Softball League Shapes Las Vegas Community in 1935
A local nightball tournament drew large crowds to City Park, leading to infrastructure changes and a notable injury incident.
By Yara Nasser ·
In the summer of 1935, Las Vegas residents sought entertainment beyond the casino floor as the town relied on construction jobs for economic stability. The Federal Emergency Relief Administration improved City Park, turning it into a central hub for the community. A new softball league emerged to fill the void in local recreation, drawing thousands of spectators to the dusty grounds behind the U.S. Post Office and Courthouse on Stewart Avenue.
The league organized 14 teams that paid a $10 entrance fee to compete. Players from various professions, including bank employees, bartenders, and grocery clerks, formed squads to play three nights per week. The Southern Nevada Power Company donated equipment and labor to install lighting, allowing games to proceed despite the intense summer heat. The Las Vegas Evening Review-Journal covered the events with the same level of detail reserved for Major League Baseball, publishing box scores and standings.
Crowds of 750 to 1,000 people attended games at City Park, often standing along the foul lines because the field lacked bleachers. League officials struggled to manage the spectators, who frequently obstructed fielders trying to catch foul balls. The executive committee eventually issued a rule stating that games would be halted if crowds crowded the home plate and base lines until spectators moved behind the light poles.
A collision between a player and a spectator occurred shortly after the new crowd control rules were announced. Pitcher J. Miller from the First State Bank team ran over six-year-old Victor Santa Cruz while chasing a foul ball. The impact fractured the boy's skull and depressed a portion of the bone onto his brain. Doctors performed an emergency operation, and the community raised funds for his medical expenses. Santa Cruz recovered and later served in the U.S. Navy.
The accident accelerated the construction of permanent seating. The league installed the first set of bleachers along the third base line in September. As the regular season ended, the top two teams, the Big Four and the Barbers, announced a best-of-five series called the Little World Series. Fans paid 25 cents to sit in the bleachers, while cars parked around the field charged 10 cents per occupant.
The Big Four won the first two games of the series, but conditions turned unfavorable during the second contest. An icy north wind made for a rough game that the Review-Journal described as a raggedly played contest featuring arguments with the umpires. The Big Four team protested before the first pitch, claiming the Barbers had recruited players from other teams. Captain Bill Peccole of the Big Four was thrown out of the game after a vigorous complaint about the umpiring.
The Barbers won the third and fourth games, setting up a decisive fifth game that was never played. A dispute over the game schedule expanded into broader accusations, including a claim that the Barbers should not have advanced to the championship. The Review-Journal covered the dispute with less detail than the regular season games, as editor John Cahlan served as an umpire and was a target of the Big Four's complaints. A censored advertisement placed by the Big Four team detailed their grievances on the sports page.
Softball remained popular in Las Vegas after the 1935 season. Two Boulder City teams joined the league the following year, and lights were upgraded. A playoff game in 1937 drew more than 2,000 spectators. The park continued to host community events, including youth baseball games and the inaugural season of the professional Las Vegas Wranglers in 1947. The city renamed the venue Squires Park in 1954 to honor pioneer Charles Pop Squires, and the ballfield eventually made way for other uses.
