[Source: Betsey Bruner, Arizona Daily Sun] -- A rusted chain-link gate with a combination lock and a red "No Trespassing" sign keep the curious away from one of Flagstaff's most unique cultural artifacts -- a pelota, or handball court, on the east side of South San Francisco Street. Bits of tar paper, egg cartons and yellow dandelions move in the breeze that gently whispers over the vacant lot behind the gate. Many windows are smashed in the adjacent building, Tourist Home, the Basque boarding house built in about 1926, just before the construction of the ball court. No longer heard are the voices of robust Basque men playing pelota, a palm-ball game with origins in ancient Rome. There are no more "thud" sounds as they smash hard-rubber balls into the Moenkopi sandstone walls of the court, called Pilotaleku in the Basque language. They were the Basque workers who immigrated to America in the 1800s, bringing their sport with them. They came from the Basque region of Europe along the western Pyrenees that spans the border between Spain and France. Tourist Home is Flagstaff's best example of a Basque boarding house. Located near the train tracks, the boarding houses provided a place for sheepherders to stay as they moved their flocks from winter to summer locations.In the Basque region, the pelota court is still at the center of the social life of each town and city. In the New World, the court was always built near the boarding house or hotel. The courts attracted additional customers for proprietors at the hotel and provided Basque herders with a cultural focus and recreation. Mostly single men, the workers could hook up with jobs at the boarding house, learn the new language and enjoy recreation such as handball. Eventually, they might meet their future wives. Basque settlers and their families joined small ethnic enclaves that developed in the Southside area of Flagstaff. In the meantime, the men played handball. The game could be played with two players or with teams.
The handball games in Flagstaff were usually played with the naked hand or a gloved hand. The handballs were extremely hard and handmade from goatskin, and players could break their hands if not careful. In America, the athletes eventually used dime-store rubber balls. The professional version of this Basque national sport can also be played with a cesta, or wicker racket, similar to the game of jai alai played in fronton palaces in Spain, Mexico, Central and South America. Bigger and stronger courts are needed for these professional versions of handball where balls can travel up to 150 miles per hour.
The South San Francisco ball court has made it to the list of Arizona's Most Endangered Historic Places for the second year in a row. Under the auspices of the Arizona Preservation Foundation, the list identifies properties of major historical significance to the state that are in grave danger of collapse, demolition or destruction. "It's a reminder of a piece of Flagstaff history," said Jim McPherson, board president of the Arizona Preservation Foundation. "If it falls or goes, it's gone. Pictures just don't do it justice." [Note: To read the full article, click here.]
