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Watch 1860-style Baseball at 103-Year-old ballpark-Meet 22-game Pitcher “Mudcat Grant”

by on Mar. 06, 2013, under Press Releases

The Friends of the Warren Ballpark would like to invite you to the 4th Annual Copper City Classic Vintage Baseball Tournament, Saturday, April 6th and Sunday April 7th, 2013 at Bisbee’s 103 year-old Warren Ballpark, the REAL Field of Dreams in Bisbee, Arizona. Enjoy old style base ball played by 1860 rules in vintage uniforms.

Gates open at 10:00 A.M. on both Saturday and Sunday; a minimum of four games are scheduled per day. Tickets are $10.00 for one day and $15 for two: 12 and under are free with an adult ticket. Active military get in free on Sunday. All proceeds go to restore historic Warren Ballpark. Tickets can be purchased online at www.friendsofwarrenballpark.com or at the gate.

The tournament is dedicated to, Earl Wilson, 22-game pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, John McGraw who led his New York Giants to three World Series championships and 10 National League pennants during his 29-plus years as manager and Tony Antista, a shining star for Bisbee, hitting a scorching, league-leading .430 in 1930. The tournament also commemorates the 1913-1914 major league baseball world tour that played at Warren Ballpark.

As an added bonus, three base baseball historians will speak about famous baseball personalities and events. Jim “Mudcat” Grant a 20-game winning pitcher will speak about Earl Wilson and his book the Black Aces. Jim Elfers baseball historian will speak about his book the Tour to End All Tours. Mike Anderson, will talk about his book Warren Ballpark and about Tony Antista. The presentation is free on Saturday night, April 6th at 7:00 p.m.at 555 Restaurant, 202 Tombstone Canyon in Old Bisbee. Reservations are suggested: call 520.432.3813.

Along with plenty of baseball, you will find your favorite baseball food: hot dogs, sodas, cold beer and souvenirs. This year, the Old Bisbee Brewing Company will be serving-up their special brand of beer. Local vendors Moose’s Hotdogs and Jimmy’s will provide scrumptious “park” food. There are many great raffle items including a unique 1870 lemon peel baseball signed by Buster Posey the MVP catcher for the World Series Champions the San Francisco Giants.

For more information call Judy Anderson at (520) 432-3813 or go to the Friends of Warren Ballpark webpage at www.friendsofwarrenballpark.com.

Bisbee is located 90 miles southeast of Tucson. The city features charming 19th century architecture, a Smithsonian affiliate museum, stellar art galleries, sidewalk cafes and an authentic copper mine tour. Plan to attend the tournament and also enjoy Bisbee’s old-world charm and new-world charisma. For official tourist information, visit www.discoverbisbee.com or contact theBisbeeVisitorCenter at 520-432-3554.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 6th, 2013 at 2:56 pm and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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  • http://www.facebook.com/muggsyinbisbee Mike Anderson

    Mudcat Grant was a 21-game winner for the Minnesota Twins in 1965 AND an all-round nice guy who was delighted that we were honoring his friend Earl Wilson. The Black Aces is a great read. Jim Elfers is the author of the only book written on the historic NY Giants-Chicago White Sox globe circling tour in 1913 and 1914. Bisbee’s Warren Ballpark is the last surviving ballpark out of 35 venues where those two teams played during their barnstorming 31-day trip by train from Cincinnati to the west coast. From there they went to Japan and all points west. We have two 1870-era vintage baseballs signed by Buster Posey that were provided by the Giants, a baseball and photo signed by Alex Rios and a bat signed by HOF inductee Carlton Fisk, all provided by the White Sox. And wait! There’s more! We have lots of memorabilia from the 1959 AL champion White Sox, baseball cards and photos from the Charles M. Conlon collection that were issued by The Sporting News in the 1990s and much more in our silent auctions and raffles. This is an event baseball fans won’t want to miss, in beautiful Bisbee. And all proceeds will go towards our next project – modern, state of the art, ADA compliant rest rooms that will serve both the football and baseball grandstands. There’s a video about our project at Indiegogo titled “Preserve the Real Field of Dreams.”

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