There was a time when baseball was America's favorite pastime, and every town tried to field a team. Iowa Hill, located in an isolated area between Foresthill and Colfax, was no exception. Of course, they didn't necessarily have to travel too far as there were other isolated gold hunting communities in the hills that also had teams.

In the photo above the catcher shows off the tools of his position, a catcher glove, and what looks like a homemade chest protector. The man at far left has a glove that doesn't look much bigger than an oven mitt, while the ball seems to be about softball size.

There are a couple of photo bombers in the above picture. A couple of kids sit in the background near a tree. One has a watering can. All the people in the photograph have identifying numbers, The town, and these people are long gone, but not forgotten.

It’s said that on summer evenings when the air is very still, you can still hear the cry of “Play Ball!” echoing throughout the hills and ghost towns of Placer County.

All photos: Placer County Museums.