08.11.09
Less Than 9
According to many baseball historians baseball didn’t always have 9 players. Actually depending on which version of baseball you are talking about it some times had as many as 20 or 30. But the version you know of today may have been played with 8-11 players. The codified rules of 1857 was the first time the rules mandated nine players. In the 1870s there was actually talk of adding an extra shortstop evening out the field to 10 players each (let’s not get in to the designated hitter here).
Playing modern day vintage baseball can leave some teams short of players at the last minute. I have played in a couple of games in which we were short a player for each team, limiting us to 8 players each. We managed to get by with the batting team supplying the catcher. (It really is an honest game.)
It appears that 19th baseball teams sometimes had problems fielding a full nine for games. In 1869 the Red Rover Base Ball Club of Fairhaven played the Union Base Ball Club also of Fairhaven. The Red Rover, using only eight players, beat the Union club by a score of 35 to 28. The box score for the game suggests that the Red Rover went without a left fielder. I would guess that they shifted their fielders around when they needed.
Probably one of the more unique games with less than nine involved the Riverside Base Ball Club of Acushnet and an “unattached nine” of New Bedford. Both clubs took the field with only 7 players. The unattached went without a right and left fielder while the Riverside club went with out a shortstop and center fielder.
Some how it seems that the Riverside club made the better choice in using two outfielders. But the unattached players beat them 45-22 in 5 innings. Unfortunately the newspaper at the time didn’t give any information about how the game was played with so few players other than the box score and line score:
Runs in each Inning.
Riverside, 0 0 8 10 4
Unattached, 9 14 12 3 7
A couple of weeks before this game the same two teams played. It is not noted in the papers of the time if both teams had their full 9 players for the game but these unattached fellows beat the Riverside club in that game 70-34. Not bad for “9″ guys without a team.
05.22.09
Who wants to play ball?
There appears to be a reviving interest in getting a vintage base ball team together. If you are interested in playing please let me know. I would like to organize a get together soon so everyone can swing a heavy bat and check out the vintage base balls (They are much softer and will not kill your gloveless hand. I promise.)
Hopefully the photos below will inspire you to get involved. You don’t have to have a whole lot of playing experience or be in shape for that matter. I haven’t played baseball in 7 years and I am getting incredibly winded typing this.
I stole these images from Ray Shaw of the Newtown Sandy Hook of Connecticut. I hope he doesn’t mind. Check out more of his images: http://www.diamondpix.com/.
Most of the vintage clubs out there have their schedules in place but I would like to get people together to get a feel for playing vintage ball and go from there. Drop me a line here or at info [at] scvbb.org. Also, feel free to join us on our Facebook Group.
03.09.09
Muffin Baseball
A ‘muffin’ is a term that was applied to a new or inexperience ball player in the early 1860s. In the collections of the
Umass Dartmouth Archives and Special Collections is a booklet containing humorous illustrations of the type of play you may expect to see of a mid-19th century muffin. The booklet, Base Ball as Viewed By a Muffin, was published in 1867 and illustrated by Savillion Van Campen. Van Campen was the president of the Ironsides Base Ball Club based in New Bedford in 1858. At the time of publication he was secretary and a member of the Wamsutta Base Ball Clubs first nine. The previous year he had been a member of the Wamsutta Club’s muffin nine. For a guy who had been playing the New York game since at least 1858, it is not clear why he was on the muffin nine. Perhaps it was just for fun.
By the late 1860s muffin baseball had become popular in response to the professionalism of baseball. According to Peter Morris’ book, But Didn’t We Have Fun? muffin baseball spread rapidly during the late 1860s showing that baseball was meant to be played for fun. Rules were not taken seriously and in some cases old rules were reverted to such as the bound rule in which a player could be put out when his batted ball was caught on one bounce as opposed to catching it on the fly. In fact some muffin games forbid players from catching fly balls. They could only be caught on the bound. Muffin games often matched up teams based on appearance or marital status such as in games of fat vs. skinny players or married vs. single players. Other muffin games didn’t limit the number of players on the field. More than nine players could be on a side with two or more fielding one position.
On July 4, 1866 the Wamsutta Base Ball Club played in once such muffin game in which the club’s single men defeated the club’s married men 56-46. Shortstop and each of the outfield positions were manned by two players each and the box score listed a position called the Catcher’s Stop in addition to the catcher. This was most likely a second catcher or a back up to the catcher.
