What in the world is Vintage Base Ball?
Vintage Base Ball (Base Ball: Two words) is the national pastime
played as it was in the mid 19th century, and as many say, the way it
was intended. A typical vintage base ball game is an event where
participants wear the old style clothing or uniforms and play base ball
under rules of the 1800s, demonstrating the early history of base ball
as they do so. This is not only fun to play and watch but serves as an
educational tool, as well.
Vintage 'ballists' choose to play by the rules of 1860 because those
still retain most of the customs and practices of the early years that
were changed or done away with as the game evolved.
Many of the rules and objectives of modern baseball are the same as
the old game, such as the 90 foot base paths, three strikes to an out,
three outs to an inning, but there are some very noticeable
differences, too. Pitching is underhand from only 45 feet away. There
are no called balls or strikes, foul balls are not counted as strikes,
and a struck ball caught after only one bounce is counted as an out.
Also, the players don’t wear gloves. But the ball is between 9 3/4 and
10 inches in circumference and a lot softer than the modern tightly
wound baseball, so easier to catch barehanded. And because there
are no called strikes or balls, the object is to pitch the ball where the
batsman will swing at it. This generally leads to a much more active
fielding game which many feel is more fun to watch than modern day
pitchers’ duels. There is a much more detailed look at the differences
and how and when the game changed in the 'Spectators' Guide
section of the website.
Vintage games will usually have an announcer/narrator who
explains the differences and the history of the game so the fans will
get a history lesson while being entertained.
There are currently about 100 established teams around the country,
and now interest in the old game is building in Texas. At this time,
there are two teams near Abilene, the Buffalo Gap Chips at the
Buffalo Gap Historical Village and a related club, the Abilene 407s at
McMurry University. There are the Montgomery College Saw Dogs
from Conroe, the George Ranch Giants near Richmond, the Estelle
Base Ball Club in Irving, the Farmers Branch Mustangs and the
Boerne White Sox. There is also a team associated with Fort Concho
that plays at special events and the up and coming Cedar Hill
Cartwrights who will play at Cedar Hill State Park. In October, 2007,
we formally organized the Texas Vintage Base Ball Association.
The game of base ball was not really played in Texas until after the
Civil War, yet there are some who see a significant historical kinship
between the game and the Lone Star State: Texas was admitted to
the Union in 1845, the same year that Alexander Cartwright and the
New York Knickerbockers Base Ball Club established the first rules of
the game that was to become our national pastime.