The U.S.S. Maine Baseball Team

Baseball history photo: This U.S.S. Maine Baseball Team won the Navy baseball championship in December of 1897, held in Key West Florida, beating a team from the USS Marblehead, 18-3. William Lambert (back row, far right) was the team's best pitcher. On February 15, 1898, the Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbor helping spark the Spanish-American War. The explosion killed 260 of the ship's crew and all of the members of the baseball team except for John Bloomer. Click photo to return to previous page.