02.23.09
Moonlight Graham
You may remember the film Field of Dreams and the mysterious scene at Fenway Park where Ray Kinsella hears a voice say “Go the distance” while the life time stats of Archibald “Moonlight” Graham of Minnesota is flashed on the score board. One game in 1922. No at bats.
Well, that is not entirely true. The part about hearing voices at Fenway is true. We have all experienced that. Right? The untrue part is Moonlight playing one game in 1922. He actually did not play in any games in 1922. By then he was 45 years old and presumably practicing medicine in Minnesota. Archie Graham did make one appearance with the New York Giants but it was much earlier – 1905. The film which was released in 1989 probably made the adjustment to fit the time line of the movie. The book, Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella, got the date right. Incidentally, I think this is one of the rare cases of the movie being just as good as the book. If you haven’t read the book please pick it up. It is a good read and I think you will find the building of the field and the description of the ghost ball players interesting.
As the story goes Moonlight Graham made one appearance in right field for New York in 1905. He was actually out there for two innings. In the bottom of the 9th inning he was on deck when the final out of the game was made and he went back to the minors without having any at bats in the majors. The Giants that year would go on the beat the Philadelphia Athletics 4 games to 1 in the World Series.
What does this have to do with local baseball history? There is a connection. A year before Moonlight made his debut in the National League he roamed the outfield in a New Bedford baseball park when his team from Manchester of the New England League paid a visit to the city. According to SABR researchers Dick Thompson and Tom Simon the young Moonlight took part in a triple play against New Bedford in August of 1904 in which all 9 members of the Manchester club took part in to record the outs (As soon as I find a box score or clipping of this game I will post it).
When Moonlight wasn’t taking part in triple plays in New Bedford he could also be found to be playing in triple headers. In September of that year Graham and his Manchester club played 3 games against Nashua. Manchester was swept but Graham went 6 for 13 with a double and two stolen bases.
(click to enlarge)
12.18.08
Bay Sox
Exciting news for baseball fans was announced yesterday in New Bedford. One hundred fifty years after the first known baseball clubs began appearing in New Bedford, the city will be getting a team of its own. The New England Collegiate Baseball League will be fielding a franchise in the 2009 season. The NECBL is a summer collegiate baseball league similar to the Cape Cod Baseball League. You may even see a future major leaguer at a NECBL game as their players are often selected in the MLB draft.
Photo: PETER PEREIRA Standard Times
The New Bedford Bay Sox will take the field on June 4, playing out a 48 game schedule. Home games will be played at Paul Walsh Athletic Field. Prior to moving to New Bedford the Bay Sox played as the Torrington Twisters in Connecticut. The Twisters finished last season with a 14-27 record.
I could be mistaken but I believe that this is the first organized league to field a team in the city since 1941 when the semi-pro New England League fielded an entry in New Bedford.
Now the way this works is that people have to buy tickets and go see the games. I lived in Newark, Ohio several years ago and we got a franchise from the professional Frontier League. To make a long story short they left after two seasons. Some people were surprised. Had they gone to a game? Many I knew had not. Seeing low level minor league ball and collegiate level baseball is fun and entertaining. I don’t see that happening in New Bedford. This isn’t Ohio and there is more baseball history behind the Bay Sox here.
There is a certain level of competitive excitement you see that you don’t typically see on the major league level. These are kids that have something to prove and they appreciate a good crowd cheering them on.
But before we start buying tickets we need Bay Sox hats.
Support the New Bedford Bay Sox folks. This is part of baseball history.
For more on this exciting news read the Standard Times: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081218/NEWS/812180343.
11.04.08
Talking Baseball at the Dighton Public Library
Courtesy Dighton Public Library
Tommorow evening (November 5) at 6:30 I will be giving a presentation at the Dighton Public Library. I plan to talk a little bit about baseball history, vintage baseball and show some vintage baseball pics. Please come out to listen and find out more about playing vintage ball.
The library is located at 395 Main Street, off Route 138 in Dighton.
From Somerset:
Follow Rt. 138 through Somerset past the Dighton Town Line. Look for the Library sign at the corner of Main St. (blinking light). Take a left onto Main St. The library is half a mile on the left.
