- BASEBALL CREATES THESE MOMENTS OF BEAUTY THAT ARE ALMOST PERFECTION.

- BASEBALL IS ONE OF THOSE SPORTS THAT TRANSCENDS GENERATIONS.

- BASEBALL FIRST COMES TO COLORADO WHEN THE FIRST GOLD RUSHERS COME TO COLORADO.

- IT WAS RECREATION FOR HARD WORKING PEOPLE.

IT GAVE THEM SOMETHING TO DO.

- BASEBALL IS JUST PRESENT THROUGHOUT ALMOST TWO CENTURIES OF AMERICAN HISTORY IN A WAY THAT MAKES IT TRULY A NATIONAL SPORT AS IT STARTS TO LOOK LIKE THE PEOPLE WHO ACTUALLY CALL THIS PLACE HOME.

- THE JAPANESE AMERICANS THOUGHT BASEBALL WAS THEIR SHOW OF LOYALTY TO THE UNITED STATES.

AND SO BASEBALL BECAME THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE CAMP.

- THIS IS LIKE SO BIG TO MY HEART.

I LOVE TO SIT DOWN AND WATCH A BASEBALL GAME WHEN I GET A CHANCE.

- THIS IS WHAT A GAME CAN DO FOR US.

IT CAN SORT OF TAKE US OUT OF OUR EVERYDAY WORRIES AND HELP US APPRECIATE THESE REALLY EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTS.

MOMENTS THAT COME JUST LIKE THAT AND THEN THEY'RE GONE AGAIN.

AND YOU CAN'T LOOK AWAY.

- BASEBALL IS A GAME THAT WE CAN ALL PLAY IT TAKES A BAT IT TAKES A BALL.

- IT WAS EASY TO GET KIDS TO PLAY AND TO FORM A TEAM.

- BASEBALL IS A VERY ADICTIVE SPORT AND YOU CAN LEARN MANY MORE THINGS, YOU CAN MAKE MANY MORE FRIENDS AND TEACH YOUR MISTAKES.

- EVERY TIME WE ENTER A FIELD OF PLAY, IT'S SOMETHING VERY EXCITING.

- THERE'S SOMETHING REALLY WONDERFUL ABOUT BASEBALL THAT APPEALS TO PEOPLE AND HAS FOR GENERATIONS.

YOU KNOW, IT'S A TEAM SPORT, BUT IT REALLY EMPHASIZES INDIVIDUALS AND THE ONE ON ONE MATCHUP.

WHEN YOU STEP INTO THE BATTER'S BOX, IT'S JUST YOU.

BUT IT'S ALSO A TEAM SPORT.

YOU CANNOT WIN ON YOUR OWN.

- AT HOME, FROM LIKE TWO O 'CLOCK TO EIGHT O 'CLOCK, WE HAVE A BASEBALL GAME ON.

IT DOESN'T MATTER WHAT TEAM'S PLAYING.

SO IT'S JUST PART OF OUR SUMMER.

DURING THE WINTER, I DO HOCKEY AND IN THE SUMMER I DO BASEBALL.

- NO OTHER SPORT THAT I CAN THINK OF IS AS FAIR AS BASEBALL.

YOU CAN'T LOSE YOUR PLACE IN LINE BECAUSE OF AN INTERCEPTED PASS, SOMEBODY CAN'T TAKE THE BALL AWAY FROM YOU IN BASKETBALL, IT'S ULTIMATELY FAIR AND THAT'S WHAT WE THINK OF OURSELVES AS AMERICANS.

- TO ME BASEBALL AND AMERICA GO HAND IN HAND.

AS AMERICA GROWS, BASEBALL IS ALWAYS WITH IT.

IT'S A NATIONAL PASTIME.

IN THE EARLY 1860S WHEN IT CAME ABOUT, IT WAS DEEMED THAT ONE IN THREE PEOPLE WERE PLAYING BASEBALL.

- THERE'S THE PITCH AND THERE IT GOES, AND ANOTHER RUN IS HUSTLING ACROSS THE PLATE.

YES SIREE.

- I KNOW FOR A FACT THAT BASEBALL, CALLED BASEBALL, WAS TWO WORDS, BASE AND BALL.

AND THAT GOES BACK TO THE 1740S IN THE UNITED STATES.

BASEBALL WAS VERY SLOW TO PROGRESS AND GET OUT OF THE NORTHEAST.

AND WHAT REALLY MADE BASEBALL SPREAD DIDN'T HAPPEN UNTIL THE CIVIL WAR, AND THEY WOULD PLAY BASEBALL IN ARMY CAMPS.

HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS WERE INTRODUCED TO THE GAME.

- AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, THE GAME EXPLODED.

IT STARTED OUT IN BROOKLYN, IN THE ELYSIAN FIELDS, AND AS THE COUNTRY GREW WEST, THE GAME MOVED WEST.

- BASEBALL FIRST COMES TO COLORADO WHEN THE FIRST GOLD RUSHERS COME TO COLORADO.

YOU KNOW, CAN'T BE ALL WORK NO PLAY EVEN IN A GOLD RUSH AND THIS IS WHEN BASEBALL REALLY TAKES OFF SO YOU SEE EVERY COLORADO COMMUNITY PLAYING BASEBALL IN SOME FORM OR ANOTHER AND EVENTUALLY FORMING THEIR OWN TOWN TEAMS OR COMPANY TEAMS AND IT JUST GROWS AND GROWS AND GROWS.

- TODAY WE WILL WATCH THE DENVER BLUE STOCKINGS TAKE ON THE ROUGH AND READIES OF LITTLETON.

[CHEERING] - COLORADO'S GOT A VERY LONG STORIED HISTORY.

I MEAN, SOME OF THE FIRST TEAMS WERE HERE IN THE 1870S.

RIGHT NOW, WE'RE TAKING A STEP BACK INTO HISTORY AND BEING IN THE 1800S FOR A DAY.

IT'S CALLED AN ORANGE PEEL STITCH.

IT'S STILL LEATHER, AND THIS IS ACTUALLY JUST THE WAY IT'S STITCHED.

SO IT'S A LITTLE BIT BIGGER THAN A MODERN BALL.

SO MY NAME IS PAUL ‘YANK LANGENDORFER.

I'M CURRENTLY THE COMMISSIONER OF THE COLORADO VINTAGE BASEBALL ASSOCIATION.

WE STARTED IN 1993.

WE WERE ACTUALLY A GROUP OF CIVIL WAR REENACTORS WHO ALSO REALLY ENJOYED BASEBALL AND WE DECIDED TO COMBINE OUR PASSION WITH VINTAGE BASEBALL AND REENACTING AND WE PRESENT A GAME AS IT WAS STYLED IN 1864.

THE BIGGEST THING ABOUT OUR GAME IS WE DON'T WEAR GLOVES.

GLOVES WERE NOT REALLY USED UNTIL THE 1880S.

THE GAME IS ACTUALLY PITCHED UNDERHAND.

THERE'S NO BALLS AND STRIKES.

MOST UNIFORMS ARE GOING TO BE WHAT'S CALLED A BIB FRONT, WHICH IS A SQUARE UP FRONT.

1870S WAS A LACE UP STYLE.

YOU KNOW, WE PLAY WITH WHAT WE HAVE, YOU KNOW, LONG SLEEVES, WOOL UNIFORMS, LONG PANTS.

- MY NAME IS GORDON PFEIFFER.

MY NICKNAME IS GORDO, AND THIS IS THE UNIFORM OF THE DENVER BLUE STOCKINGS.

- SO, WE HAVE THE DENVER BROWN STOCKINGS, THE DENVER BLUE STOCKINGS, THE DENVER RIO GRANDE REDS, WHICH IS MY TEAM, THEY'RE BASED AT A COLORADO SPRINGS, THERE'S THE COLORADO MILLIONAIRES, THE CENTRAL CITY STARS.

- SOME OF THOSE EARLY TEAMS IN THE 19TH CENTURY, YOU'VE GOT THE DENVER DENVERS, VERY CREATIVE, THE PUEBLO PASTIMES, THE LEADVILLE BLUES, YOU ALSO SEE A LOT OF TEAMS NAMED AFTER THEIR COMPANY.

- THIS IS THE STANDARD ISSUE ROUGH AND READY'S UNIFORM.

GOT THE LITTLETON L AND THE ROUGH AND READIES LOGO.

THIS WAS THIS WAS NAMED AFTER A SAWMILL THAT WE ALL WORKED AT BEFORE IT BURNED DOWN TWICE.

- MANY MINING CAMPS WOULD HAVE TEAMS, FARM COMMUNITIES, I MEAN TINY, TINY FARM COMMUNITIES WOULD HAVE TEAMS.

IT WAS RECREATION FOR HARD WORKING PEOPLE, IT GAVE THEM SOMETHING TO DO, AND THEY WERE VERY COMPETITIVE.

- IN THE SUGAR BEET TOWNS IN NORTHERN COLORADO, ESPECIALLY AROUND GREELEY, YOU SEE HISPANO AND LATINO RESIDENTS COMING TOGETHER ON SUNDAYS, ORGANIZING GAMES EVENTUALLY.

