By Harrison Power
Baseball as America’s pastime has long been Modesto’s pastime too, with its newest iteration coming to fans of the sport with the Modesto Roadsters batting off in their inaugural home opener on May 19, 2026. Much as the Modesto Roadsters and the Pioneer Baseball League offer an alternative to standard baseball, Modesto’s baseball history has also included past alternatives to the regular pastime, with the rise of organized softball in the 1930’s as the game provided for community engagement and uplifted spirits during the Great Depression, and later served as an alternative to “hard” or regular baseball during World War II. While many teams were typically affiliated with local businesses, fraternal clubs, and community organizations, the local softball league provided an avenue for organized African-American teams, like the Modesto Aces and Modesto Monarchs, to compete as well.
Formally organized softball in Modesto was established when the Modesto Softball League was created in 1934, spearheaded by the 20-30 Club of Modesto, with its inaugural games taking place on July 25, 1934 at a field no longer standing that had been at the corner of Jefferson and Chestnut Streets. The League was a local and regional organization for recreational men’s and women’s softball amongst community groups and businesses, and early League teams from the 1930’s included the Modesto Irrigation District, Merry Garden Ballroom, Eagles Club, American Legion, Borden’s Milk, Hammond General Hospital, and the 20-30 Club. To further support the betterment of organized softball in Modesto, the Modesto Softball Association was formed in February 1939 during a meeting of team managers at the Hotel Hughson.
By May 1939, a new 20-30 Club Municipal Softball Field had been constructed, located in the outfield of the municipal baseball field at Enslen Park, and it was considered to be one of the best lighted and equipped fields in the state. The ball field lease was transferred to the Modesto Softball Association in May 1942, then was later formally turned over to the City in July 1943. Although games during this period were also played at the Modesto Junior College field, it was at this park where the Modesto Monarchs and Modesto Aces played many of their games.
The Modesto Aces, likely Modesto’s first all African-American softball team, were first referenced in the Modesto Bee sports columns in July 1940, though they may have been an organized team prior to that, and were active through the mid-1940’s. The Modesto Monarchs too played throughout the 1940’s, with first reference in the Modesto Bee in April 1945. In their fourth season, following an exhibition game against the Iowa Ghosts, the Monarchs played in the Modesto Softball Association A League playoff series in August 1948 against the Salas Brothers-Moore Team. The three-game series lasted just two games, as the Modesto Monarchs were victorious in the first two games, becoming the 1948 MSA A League Champions. The Monarchs continued playing softball in Modesto through the mid-1950’s, and some players went on to join other teams in the MSA League which continued organized community softball in Modesto through the 1960’s.
With another baseball team now calling Modesto home, the Modesto Roadsters will be carrying on the longtime Modesto tradition of sports playing a key role in community building and uplifting morale. Let this transition forward be both a time to celebrate Modesto’s sports future while also honoring Modesto’s recreational and competitive sports movements of the past. So come May 19th, join us in cheering out, “Play Ball!”
