Densho Digital Archive - Tom I. Mine Interview (denshovh-mtom

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TI: So let's talk about, so after you come along, what are some of your earliest memories of Watsonville? When you think back as a, as a little boy, what were some of the things you could remember?

TM: Yeah, well, I enjoyed sports all my life, and on weekends, I used to go down to the ballpark. I lived fairly close, I was walking distance, anyway. You know, baseball was my sport, I enjoyed it, so there was a lot of fellows around, we played the pickup game, and I just enjoyed it, so...

TI: So I'm curious, when you first started watching baseball as a boy, were there, like, older Niseis who you'd watch play baseball?

TM: No, there weren't too many older Niseis around, surprisingly. But when I grew up, the age, around fifteen, sixteen, then I joined the team. Nisei, we had a Nisei team.

TI: And then, but before then, when you first started playing baseball, who taught you how to play baseball?

TM: Well, I just picked it up, you know, everybody's throwing the ball, catching the ball, so it just came along.

TI: And so going to that Nisei team when you were, like, fifteen, sixteen, whose idea was it to form, like, an all-Nisei team?

TM: Well, Watsonville, they had a Nisei team in the early '20s. So it's just a continuation. And I happened to join at the very end, and the Nisei group, this is the mid-'30s.

TI: And what was the name of your team?

TM: They called it, let's see, Apple Giant, I think was the original name.

TI: The Apple Giants, okay.

TM: Yeah. Since it was apple city, they called it Apple Giants, I think.

TI: And who, who would the team play? Who would you play...

TM: Well, you know, it goes from my younger days into later days. At first, when I was on the team, we played other Nisei teams. And we had two teams, and they put me on the... well, the older club because they figured I was capable of playing with them. So, we had a younger team, I mean, well, two teams, actually, and I played on the older team that played different Nisei teams, we traveled to Sacramento, San Jose, Morgan Hill, Salinas, Florin, all the various cities, they all had a baseball team. Baseball is one of the main sports for the Niseis or Japanese population. All the towns had a baseball team.

TI: So describe, you would go and travel to, like, a Florin or Sacramento, when you got there, how many people would be watching these things?

TM: Well, it depended on community. Some, well, I would say fifty to a hundred. We didn't have big crowd, but parents of the players came, all came and watched.

TI: And so it sounded like you were on the traveling squad. How would the Watsonville team do against the other Nisei teams when you traveled?

TM: Well... how did we do?

TI: Yeah, how'd you do?

TM: We did all right. We enjoyed baseball, win or lose, we all liked baseball, so you know, we just liked to play and travel and come back. And we enjoyed the whole day, because went as far as Sacramento, we left early in the morning, played in the afternoon at one o'clock, and by three or three-thirty we'd get through, showered up, and then come home. We ate someplace and then came home that same day.

TI: Boy, that's a long, long day.

TM: Yeah, that's a long trip, long day, but well, as a youngster, you didn't mind because you enjoyed playing baseball.

TI: And so on the team, you were always kind of the younger one on the team.

TM: Well, yeah, I was, two ways, now, I was the younger player of the first team. Well, and then later on, all the players, the former players, they retired, and then I continued and took over the team, because I've been with the team many years.

TI: But I'm curious, when you were younger, say you were about fifteen, sixteen when you first joined the team, and you would travel around with the, I guess, older Niseis, any good stories about traveling with the guys and how that was? Did they look out for you, were they kind of...

TM: Well, now we were all, got along real good, because we're compatible ages and things. I don't think there were too many people that... well, some would tell the stories about this and that, but I just don't quite remember anything outstanding. We just got there, warmed up, played, and after we got through, we went to eat China-meshi someplace and then came home. That's a good day for us; we sure enjoyed it.