We are proud and excited to introduce the state’s first ever permanent Cactus League museum exhibit. The Mesa Historical Museum has expanded to include an exhibit that will showcase the Arizona Cactus League and some of its history. This wonderful new experience opened to the public on January 10th of 2009 and was attended by Hall of Fame pitcher Gaylord Perry.

As we have been promoting that the state of Arizona is rich in baseball history, you will learn that the Major Leagues have been here since the 1900′s. March 30th 2009 will actually mark the 100th anniversary of Major League Baseball in Arizona. The Chicago White Sox were the first team to play here as they played a local team in Yuma, Arizona in 1909. A summarized chronology of the Cactus League’s history can be found on the official website of the Cactus League Experience presented by the Mesa Historical Museum.

Hank Aaron visiting Sun City, Del Webb’s ownership of the New York Yankees, the Detroit Tigers being the first to make AZ their spring training home and Jim Thorpe’s appearance for the New York Giants are only some of the facts that you will learn about as you delve into the history of the Cactus League. Additionally there are some additional pieces of baseball history that you can see at the museum.

Some of our favorite pieces were the seats from the different Cactus League stadiums, the ironic 1992 Cleveland Indians program that says so long to the Valley of the Sun and the size of the bats that some of these players used to belt their home runs. Since we would like for you to check out the museum yourself, we are sharing only a few of the pictures that we were able to get.

The museum already has plans to expand its exhibit throughout the Phoenix Metro Area and continues working to get their hands on more pieces of baseball past in Arizona. For more information on how to contribute something that you might have, or for information on how to get there, please see the official website of the Play Ball Experience.