Historic Happenings Blog

Zoom into History: Princeton University Baseball: 1857-1875   June 25 at 7:00 PM M issing our annual vintage baseball event? Join author and vintage baseball historian John Zinn for an online lecture with Q&A about the history of organized baseball, focusing on Princeton University, which played an important role in the sport's early years. CLICK HERE  to register. Photos from  last year's event  can be viewed on our Facebook page. Tintype photographs taken by The Collodion Collective can be found   here .  We look forward to hosting the  Flemington Neshanock   again in 2021!

Thursday, October 10 – Mercer County Closing Weeks of  New Jersey Baseball: From the Cradle to the Major Leagues, 1855–1915 If you haven’t yet seen  New Jersey Baseball , now is the time as we enter the closing weeks of the exhibition. On October 10th at 11:00 a.m.,  John Zinn, co-curator of Morven’s baseball exhibit, will give a lecture on New Jersey Baseball, entitled  History, Tragedy, and Comedy: The Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbets Field .  Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540

Thursday, September 26 – Mercer County BASEBALL LEGENDS STORYTIME Thursday, September 26 at 11:00 a.m. $10 for two adults with up to 3 children; Free with Morven’s Family Membership Ages 3. Ticket price includes admission into the museum. Click here to Register In  We Are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball , Kadir Nelson tells the story of Negro League baseball from its beginnings in the 1920s through its decline after Jackie Robinson crossed over to the majors in 1947. Outstanding writing and illustrations inspire understanding and affection for these lost heroes of our national game. Following our reading, we will take a stroll through our baseball exhibition and be inspired to create your own baseball card. One lucky winner will be chosen at Storytime to receive a Trenton Thunder mini race car model donated by Trenton Thunder. https://morvenmuseum.squarespace.com/storytime In October, we will read  The Berenstain Bears and the Spooky Old Tree   and make a tre...

Saturday, September 7 -- Mercer County Baseball’s Outsiders: Race and Gender in the Early Years CLICK HERE TO REGISTER : For more information,  click HERE Saturday, September 7 at 2:00 p.m. Doors open 1:30 p.m. $15; $10 for Friends of Morven In the 1890s daring “bloomer girls” played baseball while the National Association of Base Ball Players rejected African Americans from playing in their leagues despite more than 200 black teams formed around the country after the Civil War.  Join Dr. Leslie Heaphy for an enlightening afternoon highlighting both women’s baseball before 1915 and 19th-century black baseball in New Jersey. Dr. Heaphy, chair of the Women in Baseball Committee of the Society for American Baseball Research, is an Associate Professor of History at Kent State University at Stark and published author in the area of the Negro Leagues and women’s baseball. Museum galleries open before and until 4:00 p.m. following the program. Ticket includes same-day museum admissio...

Thursday, August 22 – Mercer County The Color Line on the Baseball Diamond   Join historian and film producer Dr. Lawrence Hogan, Negro league’s last team Captain of the Kansas City Monarchs and All Star James Robinson, and poet Kevin Kane for a multifaceted presentation on the complex relationships in “Blackball” during America’s era of segregation. Thursday, August 22 at 6:30 p.m. Doors open 6:00 p.m. $10; Free for Friends of Morven Register here More info  

Vintage Baseball Game: Monmouth Furnace v. 1859 Hoboken Base Ball Club Saturday, August 17, 2019 Strauss Mansion Museum 27 Prospect Circle Atlantic Highlands, NJ, 07716 Vintage baseball is back in Atlantic Highlands for the second straight year! The Monmouth Furnace return as the home team to battle the 1859 Hoboken Base Ball Club by 1860's rules at 11 AM. Gates open at 10 and will feature children's games and perhaps a visit from President Lincoln himself! Free admission. Interested sports and memorabilia vendors are welcome to sell their goods. Please contact Alice at alice2@kupperpe.com for more information and to register.

Piscataway, Middlesex County The Liberty Base Ball Club 2019 Schedule

Thursday, June 13 – Mercer County Talking Baseball with Bob Ryan & Art Shamsky moderated by Bill Glovin Thursday, June 13, 7:30 p.m. Doors open 7:00 p.m. $20; $15 for members. Morven Museum & Garden, 55 Stockton Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540    For more information contact Morven’s Curator of Education and Public Programs at 609.924.8144 ext. 106 or at  dlampertrudman@morven.org      ‘69 Mets World Series winning baseball star Art Shamsky and ESPN’s “The Sports Reporters” celebrity journalist Bob Ryan share professional baseball highlights and insights with noted New Jersey sportswriter Bill Glovin. Q&A and book signings follow the discussion. Ryan and Shamsky’s books available for purchase and signing separately following discussion. SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY: 5:45 p.m. doors open to the Mansion for an exclusive meet and greet wine reception with Bob Ryan & Art Shamsky: $100 per person, includes access to the exhibition, ligh...

