LIVING THE JAI LIFE VOL 1: Origins of Jai-Alai in The United States
- March 29, 2025
- World Jai-Alai League
Prior to Magic City Jai-Alai in 2018 and the subsequent creation of The World Jai-Alai League and of the Battle Court Jai-Alai team format most Americans who knew about Jai-Alai either remembered it from the opening credits of the ’80’s TV show “Miami Vice” or as a once exciting & unique sport described by their parents & grandparents.
The exact origins of the sport itself have been largely based on oral histories, but consistently centered on the “Basque Ball” (primarily handball) originating the Basque region of Spain & France sometime in the 15th Century.
When it comes to Jai-Alai in the United States it was long believed that what we now know as the sport of “Jai-Alai” (a ball caught & thrown using a wicker basket) was first introduced to Americans at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis Missouri for two months during “The Louisiana Purchase Exposition.” More in-depth research by Juan Zulaika, citing the translator-writer Asun Garikano uncovered now digitized documentation that the first professional Jai-Alai played in the United States occurred in San Francisco, CA in 1901.
References to “The Eder Jai” appear in “The San Francisco Call” in 1901 & 1902 which was published until merging with “The Post” in 1913. The facility is described as being in San Francisco’s Central Park. It was an open-air court measuring approximately 200 feet and was built at a reported cost of $35,000. 15 Basque players and a Player Manager, who also had played in Mexico City comprised the first roster. There were 4 matches a week “with the handling and speed of the ball fascinating spectators and provoking expressions of enthusiasm.” Individual entry was $1.00 with “boxed seating” selling for $10.00.
No additional references for this first Jai-Alai facility have been located and Jai-Alai is next described in the United States as part of the 1904 World’s Fair. Construction of the $190,000, steel & brick building began in 1903 with seating for 6,000. The Jai Alai Building was constructed at DeBaliviere Boulevard and Kingsbury Avenue in St. Louis, Missouri as a venue for the sport jai alai during 1904’s “Louisiana Purchase Exposition. Jai alai was played in the building for just over two months. The last game was played on July 24, 1904. The games were scheduled to resume on November 1, but the players never returned. Speculation was that the sport didn’t succeed in St. Louis because gambling wasn’t allowed. However, the Cuban promoters claimed that while spectators could bet on the games in their country, it had never been their intention to introduce betting in St. Louis. The building was later converted into a roller-skating rink and was perhaps best known as the popular “Winter Garden Ice Skating Rink” in the 1920s and 1930s. The building was demolished in 1964 to permit construction of a shopping center.