AND THE GREELEY GRAYS ARE ONE OF THE GREAT EXAMPLES OF A SUGAR BEET LEAGUE TEAM THAT BECOMES A POWERHOUSE TEAM.

- MY DAD AND HIS FAMILY CAME UP IN 1919 AND THEY COME UP TO WORK THE SUGAR BEET FIELDS AT THAT TIME FRAME IN NORTHWEST GREELEY.

MY NAME IS GABRIEL LOPEZ AND I DID RESEARCH AND BECAME THE HISTORIAN FOR THE SPANISH COLONIES, BASEBALL, AND THE SUGAR BEET FIELDS.

THIS ONE RIGHT HERE IS MY FAMILY.

OKAY, THIS ONE IS MY DAD, GUS, WHO PLAYED FOR THE GRAYS IN THE COLONY.

THIS IS MY DAD IN 1919, SIX MONTHS OLD, HE CAME TO THE COLONY.

MY GREAT GRANDFATHER CAME UP WITH MY GRANDFATHER TO WORK IN THE SUGAR BEET FIELDS, AND THEY WOULD ALL WORK UNTIL EVENING TIME.

- FARMING IS AMERICA'S BIGGEST INDUSTRY.

HOWEVER, SOME CROPS MUST STILL BE HARVESTED BY HAND.

- THE SUGAR BEETS CAME IN ABOUT 1908, I THINK, BUT THEN IT REALLY GOT BIGGER WHEN THEY STARTED MAKING MORE FARMS DO IT, AND THEY WOULD WORK THAT FARM FIELD, WHETHER IT BE HOEING WITH A LONG HOE OR ON THEIR KNEES WITH A SHORT HOE.

- MANY FIELD CROPS STILL CALL FOR STOOP LABOR.

THIS IS THE ONLY AREA IN WHICH THE AMERICAN FARM LABOR SUPPLY FALLS SHORT, SO THE FARMER MUST BEGIN RECRUITING A LABOR FORCE OF THEIR OWN.

- FIRST WERE THE GERMANS FROM RUSSIA THAT WAS THERE, AND THEN THE NEXT WERE JAPANESE, AND THEN US.

THE MEXICANS CAME IN AFTERWARDS, AND THEN IN 1923, GREAT WESTERN DECIDED THAT THEY WANTED TO KEEP THEM HERE PERMANENTLY, AND SO 1924 IS WHEN GREELEY STARTED BUILDING THEIR HOMES IN THE SPANISH COLONY.

MOST OF THE TIME THEY WORKED SEVEN DAYS A WEEK UNTIL GREAT WESTERN REALIZED THAT IF THEY HAD SOME ENTERTAINMENT THAT THEY WOULD DO BETTER STARTING MONDAY.

SO HE ALLOWED THEM TO PLAY BASEBALL ON SUNDAYS.

AND MY FAMILY STARTED PLAYING BASEBALL IN 1925.

THIS ONE HERE IS MY DAD, AND THAT'S MY UNCLE DAVE.

AND UP ON TOP IS THE 1927 PHOTO.

AND THIS PERSON HERE WITH THE CAP IS MY GRANDFATHER.

AND THAT GENTLEMAN OVER THERE THAT SWINGING THE BAT IS MY DAD.

MY GRANDFATHER PLAYED FOR THE SPANISH COLONY OF GREELEY TEAM.

HE PLAYED UNTIL ABOUT 1936 AND THEN MY DAD TOOK OVER FROM 1936 TO 1939 WHEN THEY CHANGED IT TO THE GREELEY GRAYS.

- LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO TOM ROCHE FIELD TO THE CELEBRATION OF THE GREELEY GRAYS, 100TH ANNIVERSARY.

[CLAPPING] - SO TODAY IS A BIG DAY FOR THE GREELEY GRAYS.

IT'S A 100 -YEAR ANNIVERSARY SO WE'RE GONNA CELEBRATE THEM.

WE'RE CELEBRATING THE KIDS THAT ARE ON THE FIELD THAT ARE CONTINUING THE TRADITION.

WE HAVE ALL KINDS OF ARTIFACTS THROUGHOUT THE YEARS.

TROPHIES THE GRAYS HAVE GOTTEN THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AND THEN WE'RE GONNA HAVE A GOOD 9 INNING GAME AGAINST THE EL PASO COUNTY BASEBALL TEAM SO IT'LL BE A IT'LL BE A GOOD GAME.

HI, HOW ARE YOU?

