Ninety years ago, on March 12, 1920, the San Joaquin-Stanislaus Counties baseball league has been formed and the first game will be played April 4. The plan outlined two weeks ago did not materialize so the new league will be composed of Manteca, Tracy, Newman, Modesto and Keyes. For the Manteca team, P. J. Peltier has been re-elected manager and C. L. Callendar has been chosen secretary. Manager Peltier spent three days this week in the bay cities getting next to some of the players who fell just short of the big league qualifications and has signed three for this season. He says he will start with the fastest bunch of players ever seen here.

In other sports stories from the Bulletin files:

80 years ago: March 13, 1930 - The next meeting of the Don Pedro Baseball League will be held in Escalon in two weeks. At this meeting, the schedule will be adopted, the player lists accepted and forfeits posted. it is announced by H. James Hill, secretary of the league. The league is now made up of teams from the following towns: Escalon, Victor, Gustine, Modesto and Manteca.

The Manteca Maulers lost their first practice game of the season here Sunday afternoon with the Stockton Druids by a score of 12-3. The local team had done no practicing.

70 years ago: March 14, 1940 - In the second game of a doubleheader at Galt on Sunday, Manager Harold Garvine’s Manteca Merchants defeated the Galt town team by a 4-0 score in a short five-inning game. Steady Bill Enders worked the first three innings and showed quite a bit of stuff for so early.

60 years ago: March 16, 1950 - Featuring a nine-run sixth inning, Manteca High started its 1950 baseball schedule on the right foot by taking a 14-13 victory over Lodi High last week on the Manteca diamond. The Buffaloes trailed by 10-3 at one time. Freshman third baseman Bob Turk collected two hits, including a double, and batted in four runs to lead Manteca at the plate. Bob Wheeler also got a pair of hits for the Buffs. One was a home run.

50 years ago: March 17, 1960 - A clutch single in the bottom of the seventh inning by Tim Brumley gave Manteca High a 5-3 win over Modesto High Tuesday afternoon on the winners’ diamond. The win was the first of the season for the locals. Wade Richards, who had singled to get on, scored on Brumley’s hit. Walt McDonald pitched the final three innings and received credit for the win.

40 years ago: March 13, 1970 - Through sheer guts and determination, the “weak sister” Manteca High basketball team upset two favorites en route to an exalting second place finish in the 20th annual Tracy Lions Club Invitational Basketball Tournament. The Buffaloes took a 71-67 two-overtime thriller from Tracy High to finish in second place. Al Betschart scored 27 points to lead the Buffs in the game. Mark Liles contributed 19 to the effort. After losing to Turlock High in the championship game, Betschart, Manteca’s 6-5 junior center, was selected to the all-tourney team for his efforts.

30 years ago: March 12, 1980 - Roseville High dismantled Manteca High 82-69 in the Sac-Joaquin Section Class AA basketball semi-finals Friday night at Valley High in Elk Grove. Mitch Crawford with 25 points and Fred Nelson with 21 were the entire offensive show for the Buffaloes.

Making their best showing thus far this season, the Manteca High Buffaloes rasied a few more eyebrows by once again defeating the Edison High nine Friday afternoon 4-3 at the MHS diamond. With one out in the fourth inning, Danny Triglia blasted a triple to the left field gap to score Steve Vasquez. Triglia then trotted home on a base hit by Darren Swift. The junior third baseman had two safeties on the day to lead Coach Sostenes Rodriguez’s Buffs.