By Mária E. García

Many people are unaware that Latinos playing baseball is as American as apple pie and tacos. In fact, Latinos have played baseball or softball for many years, but because of discrimination they have not always had the opportunities to play on professional levels. The baseball diamond served as a place not only to socialize, but also to organize. Union organizing often began on a baseball field. Ideas and stories about discrimination in daily Latinx lives were shared in the dugouts.

Baseball was a Sunday afternoon activity for many men of the families from Logan Heights, now known as Barrio Logan. Sundays became important times to picnic and to play sports. Baseball has always been an important part of the lives of Latinos then and now.
The next question becomes: where did San Diego Latinos play baseball at first? The answer to this question is less than five miles from The Old Globe. The specific location was a settlement house called Neighborhood House.

Neighborhood House was a settlement house begun in 1914 by Helen and Mary Marston, the daughters of George Marston, a civic and community leader and owner of the Marston’s department store. Settlement houses were established in England and introduced in the United States to provide social services. One major purpose of the houses became to Americanize non–U.S. citizens. What could be more American than playing baseball? The Neighborhood House team was considered so good locally that it was seen as semiprofessional.

Coach Bill Breitenstein and the 1922 Neighborhood House Veterans.

Players from the House went on to San Diego High School, where they continued to play baseball on a high level. One of the stories told over and over again by the Latinx community is how Carmen Castillo, a member of the San Diego High School team, hit a home run off a relief pitcher named Ted Williams. It is well-documented that Williams chose to attend Hoover High School rather than compete with the boys who came from Neighborhood House. Now seen as one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, he hid his Mexican American identity after being told not to acknowledge his Mexican heritage if he had any hopes of becoming a professional baseball player.

Neighborhood House hired a semiprofessional athlete named Bill Breitenstein to coach the House teams. During World War I, he had served as an athletic director at various bases. He has been recognized time and again for teaching the boys from the House good sportsmanship and for being a mentor. Before he came, boys all over the city played in empty dirt lots and had their own sets of rules. What Breitenstein brought with him were formal rules and discipline, which positively impacted the House players year after year. According to the San Diego County Baseball Managers Association, he is credited with having made baseball an institution in America.
Breitenstein formed the first formal Neighborhood House baseball team in 1922, known as the Neighborhood House Veterans. The Veterans players faced a lot of discrimination from both young peers and adults. The first team included catcher Chino Estrada. Estrada was teased because of his dark skin color but continued to play ball for years. Another player, Dr. John Bareño, later played in the Negro League. The Negro League paid well, and Latino players did not face the discrimination they would have faced if they had played for an Anglo team.

Neighborhood House eventually fielded a girls’ softball team. One of the players, Carmen Estrada, says softball was a way for her to get out of the house and do something fun. Another player was catcher Valentina “Tina” Hernandez. (Tina’s brother, Nay Hernandez, had played baseball at the House and has the sad distinction of being the only member of the Pacific Coast League Padres to die in World War II.) Hernandez played for the Neighborhood House team as well as a local softball team sponsored by JCPenney. Her mother was absolutely against her daughter playing softball, asking what men would say if her daughter knew how to play softball but didn’t know how to make tortillas. Hernandez continued to play despite her mother’s concerns and remains an inspiration to this day.

Valentina “Tina” Hernandez featured in The San Diego Union; courtesy of The San Diego Union-Tribune Archives.

Today Latinx players are found on many teams, but most people do not realize that they are a part of the history of baseball. The Neighborhood House in San Diego was our field of dreams for both male and female players.