OUR ORIGINAL GRAYS.

SO THIS IS CHAR ROCOBO, AND THIS IS GIL CARBAJAL.

- HI.

- AND THEY ARE ALL ORIGINAL GRAYS.

- GIL CARBAJAL TOOK OVER THE GRAYS IN 2009, I THINK.

AND HE LIKED KIM A LOT, SO HE MADE KIM THE GENERAL MANAGER.

AND SO SHE'S BEEN DOING IT EVER SINCE.

- HI!

- GOOD, IT'S GOOD TO SEE YOU, HONEY.

I LOVE IT, DID YOU GET IT THERE?

- THIS IS MY 15TH YEAR BEING A GENERAL MANAGER, BUT THIS IS LIKE SO BIG TO MY HEART BECAUSE MY GREAT -GRANDFATHER WAS ONE OF THE FIRST 1925 BASEBALL PLAYERS, AND THEN MY UNCLES ALL PLAYED, AND THEN MY DAD'S DONE ALL THE HISTORY, AND IT'S JUST, THE LOPEZ IS A HUGE PART OF IT AND I'M VERY BLESSED THAT THAT'S PART OF MY FAMILY TRADITION.

THERE'S NOT A LOT OF TEAMS THAT YOU CAN SAY HAVE BEEN AROUND FOR A HUNDRED YEARS SO FOR US TO BE ABLE TO HAVE ALL OF THIS STUFF IS JUST IT'S AMAZING THAT WE CAN STILL COLLECT IT AND SHOW EVERYBODY THE HISTORY THAT THERE IS WITH THE GRAYS.

BASEBALL IS JUST ALWAYS A PART OF THE AMERICAN DREAM.

[CHEERING] FOR THE PLAYERS IT WAS ENTERTAINMENT.

YOU LOOK AT THE PHOTOS AND YOU CAN SEE HOW PROUD THEY WERE TO PLAY.

THEIR CHEST WAS OUT AND THEY JUST, THEY KNEW THEY WERE ENTERTAINERS.

THEY KNEW THAT THEY WERE MAKING THE COMMUNITY, THE COLONY JUST ENJOY SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, OUTSIDE OF WORKING FROM MORNING TILL NIGHT IN THE FIELDS WHEN IT'S HOT AND BLISTERING AND I MEAN IT WAS JUST ONE OF THE COMMUNITY EVENTS THAT EVERYBODY ENJOYED.

WHEN THERE'S TWO TEAMS, TWO RIVALRIES THAT PLAYED, IT WAS LIKE FILLING UP BLOCKS AND BLOCKS OF PEOPLE SO THEY CAN SEE THE GAME.

- YOU SEE A LOT OF SUNDAY AFTERNOON BASEBALL GAMES ATTENDED BY YOU KNOW FRIENDS AND FAMILY AND THERE'S PICNICS AND IT'S A REAL SOCIAL EVENT FOR THE DAY, AND THEN YOU JUST SEE, EVENTUALLY, PEOPLE ORGANIZING THEIR OWN TEAMS.

SO WE'LL START DOWN HERE.

THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE AMATEUR TEAMS.

THEIR UNIFORM SAYS, "BESSHOAR", AND THEY SAY THEY ARE THE AMATEUR BASEBALL CHAMPIONS OF 1904.

REALLY JUST EVERY TOWN, EVERY COMPANY OF SIZE HAD ITS OWN BASEBALL TEAM.

AND THEN HERE WE HAVE THE DENVER WHITE ELEPHANTS, THE MOST FAMOUS BLACK BASEBALL TEAM IN COLORADO HERE IN THE 1930S.

SO YOU SEE BLACK BASEBALL TEAMS ORGANIZING AND PLAYING AMONGST THEMSELVES IN THE SAME WAY THAT YOU SEE ALL OF THESE TEAMS ARISING.

AND YOU SEE THIS COLOR LINE HARDENING AT THE END OF THE 19TH CENTURY AND INTO THE 20TH CENTURY.

- IN THE 1890S HERE IN DENVER, WE HAD THE COLORADO CHAMPIONS AND WE HAD THE BLACK DIAMONDS.

WE HAD THE DENVER GIANTS, WE HAD THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN GIANTS.

BUT THE PREMIER TEAM OF ALL OF THOSE OVER THAT 40 TO 50 YEAR PERIOD WAS THE DENVER WHITE ELEPHANTS.

THEY WERE AN EXCEPTIONAL TEAM.

AND THEY WERE BARNSTORM THROUGHOUT THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN WEST, PLAYING ALL COMERS AND BEATING ALMOST EVERYBODY.