Piscataway, Middlesex County The Liberty Base Ball Club 2019 Schedule

Vintage Base Ball Monmouth Furnace Base Ball Club 44 Longstreet Rd, Holmdel, NJ 07733 Saturday, May 4, 11:00 AM-3:00 PM Spend a summer afternoon at Holmdel Park and enjoy one of America’s favorite pastimes to see how it started. Monmouth Furnace Boys (formerly known as the Bog Iron Boys) will be playing vintage base ball, using rules from the 19th century. Players will be dressed in uniforms appropriate to the time period, and the style and terms of the 19th century are used during the game.

Piscataway, Middlesex County The Liberty Base Ball Club 2019 Schedule

"Gods of Wood & Stone" signing and books talk Thursday, April 25, 7:00 pm Wall Township Library 2700 Allaire Road, Wall Township, N.J. From Pulitzer Prize finalist Mark Di Ionno comes the next Great American Novel about the Great American Pastime—The Natural with echoes of Ford, Updike, DeLillo and Roth—two men from disparate worlds and their search for what constitutes a meaningful life in a searing portrait of honor and masculinity, sport and celebrity, marriage and parenthood. Joe Grudeck is a living legend—a first-ballot Hall of Famer beloved by Boston Red Sox fans who once played for millions under the bright Fenway lights. Now, he finds himself haunted by his own history, searching for connection in a world that’s alienated the true person behind his celebrity facade. He’ll step back into the spotlight once more with a very risky Cooperstown acceptance speech that has the power to change everything—except the darkness in his past. Horace Mueller is a different type ...

Piscataway, Middlesex County The Liberty Base Ball Club 2019 Schedule

Fair Haven Easter Egg Hunt & Baseball Opening Day The Town of Fair Haven McCarter Park Fair Haven 07704 4/13/2019 9:00 am - 11:00 am REGISTRATION NOT REQUIRED AGE RANGE:  All Ages FREE CALL:  (732) 747-0241 ext 216. WEBSITE MORE DETAILS:   The Annual Easter Egg Hunt will take place on Sat., April 13 at 9 am SHARP at McCarter Park. No pre-registration is necessary. Remember to bring a basket. All are welcome to attend ! Immediately following the Easter Egg Hunt, Baseball/Softball will line up for the Baseball/Softball Opening Day Parade at 10 am. The parade begins at McCarter Park and finishes at Fair Haven Fields.

Thursday, March 28 – Cape May County Fireside Chats Cold Spring Brewery, Thursdays   From 4 pm-5 pm on Thursdays in the winter at Cold Spring Brewery, gather round the fireplace at Cold Spring Brewery for this free lecture series!  March 28 th  – “History of Early Baseball in New Jersey” with John Zinn, Author and Historian   Historic Cold Spring Village is a nonprofit, open-air living history museum that portrays the daily life of a rural South Jersey community of the Early American period. It features 27 restored historic structures on a 30-acre site. Admission during the season is $14 for adults and $12 for children ages 3 to 12. Children under 3 are admitted free. Unlimited free admission is available with Village membership. For more information on events, membership, volunteering, or booking private affairs, please call 609-898-2300, or visit the Village website at hcsv.org.

"Gods of Wood & Stone" signing and books talk Friday, March 15, 12:30 pm – 1:30 pm Mountain Lakes Library 9 Elm Street, Mountain Lakes, NJ From Pulitzer Prize finalist Mark Di Ionno comes the next Great American Novel about the Great American Pastime—The Natural with echoes of Ford, Updike, DeLillo and Roth—two men from disparate worlds and their search for what constitutes a meaningful life in a searing portrait of honor and masculinity, sport and celebrity, marriage and parenthood. Joe Grudeck is a living legend—a first-ballot Hall of Famer beloved by Boston Red Sox fans who once played for millions under the bright Fenway lights. Now, he finds himself haunted by his own history, searching for connection in a world that’s alienated the true person behind his celebrity facade. He’ll step back into the spotlight once more with a very risky Cooperstown acceptance speech that has the power to change everything—except the darkness in his past. Horace Mueller is a different t...