The Copper City Classic celebrates the rules and vocabulary of 1800s baseball. Get a taste of the Southern Arizona event, held earlier this month.
Jackson R. Kimball For the Arizona Daily Star BISBEE — There was an underhand pitch to a pin-striped striker. A sudden crack rang in the late morning air and the ball bounced once off the dusty diamond, before landing squarely in a naked palm.
The league returned this year, with its usual variety of vintage-style teams from all over Arizona. Teams like the Phoenix Senators, The Tucson Saguaros, The Maricopa Maidens and The Mesa Miners, played baseball with rules and vocabulary from 1863. “It’s so much fun. For the guys that are tired of playing competitive, spandex, sunglasses, one-hour hustle softball, this is more relaxed and it’s more authentic,” said Biwer.
“We try and come down here every year. Last year I was the only player on the team that could come and the year before that COVID interfered,” Biwer said. “This is pretty much how it all started,” said Brian Carter, pointing to a 42-inch bat. “Anything kind of went back then because they really didn’t know yet.”
“The paint schemes, like for instance this one,” Carter said, turning one of the bats with three distinct stripes painted on the barrel over in his hand, “back in the 1800s maybe this meant that he had three children. It’s not just for design. Maybe he played third base. Maybe he had three home-runs.”
The Southwest Association of Buffalo Soldiers’ presence highlighted another significant piece of Arizona’s late 1800s history: The interesting and intensely complex existence of Black Buffalo Soldiers who were baseball players; one of whom being Jackie Robinson. “The fact that usually you just see like one or two women on a team and to have like the first all-women team on this, we’ve been getting a lot of interest from all over. A lot of people are looking forward to this game,” said Maricopa Maiden captain Michelle “Roxy” O’connell.
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