Cricket and boxing were early Salt Lake City sports

NOT surprisingly, one of the first popular sports in Utah territory was cricket. Since many pioneers came from Britain, where cricket was the rough equivalent of baseball, Salt Lake had its own cricket club by the 1870s.
The Salt Lake Herald of July 6, 1872 reported on a match played by members of the Salt Lake Cricket Club.
"Excellent skill was displayed by the players, ,in bowling, batting and fielding ..." the newspaper reported.
The matches were played at Jenkins' pasture. Plus, an upcoming game was being scheduled with the Coalville Cricket team, meaning the sport thrived in the Territory of Deseret, likely until baseball wooed a lot of the future players away.

-Boxing was also a popular sport in early Salt Lake City. The Salt Lake Tribune of Sept. 29, 1881 reported on a series of boxing matches at the S.L. "recreation grounds." J.P. Cassidy, a boxer from Virginia City challenged Professor Walle, the owner of the property where the matches were held. The Nevada boxer had been shaken up in a carriage accident on the way to S.L., but still came out fighting. He eventually suffered a cut above his eye, but later put the Professor on the ropes.
"...the crowd got the worth of their money witnessing the tussle, which was a series of heavy exchanges, the blows resounding over the place, like the sound of a quartz mill," the story reported.
Strangely, there was no winner declared and the match ended with the Professor announcing another match.
There was no Greco Roman Wrestling match had been planned, but was announced as canceled.
The night's events ended with William Stevenson running 15 miles in one hour and 40 minutes, in a show of human endurance.