Boys of Summer: Exhibit tracing Rocklin's baseball history runs through September

It's summer and cries of "play ball" can be heard throughout neighborhoods as families gather to watch Little League games. Although Little League has been a mainstay in Rocklin since 1960, baseball is a popular pastime dating to the 1890s. An exhibit celebrating Rocklin's long-standing love of baseball opened July 2 at the Rocklin History Museum and will remain through the end of September. Featured in the display are pictures of Rocklin's first baseball teams, scorebooks painstakingly compiled by longtime Rocklin resident Uno Hebuck, memorabilia from the Tri-City Little League and related ephemera. Starting in 1894, Rocklin's team, drawing from prominent, old-time Rocklin families, played games on a diamond between High and North Grove streets. A playing field was built inside Rocklin's horse racing track in 1898. Attendees could sit in the two-story grandstand and watch a baseball game in the morning and horse races in the afternoon. Then, in 1913, the Rocklin team leased vacant land behind the roundhouse from the railroad company and built a field. Games were played off and on at this location until a new one was laid out in back of the Pleasure Hall in 1927, Hebuck wrote in his memoir. According to Rocklin Historical Society co-founder Marie Huson, there's a rumor that "home plate," a triangle of granite, was buried somewhere on the railroad property. Hebuck organized and managed a Rocklin team in 1922. With the financial help of two other prominent residents, the Rocklin Owls joined the Placer Nevada Baseball League. Over years, Rocklin's baseball team played against teams from Auburn, Newcastle, Loomis, Rocklin, Roseville and Lincoln. "The outstanding performance was when Rocklin defeated the strong Roseville Tiger team at Roseville," Hebuck wrote. "The score was 2 to 1 – yes, Roseville took it on the 'chin' that day." From 1933 on, the team played games in a field adjacent to the residence of Ira Allen. In later years, the city of Rocklin laid out a playing field in City Park. While adult recreational baseball leagues slowly disbanded, Little League became the mainstay for junior players in 1960. The Tri-City Little League Association received its charter in 1960, followed by the development of the Harold Peters Field adjacent to Johnson-Springview Park. Rocklin History Museum, located at the corner of San Francisco Street and Rocklin Road, is open from 1-4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Admission is free.