Daylight saving time starts March 8
th! With longer days comes the promise of summer and outdoor activities such as picnics at the beach, nature walks, and sporting activities. Perhaps no activity embodies summer more than baseball; the smell of freshly cut grass, the muffled sound of a baseball hitting the sweet spot of a glove, or the crack of a bat as it echoes through a ball field. The history of baseball in San Diego is rich and parallels the lifespan of our lighthouse; both bringing a different sort of light to San Diego during its tumultuous start.
1855 – Old Point Loma Lighthouse Completed
1860 – Population of San Diego: 731
1865 – Population of San Diego: 200
1870 – Population of San Diego: 2300
1871 – First known baseball game played in San Diego
1873 – Robert Israel becomes keeper of the Old Point Loma Light
1878 – First known intercity match between the Academy Baseball Club of Los Angeles and a handpicked team of local San Diego talent
1880 – Population of San Diego peaks at 40,000 due in part to the promise of the terminus of a transcontinental railroad in San Diego
1880 – The land boom of the 1880’s brought increased interest in baseball, and many local organizations created teams. Of note, the hotel del Coronado, Horton house, and the county courthouse all had teams
1890 – Population decreased to 16,000 as a result of Santa Fe Railroad choosing San Bernardino as the location for the transcontinental railroad terminus
1891 – Old Point Loma Light extinguished
1891 – Only one team survived this population decline, the Schiller and Murthas, a commercial team.
While the Old Point Loma Lighthouse was to be used no more, baseball continued to thrive in San Diego. In 1898 the San Dieagans defeated a team from San Bernardino to win the Southern California League. In 1916, the Cabrillo Baseball Club (no affiliation with the monument created just three years before, but perhaps named in its honor) dominated the local baseball scene, and remained the top team into the 1920s. In 1936, San Diego finally became home to the San Diego Padres, and the baseball team we still celebrate today was born.
Baseball and the Old Point Loma Lighthouse; two things that have stood the test of time in San Diego. Did the two ever overlap? I often wonder if the Israel family would take in a ball game during a trip to New Town San Diego for groceries. Were they present for the height of baseball’s popularity in San Diego during the 19
th century? I hope the answer is yes. For if it is, then some of us have much more in common with this family beyond a passion for lighthouses.
