Baseball, Old-School

All photos by Nickolas Nikolic.

Some things never change.  The baserunner is out if the ball is in the hands of the basetender before he gets there.  Any ball first touched by a player within the base lines is fair, even if it goes foul thereafter. Then things get a little wicked.

Foul balls don’t count as strikes.  The pitcher (or hurler) has to try and pitch within the strike zone.  Outs are called if the ball is caught in mid-air–by a guy not wearing a glove even–or a first bounce. It just gets all aces from here on in.

Such are some of the rules played by Vintage Base ball enthusiasts in the Wisconsin and Midwest area, who came to the Milwaukee area this past Sunday during an exhibition games played by the Milwaukee Grays, the Oregon Ganymedes (based out of Illinois), and the Eagle Diamonds (based out of Old World Wisconsin).  The Grays and other teams have a “handshake” agreement to play in Milwaukee County Parks, such as the Milwaukee Cream City match against the Greenbush Dead City planned for the 4th of July at Humboldt Park in Bay View.

The range in players’ ages and abilities vary, there are plenty of old-timey nicknames and handles, and they all sport the authentic uniforms and speak of the day.  It’s a lot like going to see a Civil War re-enactment, only with a lot less muskets.

Along with the Milwaukee Cream City team, the vintage base ball “league” play a season in different locations across the state (and some teams from Illinois and Indiana) such as the upcoming games at Wade House and the Richfield Historical Society. For details, visit the Old World Wisconsin website.  We sent Nickolas Nikolic out to the old ballgame, and he reported back with the following slideshow.