Vintage Base Ball Needs Home Field—

Vintage Team Seeks ‘Field Of Dreams’

By Kendra Bobowick

Ray Shaw has successfully played “base ball” in 1861, 1864, 1876, and 1886, but finds difficulty maneuvering around one present day dilemma. He cannot find field space for his vintage base ball games. The team that gathered for the 300th anniversary caught base ball fever, and the interest has persevered. He belongs to the Newtown Sandy Hook Vintage Base Ball Club that has existed for nearly one year.

“We hope to have a place to play this year,” he said. “We would like a field for this season.”

And by “field,” he means just that — a field and not necessarily the leveled, groomed, and lined baseball playing surface we think of today.

Mr Shaw hopes the town can support this continued desire to play vintage ball, and has recently begun a campaign to find a home for players.

“Our hopes are to have a home field, or a field we can use all season,” Mr Shaw said.

Parks and Recreation Director Barbara Kasbarian had a tentative answer as of Tuesday afternoon. The Fairfield Hills campus, or the Walnut Tree field may be the vintage league’s future home field.

Although officials are receptive to Mr Shaws’ appeal, both the Parks and Recreation Commission and Fairfield Hills Authority members are working with their own constraints.

Ms Kasbarian explained her biggest immediate hurdle saying, “Scheduling is the main thing. I have to wait for the schedules.” She must check availability before she can grant field time, she said.

Parks and Recreation Commission acting chairman Edward Marks considered Mr Shaw’s appeal in a meeting earlier this month.

Mr Marks had said, “I am not here to say whether we can give you a field or not…we’ll have to talk about it in the future.” He recommended that Mr Shaw speak with the Fairfield Hills Authority to see “what fits their plans.”

He continued, “They should know about this, at least.”

In coming years as the Fairfield Hills campus transforms into a commercial hub housing municipal offices and commercial tenants in the old hospital buildings, the grounds also will be revamped. The authority is overseeing current planning. Ninety-foot ball field(s) are now in the preliminary sketches.

Mr Shaw attended the authority’s most recent meeting, but found no permanent solutions there.

In his opinion, the Fairfield Hills Authority “is shaping what happens, so I put the request to them to use a field.” He asked about certain areas that may be used for haying only, and “they listened,” he said.

Authority Chairman Robert Geckle said, “We admire what he is trying to do…the problem is, we’ve got our own issues.” The Fairfield Hills Master Plan leaves no room for variations, and the spaces Mr Shaw mentioned are not designated for athletic fields. Overall, Mr Geckle is “very supportive of the idea,” he said.

Although he received no specific answers at the time, Mr Shaw said he is at least “on record with the request.”

Another avenue of potential exists. Mr Shaw recently learned from participant Phil “90” Keane, that a practice field may be available at the Keane property.

Field Of Play

Even surfaces are nice, but not entirely necessary, Mr Shaw said. He seeks a space that is roughly 300 feet by 300 feet, “and it doesn’t need to be flat,” he said. “It could be sloped; if it’s not totally flat, that’s okay.”

The club formed in time to participate in the Newtown Tercentennial last year.

“I thought it would be nice if we had a vintage team,” he said. Team members dress in period uniforms and abide by rules that would be unrecognizable to those crowding the modern baselines.

“We dress in the look of the times and we play by the rules and traditions,” he said. Noting a big difference in the ways the game has changed since the late 1800s, Mr Shaw said, “There is no arguing with the referee. There is etiquette.” Gloves and catcher’s gear also are newer additions to the game, not found in the 19th Century outfit.

Imposing further pressure is the team’s season, which officially begins Sunday, April 9. The Newtown players will travel to Waterbury to face the Waterbury Connors at Chase Collegiate School’s field at noon. They will play two games by the 1861 rules.

Envisioning more than a game, Mr Shaw sees another dream. “I would like ultimately to have Newtown be a venue for vintage base ball.”

He considers vintage play as more than just a game.

“This is a kind of cultural event in itself,” he said. Drawing comparisons, he explained, “This is no different from Civil War reenactments. Ultimately I would like more public involvement,” he said.

Picturing a townwide historic day, he said, “We could have a game like they have in other towns where everyone dresses in old fashioned clothing and they have an old fashioned picnic.”

He has heard of other leagues in Massachusetts and Long Island that welcome community participation.

Mr Shaw sees a chance to bring something new to Fairfield County by promoting the vintage league.

“I thought we had an opportunity to showcase a different view of baseball,” he said. “I thought we could develop an interest and following in western Connecticut.”

He sees an opportunity he hopes the authority will endorse, saying, “It’s not just sports but it’s history in general and an activity people enjoyed 150 years ago.”

Vintage leagues in some areas have outgrown the playing fields.

Old Bethpage New York is one source of inspiration to Mr Shaw. By connecting to the team’s website at vbbnewtown.com, one can explore links to other vintage teams in New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.

In The Details

The vintage sport is more than a game in other ways.

“They say that every play is an adventure,” Mr Shaw said. “There are a lot of dropped balls, errors, overthrows, there is a lot more action on the bases.”

The ball used was larger and softer in the 1800s, and unlike the many balls used per game in modern play — an old and dirty ball frequently exchanged for the clean new one — vintage games used the same ball from start to finish, Mr Shaw said. By the end of the game the ball was quite soft, he said.

Referring to old-fashioned play, he said, “You couldn’t hit the ball as far, you played small ball.”

Vintage ball is a game played on the bases, he said.

“Historically that’s the way it was always played except for the last 20 years when everyone tries to hit home runs all the time.”

In the vintage era, “A team with speed and savvy base runners usually wins,” he said.

The pitcher also served a far different role than today’s player who attempts to strike out the batter, Mr Shaw explained. “The pitcher was mostly a facilitator. He gets the ball to the batter and gets the process going. He is not trying to get it past the batter.”

Batters were able to request specific pitches also, he said.

Nostalgia & Childhood

The game offers a double shot of nostalgia for players as they step back into both history and their childhood.

“This gives you the opportunity to do what you did as a kid,” he said. He describes a neighborhood scene of children gathering informally at a local park or backyard and just playing for fun.

Speaking again of vintage play, he said, “It’s a fun game for everyone. Everybody dresses in the [1800s] outfits and the rules are quirky and it’s fun; it brings you back to childhood.”

Mr Shaw pictures the game of long ago as compared to the multimillion dollar enterprise it has become. Sharing his observations, he said vintage games “are challenging and a lot more fun. Guys don’t want to go home, they want to stay and play. The only reason they stop is because the sun went down.”