[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 18179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                    RECOGNIZING BISBEE'S WARREN PARK

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                        HON. GABRIELLE GIFFORDS

                               of arizona

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 16, 2009

  Ms. GIFFORDS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a small 
but historically significant outpost of the great American pastime: 
Warren Ballpark in Bisbee, Arizona.
  Baseball was invented, nurtured, and popularized in our great Nation. 
We are well aware of how this uniquely American game saw us through two 
world wars, a Great Depression, and innumerable challenges, both at 
home and abroad. Baseball is a fixed star; it will always be with us to 
bolster our spirits in times of need--times such as we face today.
  It is with this storied past in mind that I recognize Bisbee's Warren 
Ballpark on the occasion of its 100th anniversary.
  Warren Ballpark probably is not well-known outside of my district in 
southeastern Arizona but its place in baseball's history is as sure as 
a homerun. It is truly a field of dreams.
  A recent editorial in the Sierra Vista Herald captured the essence of 
my message today: ``The story of our ballpark is representative of a 
time when baseball was THE spectator sport and when every community of 
size and significance had its own minor league team.''
  The first game at Warren Ballpark was played between the home team 
and a team from El Paso, Texas, on June 27th, 1909--three years before 
Arizona became a state! At the time, Bisbee was a booming mining town 
with a population close to that of Tucson and Phoenix. The year that 
first game was played was also the year that one of Arizona's most 
renowned political figures, Barry Goldwater, was born and the year that 
the famed Apache warrior, Geronimo, died. In 1909 William Howard Taft 
assumed the Presidency from Theodore Roosevelt and the Pittsburgh 
Pirates beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series.
  Much has happened since the glory days of Ty Cobb and Honus Wagner. 
Our Nation, my State and the game of baseball have all undergone 
countless changes. Yet Warren Ballpark remains. It is, therefore, 
appropriate that this body acknowledge Warren Ballpark as a historical 
treasure for our Nation and the community of Bisbee.
  Warren Ballpark, it has been home to minor league teams affiliated 
with major league teams such as the Chicago Cubs, New York Yankees, 
Brooklyn Dodgers, and Cleveland Indians. The park saw the beginning of 
many great careers and hosted players who not only entertained America 
on the field, but protected her off the field as they answered the call 
of duty in World Wars I and II and the Korean war.
  Baseball is still played on the old field of Warren Ballpark. The 
local high school team, the Bisbee Pumas, plays its games there, as 
does the Bisbee Copper Kings. The games draw enthusiastic supporters 
from Bisbee and surrounding communities.
  Mike Anderson, founding member of Friends of Warren Ballpark, stated 
it well. He said ``this is baseball on an intimate basis--the type of 
thing that can never take place on a television screen, nor can it be 
replicated in a cavernous facility where one has to look at a 
scoreboard video screen to see the expression on a player's face.'' To 
those who have the good fortune of attending a game at Warren Ballpark, 
it is history, and life, and community all rolled into one.
  I commend this local and national treasure for the 100 years of 
entertainment and enjoyment it has given to the community and for its 
unique place in the history of our national pastime.

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