From the north:
Take Route 24 south to Exit 11 (Berkley/Dighton). Take a right off the exit ramp. Follow this road to Berkley Commons (first stop sign). Keep following to a second stop sign. At the fork in the road, stay right. Continue to the Berkley/Dighton Bridge (a one-lane bridge) and cross the bridge. You will pass Bristol County Agricultural School. Follow to the light at the intersection of Rt. 138. Take a left onto Rt. 138, pass the police station, and take a right at the blinking light onto Main St. The library is half a mile on the left.
From the south:
Take Route 24 north to Exit 10 (Assonet/Dighton). Take a right off the exit ramp. Continue straight until the road ends. Take a left at the stop sign. Continue to the Berkley/Dighton bridge (a one-lane bridge) and cross the bridge. You will pass Bristol County Agricultural School. Follow to the light at the intersection of Rt. 138. Take a left onto Rt. 138, pass the police station, and take a right at the blinking light onto Main St. The library is half a mile on the left.
09.08.08
A Common Soldier Plays Ball in the Revolution
I just finished reading Diary of a Common Soldier in the American Revolution, 1775-1783 edited by Robert C. Bray & Paul E. Bushnell.
This is an annotated, published diary of Jeremiah Greenman’s experiences in the military during the American Revolution. Greenman was born in Newport, RI in 1758 and enlisted in the Rhode Island Continentals at the age of 17. When the British invaded and occupied Newport, Greenman’s family left and settled in a village called Acoaxet in Dartmouth, Mass now in Westport. Greenman made many trips to visit with family in Acoaxet while in military service.
Among Greeman’s adventures in the Revolution was an expedition under Benedict Arnold to Quebec and two stints as a prisoner of war. Also included in his diary are several entries related to playing ball:
(May 1776 In Quebec Prison)”we can’t see no Snow but plenty of Ice in our bumprofe / keep o[u]r Selvs ha[r]ty in playin ball in ye yard [illeg.](April 1782, Philadelphia)“The fore noon spent in playing wicket ball / Continuing the Remainder of the day in Barracks.”(May-June 1783 Saratoga)“Nothing happing worthy remarks, implying our selvs in a skettle & ball Alle[y]“
08.18.08
Lowell vs. Wamsutta
John Lowell, ca. 1861
One hundred forty years ago this week the Wamsutta Base Ball Club took on the mighty Lowell Club of Boston. The Lowell Club was one of the more talented baseball clubs in the area during that time. It was formed in 1861 by students of various Boston secondary schools at the suggestion of John A. Lowell and the Bowdoin Base Ball Club to play the New York game. The New York game was played in New England but it was facing competition from the Massachusetts game. In honor of Mr. Lowell, the club was named after him.
The Tri-Mountain Base Ball Club is widely considered to be the first club in New England formed to play the New York game. Formed in 1857, they didn’t play their first match against another club until early September of 1858 when they beat a club from Portland Maine. It remains a mystery as to why the Tri-Mountain club did not play the Ironsides Club of New Bedford which had been formed to play the New York game at that time.
The Lowell club quickly established their talent by winning their first game against Medford 17-10. Lowell played its second match in May of 1863 against the established Tri-Mountain club. Lowell won 37-1. In 1866 the Lowell club’s first nine would win every match they played.
In 1868 the Lowell Base Ball Club set out on tour of New England cities in an effort to reach out and be “neighborly”. While the tour lasted only during the month of June the Lowell club made a trip to New Bedford in August where they faced the Wamsutta club. The game lasted 3 hours and 25 minutes. It was painful 3 hours in 25 minutes for the Wamsuttas losing to the Lowells 62-6 in 7 innings.
New Bedford Republican Standard
August 20, 1868Base Ball. – The game between the Lowell and Wamsutta clubs at Myrick’s on Friday was concluded at the end of the 7th inning, with the following score:
Lowell. Wamsutta.
O. R. O. R.
Lovett, p., 1 9 N. E. Howland, 2. b., 3 0
Alline, 3. b., 3 7 J. H. Tallman, r. f.., 3 0
Dennison, 1. b., 0 8 O. N. Pierce, p., 1 1
Sumner, 2. b., 6 4 Walter Clifford, s. s., 3 0
Bradbury, c., 1 8 G. D. Gifford, c., 2 1
Rogers, c. f., 1 8 C. Almy, Jr., c. f., 3 0
Newton, l. f., 4 6 M. M. Howland, l. f. 2 2
Hawes, r. f., 3 6 F. W. Knowlton, 1. b., 2 1
Dillingham, s. s., 2 6 W. C. Gooding, 3. b., 2 162 6
Runs in each Inning.
