Vintage baseball a big hit for fans, historical society
Cleats were laced, and baseball fans gathered to take a trip back in time, to a post-Civil War era ballgame. It's an event put on by the Lewes Historical Society in the hopes of attracting new members while also allowing people to enjoy an early version of America's favorite pastime.
The game is played as it was in the 1870's, and Sunday the Lewes Historical Society's club took on the Talbot Fairplays.
This event is a real home run with the crowds, with up to 200 spectators at times. And with those types of crowds, a crack of the bat can lead to big league roars.
Fans come out to get a glimpse of baseball at a time before the National League existed.
"The earliest we can date the Lewes team was to 1874. And really baseball picked up right after the Civil War, so the earliest we can go was about ten years after that," said Mike Ipaolo, executive director of the society. "But we're pretty sure that they were playing baseball here in the late 1860s, we just haven't been able to find any evidence of it yet."
And for anyone accustomed to watching modern day baseball, the differences in rules are stark in contrast.
The bases are the same 90-foot distance, but the pitcher's box is just 45 feet from the plate, compared to 60-feet, 6 inches in today's game. Pitchers cannot throw overhand, only underhand, though they can lob the ball as slow, or sling the ball as fast as they'd like.
An umpire of the day stands off to the side, and issues 'warnings' to the batter or pitcher, and sometimes makes no calls at all.
Fielders have no gloves, instead they can field a fly ball on the bounce for an out, the same as a catch in today's game.
Baserunning has its quirks as well. Baserunners cannot over run first base, instead many will slide in to beat out a throw. Runners are forced to advance on walks, even if the base behind them is unoccupied.
The 1870s version of ball has many small, yet noticeable, changes that add up to a completely different, more fast-paced play that fans love.
We're told these games are an opportunity for the historical society to attract new members.
"During the game I go through the crowd and explain what's going on, explain what the historical society does. And we've gotten a lot of member, a lot of supporters through it," said Ipaolo.
And these games are just another piece of unique history in the first town of The First State.
The Lewes club will be in Gettysburg next weekend, but you still have a chance to see them in Lewes. They next play at home on Sunday, August 12.
