In 1954, Orioles found their oasis in Arizona

Sixty-three years ago this month, the 1954 Orioles arrived in Yuma, Ariz., for their first spring training. The city treated them like kings. A banner strung across the main drag welcomed the team to town, as did a giant float with a huge Oriole bird on top. And on days when the club played at home, schools let out early so children could attend the games.

The Orioles were, with few exceptions, a mishmash of journeymen who’d go 54-100 that season. But in Yuma, they found their oasis, winning their first five exhibition games and going 12-5.

Never mind the blistering heat, swirling sandstorms that canceled games and 300-mile road trips. Wearing hand-medown uniforms from the woebegone St. Louis Browns, the Orioles banged out win after win, hitting six home runs in one game. The media cozied up to the would-be stars. In some workouts, reporters took part in the hitting and pitching.

Players stayed in the Flamingo Hotel and attended civic fetes, including a banquet with comedian Joe E. Brown.

The Orioles broke camp on March 26, having won the Arizona Cactus League championship and the 27-inch trophy that went with it. For three weeks they trekked east, by bus and rail, barnstorming their way back to Baltimore by playing other big-league clubs in baseball-starved cities. They finished 18-12, fourth-best spring training record of the then-16 teams in the majors.

They’d not return to Yuma in 1955, choosing Daytona Beach instead.