Alberta Pyatt, AMRC. General Photograph File, AMRC-b79-1-83
Missing the comforts of home, residents of the Ship Creek tent city built a baseball diamond. They celebrated the Fourth of July 1915 with this inaugural game.
Baseball is as American as hot dogs, peanuts and beer, and summer sunburn. But baseball is also spectacularly northern and Alaskan. How about a night game, with no lights? Happens in the land of the Midnight Sun every summer.
Baseball grew up with the north. On Hometown Alaska, public historian Katie Ringsmuth will share the history of baseball in Alaska, but also some unexpected cultural threads and influences—such as indigenous baseball, baseball diamonds on ice, all-women teams and integrated teams. All are a part of our state’s rich baseball history.
You may remember the Anchorage Museum’s centennial exhibit dedicated to the sport, Home Field Advantage: Baseball in the Far North. Ringsmuth curated that exhibit and has fascinating stories to tell.
Join us on Hometown Alaska. Tell us how you enjoy baseball, and ask our historian about famous players who’ve passed through Alaska’s college leagues.
HOSTS:
GUEST:
- Katie Ringsmuth, historian and curator of Home Field Advantage: Baseball in the Far North, Anchorage Museum
LINKS:
- Home Field Advantage: Baseball in the Far North, Anchorage Museum exhibit
- Alaska Baseball League, Wikipedia
- Baseball in Alaska, Alaska State Museum
- Innings under the Midnight Sun: Museum exhibit links baseball with the history of Alaska, Alaska Dispatch News May 14, 2015
- Baseball in the Great White North, Think Blue LA blog
- Baseball in Alaska: No night games, even at night, San Jose Mercury News blog, July 20, 2015
- Ken Burns America, Jackie Robinson, PBS documentary
- Jackie Robinson, a new Ken Burns film, only on PBS, Salon.com
DON’T MISS:
- Ken Burns’ documentary on Jackie Robinson
- Part One Monday April 11 at 8 pm.
- Part Two Tuesday April 12 at 8 pm.
two-part Ken Burns documentary on Jackie Robinson that starts Monday April 11 at 8 pm. Part two is Tuesday, April 12 at 8.
PARTICIPATE:
Call 550-8433 (Anchorage) or 1-888-353-5752  (statewide) during the live broadcast (2:00 – 3:00pm)
- Send email to hometown@alaskapublic.org before, during or after the live broadcast (e-mails may be read on air)
- Post your comment or question below (comments may be read on air)
LIVE BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 2:00 – 3:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
REPEAT BROADCAST: Wednesday, April 6, 2016, 8:00 – 9:00 p.m. (Alaska time)
SUBSCRIBE: Get Hometown, Alaska updates automatically — via email, RSS or podcasts.
