Vintage base ball season opens at Old World
Vintage base ball at Old World Wisconsin, W372 S9727 Highway 67, Eagle, is the re-creation of the styles, speech, rules and terminology of the 1860s game. According to Old World’s website, it’s not only a competitive game, but a re-enactment of baseball life, similar to an American Civil War re-enactment.
In the 1860s, the game’s name was two words rather than one. Vintage base ball incorporates historical details enjoyed by both players (“ballists”) and fans (“cranks”). Players in baggy uniforms wield fat-handled bats at lemon peel-stitched balls. No one wears gloves and there are no strike zones.
Above all, it’s a gentleman’s game in which there is no showboating or taunting, and the umpire is always addressed as “Sir.”
Vintage base ball is a fast-growing sport in the United States, according to organizers at Old World. Until recently, the game had been mostly a local phenomenon, with clubs playing weekend games in open parks under a variety of rules. Now there are 225 clubs in 32 states.
The Eagle Diamonds
The Eagle Diamonds, based on the 1860s Waukesha Diamonds team, formed in 2005 at Old World Wisconsin. The team is celebrating its 10th season this year.
The players compete in uniforms inspired by those worn by the original 1860s Waukesha Diamonds and use the same rules of that era. The team plays on an unkempt field, with underhand pitching and no gloves.
The Eagle Diamonds are charter members of the 19th-Century Base Ball Clubs of Wisconsin along with the Greenbush Dead Citys, The Milwaukee Cream Citys and the Milwaukee Grays.
The 1860s Waukesha Diamonds
By the late 1860s and early 1870s base ball was being played throughout the state on summer afternoons. Communities established their own teams, which challenged those from surrounding towns, according to Old World’s website.
One of the more active and well-documented teams was the Waukesha Diamonds. The Diamonds organized in July of 1868, playing at Carroll College, adjacent to the Cook and Hadfield quarry. The combination of underhanded pitching, unkempt playing fields, and the absence of gloves was responsible for many high scoring games, such as the Diamonds’ 49-34 victory over the Oconomowoc Clippers in September 1868.
Research by the Old World Wisconsin staff documents the Diamonds competing each season through the mid-1870s. Players included many of the sons of local middle-class families. They joined the team for a season or two before establishing themselves with family and career.
Scheduled games this season include: Eagle Diamonds vs. Delton Base Ball Club, Saturday, June 7; Eagle Diamonds vs. Milwaukee Grays, Saturday, July 12; Eagle Diamonds vs. Greenbush Dead Citys, Saturday, Aug. 9; and Eagle Diamonds vs. Chicago Salmon, Saturday, Sept. 13. All games begin at 1:30 p.m.
Admission to Old World Wisconsin is $16 for adults, $9 for children ages 5-17 (children younger than 5 are admitted free), $14 for students and senior citizens (65 and older), $43 for a family (two adults and two or more dependent children ages 5-17).
Fees include an all-day tram transportation pass. Car-load pricing in effect during base ball events: $43 admits an entire carload (up to nine people).
For more information, visit oldworldwisconsin.wisconsinhistory.org.
Reasonable accommodations will be made for individuals requiring wheelchairs for mobility. Trams are equipped to transport visitors using wheelchairs during regular museum operating hours. Call ahead to make arrangements at (262) 594-6301.
