During the first half of the 20th Century, many baseball players, including Major Leaguers, formed teams to travel the country playing other barnstorming teams, as well as local minor league and town teams. This provided smaller cities and towns a means to watch their favorite stars, and extra money for the players.

Barnstorming’s popularity and necessity faded by the 1960s with the advent of televised games and increased salaries. The concept was revived by necessity in the 1990s by the Colorado Silver Bullets, an all-female team that was not part of a league.

In the late 2010s barnstorming was resurrected again and has seen increased popularity.

Banana Ball

Marrying the barnstorming concept with the atmosphere of a Harlem Globetrotters game, the Savannah Bananas, a former summer collegiate league team, became a full-time barnstorming team in 2023 and took the country by storm (no pun intended), selling out Major League and NFL stadiums with their unique brand of fast-paced, crowd-pleasing Banana Ball.

2023-2026

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By 2026 Banana Ball had expanded to include a total of six teams, and it evolved into the Banana Ball Championship League.

2026 –

Cosmic Baseball

Another summer collegiate team, the Tri-City Chili Peppers, invented Cosmic Baseball in 2024 and took the show on the road in 2025. The Cosmic game is played under black lights to feature glowing bats, balls, bases, and uniforms.