Valentine Nebraska Baseball
  

Valentine Nebraska 1913 baseball

 

Valentine has a long and impressive baseball history. From the town team of 1913 pictured above to their participation in the Basin League in the 1950's and 1960's the town can be called a baseball town.

valentine baseball 1913 stadium valentine nebraska baseball crowd 1913
valentine baseball 1913 stadium valentine nebraska baseball crowd 1913
The pictures above are from the early days of Valentine baseball. Notice the hats and ties worn by the crowd in the early 1900's.

Veterans Memorial Field
entrance to Valentine Nebraska Baseball Stadium

In 1953, Valentine joined the Basin League. Teams were located in Mitchell, Watertown, Winner, Chamberlain, Yankton, Huron, Pierre and Valentine. Teams were a mixture of minor league players, semi pro stars and up and coming college players. Rapid City joined the league in 1957. By 1963, the NCAA made sure the league no longer included any professional players. Major league baseball had working relations with many of the teams and gave equipment and $30-$40k each year to run the league. grandstand at Valentine Nebraska Baseball
Photos courtesy of Eliza Portrait Design
Photogaphy Studio

 

Valentine NE scoreboard Valentine participated in the league from 1953-1960 and 1963-1967. They had nine future major league players on their roster including Paul Splittorff. The town was the only Nebraska team in the Basin League.

 

infield at Valentine NE dugout at Valentine NE
The current field has an outstanding grass infield and good lights. The field is the home of the Valentine American Legion team.

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