PRISON BASEBALL

by Meredith Linden

I am a bit of a history buff, and while at first I was intimidated by my Android phone, I now use it regularly when I’m out and about. Sometimes it’s when I’m on my own traveling some unknown hiking trail, but mostly it’s when someone in the car asks a question no one can answer.  I’ll pull up the site and read the history of the topic to everyone.  My job also often requires a search for historical documents or pictures of a sort, so I’ve gotten pretty good at finding obscure information.

The other night, my wife and I went to a restaurant situated on an older portion of Folsom Blvd. The history of the restaurant was outlined on the back of the menu.  After reading it, I really looked around.  In the gigantic dining room with original 1913 high-beamed ceiling, two historical photos, yes only two, were on the wall opposite us.  The first was a photo of the building in the early 1900s.  The second was an outdoor scene with a wide-open space and people surrounding it.  For some reason, it reminded me of baseball even though there wasn’t a clear diamond. I tried reading the caption and thought I got the first two words: “Warden Reilly.”  Since I wasn’t sure and since the word “warden” seemed to be there, I had to get up and read it for real.  I also have a fascination for all things criminal and prisony.  “Warden Reilly opens 1911 baseball season.”  Aha, it was baseball.

Once I got up and saw the nuances of the photo, I could have stared at it for days looking at all the minutiae.  In the foreground were a couple of guys in stripes; yes, prison stripes.  There was a bench and a bunch of bats laid out under a tossed prison uniform.  Two more guys stood in the middle of the open area, and a long line of what I figure were spectators were standing on the edge of what must have been the playing field.  I needed to know more.

On my way home, I was limited in my Android searches.  That night and the next day I went to it on my computer.  I could not find that particular picture, which actually surprised me. EVERYTHING is on the internet now!  I did find Warden Reilly who served from 1908 to 1912 and resigned following charges of incompetency.  Of course those were the charges: Reilly let his prisoners play baseball!!  Yes, it is a little nutty.  I understand prisoners playing basketball. Really, how much damage can they do with a round rubber ball?  Besides, as a former teacher, it reminds me of taking 25 6-year-olds out onto a giant yard and either letting them scatter for free play or try to listen to me explain the rules of a game to them.  When playing a game with the whole class, usually kickball (a little like baseball), there were always a few shenanigans, non-players, or escapees only to be found hiding out in the bathroom.

So what makes wardens think prisoners should even be allowed to do that sort of thing?  No doubt there were escape attempts during some of those games.  Incompetency?  Well, maybe not that strong.  Apparently, his incompetency was running Folsom prison “in the manner of a middle age dungeon, of allowing the prisoners to be treated cruelly and failing to put a stop to drunkenness among the guards” (San Francisco call., May 18, 1912, p. 13).  Guess he was only after the hefty salary of $5K.

 

As an administratively organized sport, prison baseball began in 1904 by Warden Charles Aull, instigating 4^th of July Field Days complete with baseball games.  Prison baseball was played with organized teams on the weekends and holidays.  In 1913, Folsom prison started having amateur games, and teams from around California would go to the prison to play.  Even the guards were proudly involved in the baseball season, talking smack about the San Quentin nine.  San Quentin prisoners didn’t start playing baseball until 1920 or so and call themselves the Giants. The namesake wasn’t just to honor the Giants but to thank them for giving the prisoners their uniforms.  In 1994, outsiders began going to San Quentin twice a week to play the prison team. Ok, that sounds a teensy bit unsafe, you think?  Although San Quentin has death row, it is not near the level of security as Folsom.

They even had their share of scandals.  In 1928, in Black Sox manner and with four prominent teams ready to play, some gambling inmates became mobsters by fixing certain players and selling the winnings to losing bettors at crazy prices.  They got caught, of course, and it turned out all four teams had crooked players, even the Chapel team.  Of course, the San Quentin staff was all over it, as if nothing like that had ever happened there.

I don’t know if baseball still continues at Folsom as I was unable to find any current info.  The only recent bits on Folsom prison you get these days is lockdown info.  My guess is with the regularity and length of the lockdowns at Folsom, not much baseball is getting played.  I just don’t know if I would trust those maximum offenders with a baseball, much less a bat!  My son wholeheartedly agreed.