Putting Some Real Juice in the Game

By Rachel C. Kirby

My name is Rachel C. Kirby and I am a PhD Candidate in American & New England Studies at Boston University. This summer, as part of Boston University’s Center for the Humanities Summer Internship program, I’m interning for Red Sox historian Gordon Edes. When I’m not inside the walls of Fenway, I’m researching for a dissertation chapter on the Florida orange as an icon of the state’s tourist and agricultural economies. When I began the summer I did not expect to find any connections between baseball and citrus fruit. Little did I know I’d find more than one! Here are some of my juicy discoveries.

Citrus and Spring Training:

“Winter home of the Boston Red Sox. The Florida Citrus Showcase Building (orange dome) borders the park, which is just two miles from world famous Cypress Gardens.” Postcard of Chain O’Lakes Park in Winter Haven, Florida. Postmarked February 4, 1967. Image from ebay.com.

Future Hall of Famer Carlton Fisk rests on a fence with orange groves behind him. Courtesy of Dan Valenti/Boston Red Sox.

Each spring the Red Sox escape New England’s long winter to train in a sunnier spot. Over the team’s history, their travels have included Virginia, Georgia, Arkansas, and Arizona. Since 1966 they’ve been in Florida, first in Winter Haven and more recently in Fort Myers.

Central Florida used to be covered with orange groves. Even the Chain of Lakes Park in Winter Haven initially had an orange grove beyond right field, and the occasional ball would get lost amid the trees. The view beyond left field was of artificial citrus: a semi-circular orange dome, home to the Florida Citrus Showcase, rested beyond the stadium lights. Visitors to Spring Training experienced a very different Florida than those who travel south for Spring Break. Rather than sandy beaches, central Florida is — or was — citrus country.

Red Sox Hall of Famer Dwight Evans in a moment of contemplation, framed by orange groves behind him. Courtesy of Dan Valenti/Boston Red Sox.

As a newcomer to MLB fandom, I was surprised when I saw the cover of the 1986 Spring Training Program that featured Wade Boggs swinging his bat at a grapefruit.

This is Wade Boggs in 1986, back when the ball really was juiced. Courtesy of Boston Red Sox.

Since my own research is around the Florida orange as an icon of the state, I couldn’t help but wonder why the games played in Spring Training are known as the “Grapefruit League” rather than the “Orange League,” or at least the all-inclusive “Citrus League.” The history of MLB training in Florida far predates the popularity of the term, leaving the origins of the phrase relatively unknown. Nonetheless, Rodney Kite-Powell, curator at the Tampa Bay History Center, has a theory.

The details of the event vary between accounts, but here’s the gist: In 1915 an aviator named Ruth Law arranged a stunt with the Brooklyn Dodgers. She may have taken a player with her or done the prank herself, but either way the Dodgers manager Wilbert Robinson agreed to catch a baseball thrown out of a plane flying above. Realizing the risk of injury — or death — if he was hit by a baseball, Law (or her companion) threw a grapefruit instead. The fruit hit Robinson and exploded, causing him to panic and greatly amusing the team. Whether or not this incident inspired the “Grapefruit League” title used today, it’s a good thing they switched out that baseball for a grapefruit.

Giants, Japan, and Grapefruit:

Old pals Tom Lasorda and Don Zimmer with the Florida Citrus Showcase dome behind them. Courtesy of Dan Valenti/Boston Red Sox.

Japan has long been an international hub of baseball and an American market for citrus exports. So why not bring the two together? In 1970s the Florida Citrus Commission did just that when, according to meeting minutes available at the State Archives of Florida, they invested roughly $100,000 in a combined p.r. and advertising campaign surrounding the Tokyo Giants. The promotion focused on the Giants’ spring training trips to Vero Beach, which could engage a Japanese market from within the heart of the Grapefruit League. At that time, the LA Dodgers traveled to Vero Beach for their Spring Training, so the Florida Citrus Commission was showcasing their products to an international market and to the fans from a rival citrus state.

Buy Me a KitKat and Cracker Jacks:

The candy bar KitKat is huge in Japan, just like baseball. The two were combined in this citrus-flavored limited edition release. Photo from Amazon.com.

The odd citrus-baseball-Japan relationship was made evident again in 2017 with the introduction of a new KitKat flavor. The candy is incredibly popular in Japan, and is produced in a range of flavors that far surpass the options available in the US. According to The Japan Times, KitKat rolled out a white chocolate and citrus variety in 2017, flavored with lemon, sudachi (a sour, green citrus fruit), and Mandarin orange. If the flavor combination wasn’t enough to tempt you into purchasing one, the proceeds from this particular line went to support youth baseball and softball organizations in Japan. The packaging featured a white KitKat and citrus fruit hovering over a crowded ball park. Why citrus and baseball? Your guess is as good as mine.

Ted Williams’s Citrus Surprise:

With palm trees in the background, Hall of Famer Ted Williams offers some instruction in Spring Training. Courtesy of Dan Valenti/Boston Red Sox.

Once no longer playing, Ted Williams spent many years assisting and watching the Red Sox at their field in Winter Haven. But Ted’s Florida days were not restricted to Spring Training. Fulfilling stereotypes of New England snowbirds, in the 1980s, he retired to Citrus Hills, Florida, where he was the celebrity spokesperson of the community. Ted loved baseball and fishing, but he also had an (in)vested interest in orange groves.

The legend in a moment of reflection. Courtesy of Dan Valenti/Boston Red Sox.

While in Florida, Williams befriended the late Joe Davis Sr. Davis, inducted into the Florida Citrus Hall of Fame in 1999, was an influential member of the industry. His hall of fame bio explains that he served as chairman of the Florida Citrus Commission twice, from 1979–1988 and from 1992–1999, and Williams attended his inauguration.

Williams and Davis were not only friends, but they were business partners. According to Davis’s Florida Department of Citrus obituary, when Davis was looking to open a packinghouse with his son, Ted Williams signed on as an investor. Together, they opened Davis Citrus Farms in Sebring, Florida.

Williams’s celebrity status once again proved useful, as the business offered the “Ted Williams 406 Grove Basket.” An undated brochure — possibly form the 1980s — included a photograph of a basket of oranges and honey sitting behind a signed baseball, a glove, bat, and Boston Red Sox baseball cap.

Davis Citrus Farms brochure (c. 1980s) promoting the Ted Williams 406 Grove Basket. Courtesy of P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, George A. Smathers Library, University of Florida, Florida Ephemera Collection, Item 5421.

Brochure detail showing the Ted Williams 406 Grove Basket. Courtesy of P.K. Yonge Library of Florida History, George A. Smathers Library, University of Florida, Florida Ephemera Collection, Item 5421.

The caption states that the basket is “filled with the world’s finest citrus and accompanied by a personally, hand-signed autograph by Ted Williams himself (not rubber stamped or printed… we guarantee it!)” A mock-up of the signed postcard is also featured on the brochure, showing Ted Williams’s signature scrawled across an image of him at bat. You can imagine my surprise coming across the Red Sox “B” as I flipped through brochures in Gainesville!