This photograph of the "Slim Jims" (left) the umpire and the "Fat Fellows" was taken at Yankie and Main Streets, circa 1888. Photo courtesy of the Silver City Museum. Silver City Museum, WILL, Present

"A Burlesque Take on the History of Baseball in SW New Mexico"

Silver City -- For baseball fans, there's nothing like springtime and the start of baseball season. Thursday, April 18, the Silver City Museum and WILL (Western Institute for Lifelong Learning) present "A Burlesque Take on the History of Baseball in Southwest New Mexico," from noon to 1 pm at the Besse-Forward Global Resource Center on the campus of WNMU, at the corner of 12th and Kentucky streets. The event is free, and will be presented by local historian Doug Dinwiddie, PhD.

Inspired by his 2019 research for Diamonds in the Rough: Baseball's Legacy in Southwestern New Mexico Symposium, held at the Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark in Santa Clara, Dr. Dinwiddie will share a new twist on the topic with the surprising emergence of burlesque baseball in the late 19th Century.

The first local baseball team formed in 1873, and the sport became so popular that a new era of competition commenced in 1887 -- burlesque baseball - featuring contests between the “Fats” and the “Leans.” The thin fellows, also known as Slim Jims, wore white suits decorated with skulls and crossbones. The fat fellows, called just that, donned suits bearing decorative beer mugs. The burlesque aspect of the game took its inspiration from the rise of burlesque theater in the 1870’s. 

The term "burlesque" is derived from the Italian word, burlo, meaning joke. Burlesque then was a form of comic theater making fun of more formal and upper-class aspects of life in the United States.  Burlesque troupes travelled the U.S. satirizing opera, popular music, politicians, business leaders and favorite pastimes, like baseball.  By the 1920s, burlesque theater, competing with the new inventions of radio and movies, turned its attention to the female form and became more sexual in nature.

The tradition was revived here in recent years, complete with outlandish costumes, and crazy prizes awarded for best dance moves, costumes, and other such categories. Museum Director Bart Roselli and Raul Turrieta, Museum Society board president, are currently planning this year's match, to be held May 18 at WNMU.  It will be a day of wholesome family fun, with activities for children, including bouncy house and baseball related games. Refreshments will be available. All proceeds will support museum programming.

Local Historian, Doug Dinwiddie, PhDDr. Dinwiddie's presentation, "Always More than a Game," will focus on the history of burlesque baseball in Grant County, within the larger context of baseball as a social institution in the United States.

"Baseball was all the rage by the late 1800s, and became known as the national pastime," said Dinwiddie, who has followed baseball since he was a child. "Every town across America had at least one team, though the game was solely adult men at the time.  There was no Little League until the 20th Century.  Burlesque baseball is an offshoot of the sport, which gave everyone an opportunity to participate, regardless of talent, and created a spectacle for the enjoyment of both the players and the audience."

He will also share numerous historical photographs from Grant County's many baseball teams throughout the years - including the burlesque games -- curated by Silver City Museum staff. And as president of the Board of Directors of the Fort Bayard Historical Preservation Society, he is especially pleased to share the story of a highly skilled baseball team which played at Fort Bayard in the early 1900s and 1920s, as part of the Copper League. Several of the players had been in the major leagues, playing with the Chicago White Sox, when they were banned from the big leagues for placing some illegal bets on the 1919 World Series, and landed at Fort Bayard. Their notoriety led to the league's nickname, the "Outlaw League."

Baseball captured the fascination of Americans, Dinwiddie explained, due to the game's metaphor for societal values held dear, particularly rugged individualism and teamwork. "Even though it's a team sport, when that batter steps up to the plate, it's all about that individual," he said. "Baseball is the only sport where the defense has the ball ... It's a great metaphor for the American Dream, being all that you can be, and at the same time seeing the value of teamwork."

Dr. Dinwiddie's presentation will also be available via Zoom at https://wnmu.zoom.us/j/8818268280 , and will be recorded and posted to Facebook, and to the museum's website, at www.silvercitymuseum.org . For more information, please contact Sarah Zamora, community engagement manager, at (575) 597-0230, or communityengagement@silvercitymuseum.org .