I noticed that the distance between the pitcher's mound and the plate was much shorter than it is today. And things were a bit more "out in the open". BUT, that being said, it appears that base ball is base ball no matter when.
According to the information on the website and also on a sign at the field, this is the first vintage base ball field (and, of course, the best, but I'm wildly biased) in the nation. There are four local teams who play vistors from other areas in the country.
Here we go!
Every Base Ball field has a sign. This is the one for this field.
Here is the sign that greets folks as they walk in. It explains a bit about 19th century base ball and shows the layout of the diamond. And, yes, there were folk who played wearing ties. Don't ask - I have no idea what would have been going through their heads!
And here is the obligatory artsy shot, this one is looking through the box seats down the 3rd base line including the bleachers.
Yes, it's a field. Very definitely!
I decided to take shots from the pitcher's mound. From my vantage point, the pitcher's mound didn't seem very high. But all is relative, I suppose!
This is the box where the referees sat. To the right are the bleachers and box that I showed in the first picture. To the left is the whatchamacallit - the backstop, maybe? The red bench in between the ref's box and the covered bleachers is the team bench.
I've stepped back away from the mound to get a shot of the entire backstop. And whoever said hay bales were just for storing sileage? Not I!!!!
This is the scoreboard. When a game is being played, one or two young people change the information as it mounts up. I think it's pretty neat (but that's just me).
This is a better look at the players' bench. The box behind the bench carries the team's equipment. The table on the sawhorses could have been used for water buckets or perhaps to take a look at an injured player...I'm not sure. But the stand on the near side of the bench held the bats during the game. (Can you tell I'm not really a huge base ball fan? But I am a huge fan of the history of things!)
There were ads on the fence, of course (ads have been on things since people have built buildings and decided to do exterior decorating!). The camera that this ad is talking about (just for grins and giggle) is a very early Kodak camera, before the Brownie. In Kodak's first years, one purchased the camera loaded with film. When the film was used up, the entire entity, camera, film and all was returned to Kodak. The camera was reloaded and sent back to its owner. I know that sounds rather odd, but some years were to pass before the film came in a format that the customer could handle without damaging the negatives.
There was a Wendy's sign as well, but, although the format was distinctly 19th century (no little Pippi Longstocking look-alike). I decided, instead, to show this sign. Again, it is definitely the way a sign would have looked in the 19th century, but it's modern. I believe that K&P Weaver is the company that makes the old fashioned uniforms used by heritage teams.
It's a field, there are no line strips and I couldn't figure out where the bases were (although, since today is the first day of the season, perhaps the team hadn't put out whatever markers it uses for the bases), and the players are going to be warmer than the weather even before they start playing. But the game will be a base ball (baseball) game like any other, right down to this day. There will be hawkers vending their wares, homeruns will be hit and everyone will have a great time!
OH, one other picture - and this is a part of history that isn't as well known, I think.
There is a women's 19th century base ball team at the Museum. I am just back from doing some research because I wasn't aware that women DID play ball in the 1800s. However,they most certainly did.
As you might expect, women played out of the public eye for the most part in the early years: playing base ball, like the acting in the theatre, was viewed as marginally acceptable by the public. But play they did.
Here's a URL for more information about that time frame. It's from the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.
http://www.hsp.org/node/2934
Yesterday, they were playing on the Great Meadow (where the bandstand is) at the Museum. And their excitement over the game was contagious. This is a long shot, but I wanted to get a picture of the ladies in as well.
I wish I could have gone to the double header today, but at least I got a chance to see the field and to take some pictures! I hope you liked what I did!
Have a great day!
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