Beyond the Baseball Diamond and Basketball Court: Organized Leisure in Inter-war Mexican South Chicago

Abstract

For Mexicans in South Chicago during the Great Depression, baseball was much more than a way to cope while waiting for a job or relief. They may have been struggling to survive financially, but when they put on a uniform and competed against non-Mexican teams or Mexican teams from outside South Chicago, they contributed to their community by representing them and providing a welcome distraction from the realities of daily life. In addition to the physical activity and sense of community built by the participants and spectators of teams such as the Yaquis, the Mayas, the Excelsiors and the Atlas, organized sports also provided them the opportunity to become familiar with other neighbourhoods and ethnic groups. This article traces the development of these teams and their leaders from organizers of recreational activities to organizations that helped coalesce a Mexican South Chicago identity and provided a means of interaction with other communities in and around Chicago.