Saturday, April 27 – Atlantic County
Vintage “Base Ball” game at historic Batsto Village
The boys of summer - actually in the tradition of the boys of many summers ago - will take to the diamond at Batsto Village in Wharton State Forest on April 27th for the third annual Vintage Base Ball game. The game begins at 12 noon and there is no admission fee.
Playing this year will be the Hoboken Nine (photo) versus the Bog Brandywine. The teams are part of the Vintage Base Ball Association, a Columbus, Ohio-based organization founded in 1996 which includes more than 200 teams from around the U.S.
The mission of the VBBA is to promote the games of “Base Ball” as it was known - and played - during the sports’ formative years in the 19th century.
At the April game at Batsto, players - sometimes called ballists - will wear reproduction period uniforms which will consist of either a long trouser and shield shirt or a later-style lace shirt and knickers.
The teams will recreate the game based on rules and research of how the sport was played during the various decades of the mid-to-late 1800s. Playing on open grass fields or modern baseball diamonds, vintage baseball is a growing pastime with thousands of participants playing at open-air museums like Batsto, special tournament re-enactments, and city parks.
Many teams that are VBBA members have been playing since the 1980s and choose to play the game based on rules from the 1850s through the 1880s and note that proper rules interpretation is one of the most important aspects of the newfangled old sport.
Both baseball aficionados and those with a casual interest in the sport will find the considerable differences between the mid-nineteenth century game and today’s baseball fascinating. At the vintage game, they have a chance to note how most ballists played bare-handed and fair or foul balls caught on one bound were considered outs. The sport evolved as experienced catchers in the 1860s eschewed their raw handed play and donned buckskin gloves and the more skilled players always attempted to catch the ball “on the fly” and eventually the “bound” rule became unnecessary.
The game will be played at Batsto Village which was a former bog iron and glass-making industrial center from 1766 to 1867. The village consists of 33 original historic structures, including the Batsto Mansion, gristmill, sawmill, general store, worker’s homes, and post office. For additional information about the Vintage Base Ball Game, contact Wes Hughes, Batsto Citizens Committee Inc. at 856- 236-0113 or
What: Vintage Base Ball game
Who: Hoboken Nine vs. Bog Brandywine
When: Saturday April 27th, 2019 at 12 Noon
Where: Historic Batsto Village at Wharton State Forest