1st. 2d. 3d. 4th. 5th. 6th. 7th.
Lowell, 5 9 1 10 6 11 20
Wamsutta, 1 0 2 1 1 0 1
06.14.08
Say it ain’t so; No Cape League ball for New Bedford?
With the Cape Cod League set to play a game on Monday in New Bedford, the Standard Times published a story yesterday about the unlikely possibility of New Bedford getting a Cape league team:
City’s hopes for Cape league franchise beginning to fade
NEW BEDFORD – Mayor Scott W. Lang has made no secret that he wants the Cape Cod Baseball League to expand to the city, but the storied amateur collegiate league seems to have an it’s-not-you-it’s-me attitude about the courtship.
“The likelihood is really not all that great,” Wareham Gatemen general manager Tom Gay said of the city’s chances. “It has nothing to do with New Bedford, but with expansion at all.”
This is discouraging considering that New Bedford has history of playing Cape Cod teams going back to at least 1867 when a club from Barnstable played the Wamsutta Club in New Bedford:
The New Bedford Republican Standard
September 12, 1867
The game between the Wamsutta Base Ball Club, of this city, and the Cummaquid, of Barnstable, on Saturday, was won by the former, by 25 runs, in seven innings. The eighth inning was played by the Cummaquid, scoring one run, but the game was called when the Wamsutta on the eighth inning had made six runs, with two men out, the Barnstable boys having barely time to get to the cars.
New Bedford last had an organized, high level team in 1934. That year the New Bedford Whalers played in the Northeastern League. They finished with a 46 win 60 loss season. 1934 was the only year of the Northeastern League. It folded at the end of the season and the Whalers folded with them. The New Bedford Whalers had played in the New England League the year before finishing the season with a 58-33 record in a split season format. New Bedford, with the best record in the league, finished in first place during the second half (Worcester won the first half). A round robin playoff system was decided upon for the end of the season consiting of New Bedford, Worcester and Lowell. But New Bedford withdrew from the playoffs when they learned that they would not face first half winner Worcester in a single series to determine the champion. The New England League folded after that season prompting New Bedford to join the ill fated Northeastern League. The New England League was revived in 1941 as a semi-pro league with New Bedford as a club member.
Organized amature baseball still exists in the New Bedford area in the form of American Legion ball and adult leagues with players trying to extend their playing days or relive their glory days (and even non glory days). The Southeastern Massachusetts Baseball Association existed about 10 years ago based in New Bedford and included teams such as the Fairhaven Lumber Red Sox, Mattapoisett Marlins and Fall River Indians. That league folded and was eventually replaced by the Southcoast Baseball League which is currently operating. Fall River has the Fall River Independent Baseball League (formally the Southeastern Massachusetts Baseball League) and the Cape has the Baseball Clubs of Cape Cod for its has been but still- wants-to-play competitive ball players.
As far as competitive spectator sports entertainment, there maybe other alternatives such as the New England Collegiate Baseball League.
Invite the NECBL here to play a game or two and see what sort of interest is out there for this league. Although it is not as well known as the Cape league, it is quality baseball. Just remember to remind people of the long history of baseball in New Bedford and on the south coast. Baseball loves its traditions and history and so does the south coast. Baseball is part of south coast’s history and it is a tradition that needs to be revived.
06.02.08
Baseball in Mattapoisett or Heaven?
This must be the inspiration for Field of Dreams. To be fair it was the book Shoeless Joe by W. P. Kinsella first published in 1982 that inspired the film. This is one of those rare cases where the movie was still good having read the book first. Unfortunatley people seem to know of the movie more than the book.
New York Times; Aug. 8, 1910
A HEAVEN WITH BASEBALL.
Preacher Believes It Will Be Found in a Spiritual Form.
Mattapoisett, Mass., Aug. 7 – “Baseball in Heaven,” was the subject of a sermon preached to-day by the Rev. C. Julian Tuthill, pastor of the Congregational Church. He said in part: “Heaven is but an evolution of this world. A Christian may love a ball game and loving it remain a Christian. Why, then, is it not safe to prophesy that even the game of baseball will have its place in some spiritual form in Heaven.”
Would this group have been opposed to the mixing of baseball and religion?
Boston Investigator; March 7, 1894