- THIS IS THE 1930 DENVER WHITE ELEPHANT'S BALL CLUB.

THE MAN WHO FORMED THEM WAS MR.

ROSS.

HE WENT BY A.H.W.

ROSS, AND HE WAS THE FOUNDER OF THE ROSSONIAN HOTEL.

THAT'S LANDMARK THERE IN FIVE POINTS.

THAT'S MR.

ROSS.

HE ORGANIZED THAT TEAM IN 1915 AND THEY PLAYED 21 CONSECUTIVE YEARS.

ALL THE TALENT THAT WAS ANYWHERE CLOSE TO DENVER, THEY WOULD FLOCK TO PLAY ON THE WHITE ELEPHANTS.

- A HIGH ONE TO CENTER FIELD.

COMING DOWN EASY AND HE'S OUT.

- IN THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY, THE FURTHEST WEST THAT MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL COMES IS ST.

LOUIS.

SO THE DENVER POST ORGANIZED A TOURNAMENT AND PUT UP ENOUGH PRIZE MONEY TO ATTRACT THE TYPE OF TALENT THAT IF IT WASN'T MAJOR LEAGUERS WAS JUST ONE SLIVER BELOW.

IT'S KNOWN AS THE LITTLE WORLD SERIES OF THE WEST.

- IT WAS THE BIGGEST EVENT IN BASEBALL OUTSIDE OF MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL FOR THE WHOLE COUNTRY AND WE HAD TEAMS COMING FOR THAT TOURNAMENT FROM COAST TO COAST, CANADA, CALIFORNIA, NEW YORK, FLORIDA, MIDWEST, TEXAS.

- IN THE EARLY 1930S, THE GUY WHO ORGANIZED IT, THE SPORTS EDITOR OF THE DENVER POST, HIS NAME IS POSS PARSONS, HE INVITED THE KANSAS CITY MONARCHS, WHO WERE THE CHAMPIONS OF THE NEGRO LEAGUES.

AND IT'S THE FIRST TIME THAT A BLACK TEAM HAS PLAYED IN THIS TOURNAMENT.

- THIS IS A KANSAS CITY MONARCHS, 1934, THAT WAS TAKEN IN DENVER AGAINST THE OUTFIELD WALL, SO THAT WAS THE TEAM THAT INTEGRATED THE DENVER POST TOURNAMENT.

- AND WHAT'S IMPORTANT ABOUT IT, I THINK, IS BECAUSE THIS IS SUCH A HIGH LEVEL BASEBALL TOURNAMENT AND IT'S SPONSORED BY A NEWSPAPER, YOU'RE GETTING THESE SPORTS WRITERS WRITING BACK TO WHATEVER THEIR HOME PAPER IS ALL AROUND THE COUNTRY TALKING ABOUT HOW GOOD THIS NEGRO LEAGUE TEAM IS.

SO IT MAKES IT A LOT HARDER FOR THOSE SEGREGATIONISTS WHO ALWAYS DISMISS BLACK BASEBALL PLAYERS AS NOT AT THE MAJOR LEAGUE LEVEL.

IT'S A LOT HARDER TO MAKE THAT ARGUMENT WHEN YOU'RE READING THESE STORIES ABOUT HOW GOOD THEY ARE AND HOW THEY ARE PLAYING AGAINST HIGH LEVEL WHITE TEAMS AND WINNING.

YOU KNOW, THE CITY IS LESS THAN A DECADE REMOVED FROM BEING RUN AT EVERY LEVEL OF GOVERNMENT BY THE KU KLUX KLAN.

AND SO WHAT'S REMARKABLE ABOUT IT IS WHEN THEY PLAY THAT FIRST GAME, THE CROWD JUST SEEMS TO BE REALLY APPRECIATIVE TO SEE HIGH LEVEL BASEBALL.

THERE'S NO RECORD OF ANY KIND OF INCIDENT.

THEY'RE JUST EXCITED TO SEE A REALLY GOOD BASEBALL TEAM.

YOU KNOW, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME BLACK AND WHITE PLAYERS ARE PLAYING ON A SORT OF PROFESSIONAL LEVEL ON THE SAME FIELD TOGETHER AND SO IT'S THIS UNRAVELING OF THE COLOR LINE.

- THEN AFTER THAT TOURNAMENT YOU'D HAVE BLACK TALENT COMING IN FROM AROUND THE COUNTRY REALLY GOOD TEAMS AND SO THAT WAS THE BEGINNING OF IT BUT IT ALL STARTED HERE.

