Golden Native Roy Hartzell
Utility Fielder, St. Louis Browns and New York Yankees, 1906-1916
Held the Major League record for RBI in a game from 1911-1933

Sports have been played in Golden since its beginning, starting with 3 lanes at the International Bowling Saloon (now Buffalo Rose), started in 1859. Jeffco's first collegiate athletic team was the Jarvis Hall I-X-L baseball team, starting play in 1871. Colorado School of Mines athletics began with the establishment of its football team in 1888, which has played at Brooks Field since it was built in 1892, now one of the oldest football fields in existence. Golden High School has played football for about as long. Since these times community, public school and collegiate athletics have blossomed across many sports. Darden Field is named after Jim Darden, longtime multi-sport Mines coach and coach of the original Denver Nuggets. Golden has also been home to 4 Olympic athletes and 2 medalists (Leroy Taylor Brown, men's high jump, silver medalist at Paris in 1924; J.J. Thomas, men's halfpipe snowboarding, bronze medalist at Salt Lake City in 2002). Golden has had three home-grown native Major League Baseball players: Albert E. "Cowboy" Jones (pitcher, Cleveland Spiders and St. Louis Perfectos/Cardinals), Roy Hartzell (utility fielder, St. Louis Browns and New York Highlanders/Yankees), and Mark Melancon (pitcher, New York Yankees). Golden has had a recreation center since 1959, and Golden Bowl has been in business since being established by Everett C. Bunzel in 1955. Brooks Field was also the original training camp home of the Denver Broncos, as well as also hosting the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Colts.