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 Cubs on Catalina Island Photo Gallery

Cubs Spring Training on Catalina Island!

“We kind of fell in love with the beauty of it. I spent 11 birthdays on the island, and I really enjoyed it out there.” – Cub shortstop Woody English

How many baseball fans are aware that for 30 years the Cubs held spring training on their own private paradise, Santa Catalina Island? “The Isle with a Smile”  was located in the Pacific Ocean, 25 miles off the coast of Los Angeles. Starting in 1921, the Cubs held camp on the island every spring. They continued to train there until 1951, except during the war years of 1942–45.

Of course, whenever I think about Catalina, I always wonder how many packs of gum Cub owner William Wrigley had to sell at a nickel a pack in order to buy his own tropical island!

Wrigley became the first baseball owner to bring a major league club out West for spring training, He invested millions more in needed infrastructure and attractions to the island in Avalon, the island’s principal city. These improvements included a 5-star hotel, a diamond and practice field with dimensions similar to Wrigley Field in Chicago, training facilities, and the Catalina Casino. Wrigley was a familiar face at the ball field, usually sitting in the bleachers to watch the workouts.

A typical spring training for the Cubs began in mid-February, when pitchers, catchers and rookies would hop the steamboat in Los Angeles for the three-hour trip to Catalina. The rest of the team followed a week later. The trip did not come without a cost: almost everyone experienced severe seasickness2 in the choppy winter waters off the coast of Los Angeles.

Many baseball stars spent their springs in the tropical setting, including Hall of Famers Rogers Hornsby, Dizzy Dean, Gabby Hartnett, Joe McCarthy, Grover Cleveland Alexander, and Hack Wilson. Other notable Cubs included Charlie Root, Phil Cavaretta, and Charlie Grimm. Around mid-March, the club would break camp and sail for Los Angeles for a couple of weeks of exhibition games. First stop was always Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, home of the Angels, Wrigley’s Pacific Coast League team. The club would then move slowly across the Southwest, playing a game each day in towns along the way before finally heading north.

Hollywood celebrities became frequent visitors and Catalina, and the island became a familiar setting for movies., including the classic, Mutiny on the Bounty.  Cary Grant, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn were among the stars often spotted on Catalina. Buffalo were imported for one picture and they now roam wild. Natalie Wood’s 1981 drowning off Catalina put the island back in the national spotlight.

Billy Jurges spent 10 preseasons on Catalina and described it as “a great place to train.” He remembered that big-name bands like Harry James and Jimmy Dorsey would play on weekends at the eight-story Casino where the ballroom could accommodate 5,000 dancers. The Cubs would import girls from the mainland to provide partners for the dances.

The Cubs’ last season on the island was 1951. A spell of bad weather, including a snowstorm, may have played a role in convincing the team to move spring operations to Mesa, Arizona. Only a plaque noting the location remains now on the grounds of what is currently the Catalina Island Country Club.

-Gary Livacari

All photos from public domain

Background information edited from article in the South Bay Daily Breeze; and the Catalina Island Wikipedia page. 

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