Photo: Melanie Stetson Freeman/CSM Staff.
The Portsmouth Rockinghams huddle before the game. Players’ uniforms are period-accurate but made from lighter fabric rather than wool.
There’s something about Americans’ love of baseball that’s different from every other sport. At least it seems that way to me.
And now I’m learning that baseball mania even may extend to playing games using the costumes — and the rules — of the sport’s earliest days.
Kelenna Onukwugha writes at the Christian Science Monitor about an almost forgotten type of baseball in Newbury, Massachusetts.
“They pitch lofty underhands instead of fastballs, wear no gloves, and follow the score scrawled on a big green chalkboard. Welcome to the competitive league of vintage base ball – note, two words – played according to rules used in Massachusetts in the 1864 version of the game.
“For many years now, members of the Essex Base Ball Organization have gathered at Spencer-Peirce-Little Farm in Newbury to compete in period-accurate uniforms. The daughters of player Jason Andree enjoy being scorekeepers.
“ ‘It’s pretty cool watching … a game from the past come to life,’ says 12-year-old Tess Andree, who sits in a lawn chair shaded by the large scoreboard behind her. She talks between sips of flavored seltzer water as her 8-year-old sister, Piper, skips by.
“Each team in the organization is based on an actual base ball team that played in the Bay State in the 19th century. The league consists of the Lynn Live Oaks, the Newburyport Clamdiggers, the Lowell Base Ball Nine, the Essex Base Ball Club, and the Portsmouth Rockinghams.
“On this day, Lowell faces Portsmouth in a doubleheader. There are no bleachers, so spectators set up lawn chairs encircling the field. A vintage base ball game can be played in roughly 90 minutes, compared with the average Major League Baseball one, which lasts about two hours and 45 minutes.
“One player, Tom Soare, described the vintage sport as a cross between a softball game and a Civil War reenactment. He and some of his teammates have grown out what he calls “Civil War-era accurate” beards.
“Sporting the most memorable beard of all was Jeff ‘Graybeard’ Peart, the team’s longtime official umpire. After his death in 2024, some players began wearing black pins with his silhouette on them to pay homage. They say he called a fair game, and remember him fondly for the vintage black suit and top hat he wore on the field, and of course, for his signature long beard.
“Now, the game operates on the honor system. Players call their own outs and referee the game. They maintain a friendly energy, though some calls are lightly debated. Ultimately, the day isn’t about winning or losing. “If you see a guy on a different team make a good play, you’re going to clap,” says Robert Nichols, who has attended nearly every game since 2013. “That makes it more enjoyable because you don’t have any skin in the game,” he adds, stroking his Chihuahua Ellie in the lawn chair they share.
“The league’s fans like the fun, relaxing atmosphere, says Brian Sheehy, a former history teacher who serves as president of the Essex Base Ball Organization. And it doesn’t hurt that the price of admission tops off at just $5 per person.
“ ‘You have your baseball enthusiasts; you have your history enthusiasts who come,’ says Mr. Sheehy. ‘It does feel like a community around the ballfield.’ “
More at the Monitor, here. Great photos!
See also Historic New England, here, which adds, “These fun, historically accurate games feature underhand pitching without gloves. A ball bounced once and caught is an out! Snacks, baseballs, and cards are available for purchase. …
“They are based out of Newbury, Massachusetts, and have four teams. They teach the history of baseball through games and demonstrations, offering youth clinics and lectures on baseball history at historical societies, libraries, and other civic organizations.”