- IT'S THE DENVER POST TOURNAMENT WITH THE KANSAS CITY MONARCHS THAT OPENED THE OPPORTUNITY FOR JACKIE ROBINSON.

YOU KNOW, HE MAKES HIS MAJOR LEAGUE DEBUT IN 1947.

- SEE, HERE'S JACKIE.

AND IF YOU LOOK AT THESE PEOPLE CROWDING AROUND TO GET HIS AUTOGRAPH, JUST A VARIETY OF PEOPLE IN THE GRANDSTAND, THEN THAT'S WHAT BASEBALL DID FOR US.

WITHOUT THE DENVER POST TOURNAMENT, JACKIE ROBINSON WOULD NOT HAVE BROKEN THE COLOR BARRIER IN 1947, IT WOULD HAVE BEEN LATER.

IT'S JUST A CROWN, I THINK, FOR THIS CITY TO HAVE DONE SOMETHING LIKE THAT.

- THE DENVER POST TOURNAMENT WAS HELD AT MERCHANTS PARK, WHICH IS DOWN ON SOUTH BROADWAY.

IT WAS AN ENORMOUS PARK.

IT SORT OF COVERED THE FULL RECTANGULAR BLOCK, WHICH MEANT THAT CENTER FIELD WAS LIKE 500 AND SOMETHING FEET AWAY.

SO THERES THE PLACES WITH GRANDSTANDS THAT CROWDS WOULD GATHER TO COME AND WATCH BASEBALL GAMES.

AND THEN THERE WERE THESE MORE LOCAL PLACES TO PLAY HERE IN THE CITY.

AND SONNY LAWSON PARK IS THE OLDEST BASEBALL FIELD THAT WE HAVE IN DENVER.

IT DATES TO THE EARLY 20TH CENTURY.

PEOPLE HAVE BEEN PLAYING BASEBALL ON IT FOR, YOU KNOW, MORE THAN A CENTURY AT THIS POINT.

AND IT'S RIGHT THERE AT 23RD AND WELTON ON THE EDGE OF FIVE POINTS NEIGHBORHOOD RIGHT NOW.

- THE LOCAL PARK IS AT 23RD AND WELTON AND IT'S THE SONNY LAWSON BALLPARK THAT'S STILL IN EXISTENCE TODAY AND THAT'S WHERE MOST OF THE A LOT OF THE GAMES THAT THE JAPANESE AND JAPANESE AMERICANS PLAYED WERE THERE.

WE WERE WITH OTHER MINORITY GROUPS AND WE WOULD PLAY EACH OTHER.

- I REMEMBER WHEN THEY HAD TOURNAMENTS LIKE AT THE 23RD AND WELTON THEY WOULD SEND ALL THE LITTLE LEAGUE KIDS OUT WITH THEIR HATS AND WE WOULD PASS IT AROUND AND PEOPLE WOULD PUT THEIR CHANGE AND MONEY IN THERE AND THAT WOULD HELP PAY FOR THE UMPIRES AND THE BASEBALLS.

- THE REASON I THINK BASEBALL WAS SO IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE WE WERE A LARGE COMMUNITY AND IT WAS EASY TO GET KIDS TO PLAY AND IT WAS THE SOCIAL EVENT OF THE WEEKEND.

SO THE JAPANESE HAVE DIFFERENT NAMES FOR THEIR GENERATIONS.

THE JAPANESE THAT CAME FROM JAPAN TO THE UNITED STATES WERE THE FIRST GENERATION, AND THEY ARE CALLED ISSEI'S.

THEIR CHILDREN WERE BORN HERE, AND SO THEY ARE WHAT WE CALL THE NISEI.

- THE DENVER NISEI WAS ALMOST SEMI-PRO.

THEY TRAVELED ALL OVER TO PLAY, SO THEY WERE A PRETTY GOOD BALL CLUB.

- THEN THE NISEI HAD THEIR CHILDREN AND THEY WERE CALLED THE SANSEI, AND I AM A SANSEI.

MY NAME'S MILLICENT KENKO MORIMOTO KING.

I WAS BORN IN MAY, 1941, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, DECEMBER 7TH HAPPENED, AND THEN THE WAR STARTED.

-THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WAS SUDDENLY AND DELIBERATELY ATTACKED BY NAVAL AND AIR FORCES OF THE EMPIRE OF JAPAN.

- AND THEN ON FEBRUARY 19TH, 1942, THE EXECUTIVE ORDER WAS SIGNED THAT IT ALLOWED FOR THE INTERNMENT OF THE JAPANESE AMERICANS.

