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The SP visits San Quentin
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This most unusual item is the small (6"x8") printed scorecard for a baseball game played at California’s notorious high security San Quentin State Prison between the baseball club of the Southern Pacific RR and the San Quentin “All-Stars” on July 24, 1932.
As was the Central Pacific, which consolidated with the Southern Pacific in 1884, San Quentin was also a “pioneer” institution in Golden State. California established its prison system in 1851, just one year after achieving statehood, in response to increased criminal activity brought on by the sudden influx of men seeking their fortune in the gold fields.
A temporary prison was first set up on the “Waban,” a 268 ton
bark. As the ship quickly became overcrowded and escapes common, however,
building began for a permanent facility on Pt. San Quentin in Marin County,
just north of San Francisco, in July, 1852, using prison labor. San Quentin
housed both male and female inmates until 1933 when the women's prison
at Tehachapi was built. -BCC
Courtesy Bruce C. Cooper Collection.
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