cubs switch parks with the Cubs returning to Mesa and the A’s becoming the fourth tenant of Scottsdale Stadium.

 

1980s

1980: The last week of Cactus League play is cancelled due to labor disputes between the Players Association and Major League Baseball.

1984: Oakland again swaps spring training sites, this time with San Francisco. The Giants who had trained in Phoenix for 38 years, moved to Scottsdale and the A’s took over Phoenix Municipal Stadium. The Giants became the fifth spring tenant of Scottsdale Stadium.

1986: On February 27, with the start of spring training only eight days away, tragedy rocked Compadre Stadium in Chandler. The Brewers new home was ravaged by a gas explosion in the clubhouse as seven coaches and staff members were injured. Despite the episode, the stadium opened on time as more that 6,000 fans watched the Cubs beat the Brewers.

1988: On March 26, 9,812 fans jammed into Compadre Stadium for the Cubs-Brewers game. The attendance that day set a new Cactus League record.

1989: For the second time, two Cactus League teams met in the World Series and the result was another sweep. In what would become known as the “earthquake series”, the A’s beat the Giants four games to none.

 

1990s

1990: Labor strife caused more lost exhibition games as a lockout delayed the start of spring training until March 26.

1992: New Scottsdale Stadium, designed by HOK, the architects that designed Camden Yards in Baltimore, replaced the old stadium on the same site. The Giants set their new spring training attendance mark in their new and improved home. 

1993: The Cactus League loses a charter member when the Cleveland Indians move to Florida. They are replaced in Tucson by the expansion Colorado Rockies, keeping league membership at eight clubs. The Angels move their operations from Palm Springs to Tempe and the Mariners become road warriors as they wait for their new stadium in Peoria to be completed. Seattle would play all of their games on the road that spring.

1994: The Padres move from Yuma and join the Mariners as residents of the new $32M Peoria Sports Complex.

1995: Spring training is once again marred by labor disputes and games open using replacement players. The regular player finally report in enough time to play about a 10-game schedule before the delayed start of the regular season.

1996: On March 30, the final game at HoHokam Park is played. The Cubs beat the Brewers 5-4 in 10 innings.

1997: The Cactus League’s largest crowd (12,883) watches the Cubs play the Rockies in Mesa at new HoHokam Stadium on March 28. Four days earlier, the final game is played at Chandler’s Compadre Stadium.

1998: Cactus League membership grows to 10 teams as the expansion Arizona Diamondbacks and the Chicago White Sox join the circuit. The two clubs share the new $37M Tucson Electric Park in Tucson. Meanwhile, the Brewers move into their new $23M ballpark in Maryvale. It is the fourth Cactus League park for the Brewers.

1999: The Cactus League sets a new attendance record by drawing 981,500 fans.

 

2000s

2002: For the third time, the World Series features Cactus League opponents. The Angels beat the Giants in a thrilling seven game series.

2003: The Kansas City Royals and the Texas Rangers relocate their spring operations from Florida and move into a new $48M complex in Surprise as Cactus League membership grows to 12 teams.

2006: The White Sox and Dodgers announce that they will be moving their spring operations to a new complex to be built in Glendale. They are to start playing there in the spring of 2009.

2007: The Indians reach an agreement with the town of Goodyear to build a new stadium for spring training. Cleveland is set to return to the Cactus League in 2009. The Cubs set a new single game attendance record when they draw 12,917 to a game in Mesa against the Diamondbacks on March 30. The Arizona Office of Tourism estimates that the Cactus league added more that $300M to Arizona’s economy in 2007.

2008: The Cincinnati Reds announce that they will move their spring training headquarters to Goodyear in 2010. They will share the complex with cross state rival, Cleveland.  With the addition of the Dodgers, Indians and Reds, the Cactus League will boast a 15-team league. Half of all Major League teams will be training in Arizona and for the first time, the Cactus League will be equal to Florida’s Grapefruit League in size.