- PRESIDENT FRANKLIN ROOSEVELT AGREES TO SIGN WHAT WE CALL EXECUTIVE ORDER 9066, USING THE ENEMY ALIENS ACT TO ESSENTIALLY ALLOW FOR THE FORCED REMOVAL OF LEGAL RESIDENTS AND AMERICAN CITIZENS FROM ALONG THE WEST COAST.

AND ALL OF A SUDDEN THEY'RE BEING ROUNDED UP, THEY'RE BEING TOLD TO ASSEMBLE AT DESIGNATED LOCATIONS WITH WHAT THEY COULD CARRY, SO ESSENTIALLY TWO BAGS.

AND SO THE GOVERNMENT WAS DISRUPTING THEIR ENTIRE LIVES AND TELLING THEM THAT THEY HAD DAYS AND WEEKS TO LEAVE THEIR HOMES.

- SO MY FAMILY WAS LIVING IN STOCKTON, CALIFORNIA, WHICH IS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA, AND THEN WE ENDED UP BEING SENT TO ROHWER, ARKANSAS.

- AT EACH RELOCATION CENTER, THE EVACUEES SET ABOUT DEVELOPING A WAY OF LIFE AS NEARLY NORMAL AS POSSIBLE.

COMMUNITY LIFE AND SECURITY WITHIN WERE LARGELY UP TO THE JAPANESE THEMSELVES.

- YOU COULD ONLY TAKE WITH YOU WHAT YOU COULD CARRY.

AND BASEBALL WAS PRETTY POPULAR IN CALIFORNIA.

AND SO SOME OF THE KIDS WOULD TAKE A BASEBALL AND MAYBE A BAT AND STICK IT IN THEIR STUFF SO THEY WOULD HAVE IT.

- MEANWHILE IN ARIZONA, UTAH, COLORADO, WYOMING AND ELSEWHERE, QUARTERS WERE BEING BUILT WHERE THEY WOULD HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO WORK AND MORE SPACE IN WHICH TO LIVE.

- THERE WERE ABOUT 10,000 PEOPLE IN EACH OF THE CAMPS.

THE ONE HERE IN COLORADO IS AMACHE, AND THERE WERE PROBABLY 7 TO 8,000 HERE.

- AMACHE HISTORICALLY IS TALKED ABOUT AS A RELOCATION CENTER, BUT THIS IS A REALLY EUPHEMISTIC TERM FOR WHAT IS ESSENTIALLY A CONCENTRATION CAMP FOR AROUND 8,000 AMERICAN LEGAL RESIDENTS AND CITIZENS OF JAPANESE ANCESTRY.

AND IT WAS OCCUPIED FROM 1942 UNTIL 1945 NEAR THE TOWN OF GRENADA IN SOUTHEASTERN COLORADO.

- THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY BOUNDED BY A WIRE FENCE AND GUARDED BY MILITARY POLICE.

- WHEN YOU FIRST GOT TO CAMP, THERE WASN'T VERY MUCH TO DO.

AND THEN EVENTUALLY EACH CAMP BECAME KIND OF A LITTLE TOWN.

- ALL OF THE INTERNEES START WORKING TO REBUILD THOSE COMMUNITY STRUCTURES AND SO THEY ESTABLISH CHURCHES THEY ESTABLISH A BOY SCOUTS AND THEY ESTABLISH SPORTS TEAMS AND ONE OF THE BIG ONES IS BASEBALL.

AND SO VISION IN YOUR HEADS ROWS AND ROWS OF MILITARY BARRACKS THERE WOULD HAVE BEEN A LARGE HIGH SCHOOL AND ACROSS FROM THE HIGH SCHOOL THERE WAS A COMBINATION BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL FIELD.

AND THEN WE ALSO HAVE WHAT ARE ESSENTIALLY NEIGHBORHOOD TEAMS.

SO WITHIN EACH OF THOSE RESIDENTIAL AREAS, THEY'RE DIVIDED UP INTO BLOCKS, WE HAVE FOUND EVIDENCE OF BASEBALL FIELDS THAT PEOPLE ARE CREATING IN THOSE BLOCKS TOO.

SO AT AMACHE, WE HAVE BASEBALL ALL OVER.

- THEY WOULD HAVE LEAGUES WITHIN THE CAMP, SO THEY WOULD PLAY EACH OTHER AND THEN EVENTUALLY THEY WERE ALLOWED TO TRAVEL TO ANOTHER CAMP TO PLAY ANOTHER TEAM.

THE JAPANESE AND THE JAPANESE AMERICANS THOUGHT BASEBALL WAS THEIR SHOW OF LOYALTY TO THE UNITED STATES.

