At Manzanar's main baseball field, thousands of fans gathered for matchups between teams such as the Scorpions, Padres, and Has Beens in the camp's 12 leagues. Baseball became a powerful symbol of an American way of life that boosted morale and brought some sense of normalcy to a confined community. By summer 1942, nearly 100 men's and 14 women's softball teams were playing a full schedule of games. Some teams, including the San Fernando Aces and San Pedro Gophers, came intact from their pre-war communities, while others formed in camp, such as the ManzaKnights, which grew out of a popular young men's social club, and a league organized by older men. Women's teams included the Dusty Chicks and Modernaires. Internees also took part in many other sports, including basketball, volleyball, tennis, judo, sumo, weight-lifting, and golf, to combat boredom and stay active, but baseball remained the most important. Wide open firebreaks left by camp planners to slow the spread of fire, intersecting every four blocks, provided breathing space in the crowded camp and were used for sports fields, parks, Victory Gardens, an outdoor theater, and special events such as the annual Obon festival. As one internee said, without baseball life at Manzanar would have been miserable.