High energy, large crowds and celebrities at Dodger Stadium exhibit opening

The exhibit at Dodger Stadium officially opened June 15 during the team’s celebration of Japanese Heritage Night.

Entitled “Baseball’s Bridge to the Pacific: Celebrating the Legacy of Japanese American Baseball,” the exhibit runs through at least July. If you’re in Los Angeles, catch a Dodgers game and take a self-guided tour.

ABLE is partnering on the project with the Dodgers, the Nisei Baseball Research Project, the Arizona chapter of the Japanese American Citizens League and the Mesa Historical Museum.

Helping to open the exhibit were Dodgers Manager Dave Roberts, Academy Award nominee actor Ken Watanabe and David Inoue, executive director of the Japanese American Citizens League.

Arizona’s role in the exhibit focuses on World War II and the incarceration camps that were built in several desert locations to house American citizens of Japanese descent.

Those imprisoned at the camps carried their love of baseball with them. They built fields, makeshift stands and created leagues that boasted hundreds of athletes. At one point, Gila River Camp south of Phoenix boasted 32 teams in three divisions.

The exhibit at Dodger Stadium includes stories from these camps, a large diorama recreating one of the fields and an original home plate from the Gila River Camp. Also on display is a championship banner, jersey and game baseball from that era.

ABLE extends a heartfelt thanks to the Dodgers and our other partners for making this project possible. The history of Japanese American baseball extends more than a century and continues today. Learn more here.