THEY DID EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO PROVE THAT THEY WERE LOYAL AMERICAN CITIZENS.

- SO WHEN YOU TALK TO PEOPLE YOU GET THE SENSE THAT THESE COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS AND SPORTS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT.

THEY LET PEOPLE ASSERT THEIR COMMUNITY IDENTITY, THEIR SOCIAL ACTIVITIES, BUT ALSO THEIR AMERICANNESS.

- EVERY TIME WE STEP ONTO THE FIELD IT'S SOMETHING VERY, VERY EXCITING, BECAUSE WHEN THEY PLAY, YOU CAN SEE THE HAPPINESS ON THEIR FACES.

-[COACHING] - MY NAME IS EDGAR RAMOS, I'M FROM VENEZUELA, I'M FROM A SMALL TOWN CALLED TUCUPIDO.

BASEBALL IN VENEZUELA IS ALMOST THE NATIONAL SPORT.

TO SAY BASEBALL IS TO SAY VENEZUELA AND TO SAY VENEZUELA IS TO SAY BASEBALL.

BASICALLY, WHEN YOU'RE BORN, THE FIRST THING YOU GET AS A GIFT IS A GLOVE, A BAT, AND A BALL.

- IN MY COUNTRY, I PLAYED SINCE I WAS 5 YEARS OLD.

I LIKE IT BECAUSE IT'S A FUN SPORT, WHERE MANY PEOPLE CAN HAVE FUN AND ENJOY THEMSELVES.

AND IT'S VERY FUN, IN MY OPINION.

- YOUR TURN.

- I ARRIVED WITH MY FAMILY IN DECEMBER 2023.

WE ARRIVED HERE IN DENVER, WE WENT TO A SHELTER.

AND THERE WERE MANY CHILDREN AT THE SHELTER.

AND YOU COULD SEE THEIR FACES, LIKE THEY WERE BORED.

THEN I DECIDED, BECAUSE WE HAD A BASEBALL FIELD IN FRONT OF US, I STARTED TAKING THE CHILDREN THERE, INVITING THEM, I WENT TO EACH ROOM, KNOCKED ON THE DOOR, I TALKED TO THE PARENTS, "LOOK, TAKE THEM AT 3 PM TO THE FIELD, I'M GOING TO TRAIN THEM," AND THAT'S HOW THE TEAM WAS FORMED.

-[COACHING] I REALLY ENJOY TEACHING, MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE, TEACHING THEM TO BE GOOD PEOPLE, AS WELL AS GOOD ATHLETES.

- WE ARRIVED IN THE UNITED STATES ON DECEMBER 31, 2023.

I WANT TO GET TO THE PROFESSIONAL LEAGUE AND HELP MY FAMILY BECAUSE THEY HELPED ME WITH SO MANY THINGS, AND I WANT TO HELP THEM TOO.

- I THINK THAT SPORTS IS WHAT CAN SAVE US, OR SAVE A CHILD FROM BAD HABITS.

IT'S GOOD TO TEACH SPORTS SO THAT THEY CAN FOCUS MORE ON EVERYDAY LIFE.

- BASEBALL IS JUST A REALLY WONDERFUL LENS FOR UNDERSTANDING OUR SHARED HISTORY TOGETHER AND HOW WE GOT TO NOW.

YOU KNOW, I THINK COLORADANS LOVE BASEBALL, I THINK DENVERITES LOVE BASEBALL, WE LOVE THE ROCKIES AND THERE'S RARELY A BETTER WAY TO SPEND YOUR EVENING THAN WATCHING THE SUNSET, WATCHING THE TEAM AND ENJOYING THE BALLPARK.

BASEBALL CREATES THESE MOMENTS OF BEAUTY THAT ARE ALMOST PERFECTION.

A SHOCKING NUMBER OF TIMES THE BALL IS GONNA LAND JUST ONE SIDE OF THE LINE OR THE OTHER OR JUST ONE INCH BEYOND THE FENCE OR ONE INCH SHORT.

AND WHEN YOU SEE THOSE MOMENTS, THIS IS WHAT A GAME CAN DO FOR US IT CAN SORT OF TAKE US OUT OF OUR EVERYDAY WORRIES AND HELP US APPRECIATE THESE REALLY EXTRAORDINARY MOMENTS.

AND THERE ARE MOMENTS THAT COME JUST LIKE THAT AND THEN THEY'RE GONE AGAIN.

AND I THINK THAT'S ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT THE GAME, YOU CAN'T LOOK AWAY.