By Shannon Hicks

To see vintage base ball in action, try taking in the next home game for The Newtown Sandy Hook Vintage Base Ball Team. The guys play at “The Asylum” — the ball field at Fairfield Hills — and are scheduled to host the Simsbury Taverneers at 2 pm on Saturday, July 1.

To understand vintage base ball in action, perhaps a visit to C.H. Booth Library before the end of June is in order. Newtown resident and vintage base ball fan (and player) Ray “Shutta” Shaw has loaned the library pieces from his personal collection of historic baseball equipment as well as photographs of vintage-style games he has taken during the past few years.

Mr Shaw counts photography and sports as his two favorite pastimes. Haven grown up on Boston’s North Shore, Mr Shaw has been a diehard Red Sox fan all his life, but with the teams’ mediocre success during the last three-quarters of the 20th Century, he turned his focus to early baseball and baseball history.

Along the way he found the little-known sport of vintage base ball — a sport with all of the positive attributes of the contemporary game with few of the negative.

Since that discovery, Mr Shaw has made the focus of his hobby the documenting of the early game in hopes of sharing the sport with a new generation of fans. His work has been included on ESPN Classic and Major League Baseball productions, and he has published two books and associated publications on the subject.

In 2005, during Newtown’s Tercentennial year, he formed The Newtown Sandy Hook Vintage Base Ball Club in hopes of enlightening the region to this fascinating game.

The exhibition at C.H. Booth Library, “Diamonds in the Rough: Vintage Base Ball Photography by Ray Shaw,” is actually offered in two parts. The first, and largest, portion of the show is a series of 29 large-scale images by Mr Shaw that depict players during games.

Included with the photographs are a few items, including a scorebook compiled by Mr Shaw that offers a look at the rules as they changed from 1861, 1864, 1876, and 1886. The book makes for some fun reading.

“The game of base ball has gone through numerous changes and manifestations in both rules and scoring since Henry Chadwick made a serious science of it in the mid 19th Century,” Mr Shaw points out in the early pages of his scorebook. (Yes, he compiled the collection of rules and scoresheets.)

For instance, points out Mr Shaw, “In the early game, the pitcher was a facilitator and unworthy of recognition in the scoring of a game. In those days, the number of runs and outs registered by a batter was the only player information included on a score card. A hitter’s value was based solely on his ‘runs per game’ average and little more.”

Rules for the four early eras of base ball are outlined within the scorebook. Early regulations included the following, as culled from Mr Shaw’s publication:

From 1861: Time-outs could only be called by captains.

éOnly one 9½-inch to 9¾-inch lemon peel ball is used per match.

éThere is no strike zone, and the batter is allowed to take as many pitches as he sees fit.

éStrike Out: A warning is given to the striker before a strike is called. The batter must strike at any pitch that is within reach of his bat. The pitch does not have to pass over the plate, it needs only to pass within “fair reach.”

éFoul balls are not strikes. A foul tip caught by the catcher in the air or on one bounce, regardless of the count, is an out.

éThere is only one Umpire/Referee. His decision is final, and there is no arguing a call. The umpire will occasionally confide in a crank’s view of a play before making a call.

From 1864: The batter may not overrun first base. Leading off base and sliding is accepted, however.

éFair Ball Rule: Any ball that is struck and first hits in fair territory shall be deemed a fair ball regardless of whether it goes foul before reaching first or third base bags.

éBound Rule: Any Fair Ball must be caught in the air for an out; a foul ball may be caught on a bounce. It is considered more “manly” for a ballist to catch the ball on a fly. Cranks are encouraged to jeer unnecessarily “muffin” catches by fielders.

éNo gloves or protective gear authorized.

From 1876: Base on Balls: 9 pitches (combination of unfair and “wide” balls; batter takes first on three wide balls).

éBatter shall stand in 3-foot by 6-foot batter’s box midway through home plate. Batter will request high or low pitches prior to entering the box and that strike zone will remain in effect for the duration of the entire at-bat.

é9-inch to 9¼-inch circumference ball (5- to 5¼-ounce) figure-eight ball is used, any color.

éHit Batsman: Striker not awarded first base. Pitch is a ball. Runners do not advance.

éCatcher’s mask, protector and gloves approved; fielder’s gloves optional.

From 1886: Base on Balls: 7.

éStrike Out: 3.

éFoul Balls are not counted as strike and pitch is dead.

éDropped Third Strike: Any called or swing third strike dropped by a catcher is a live ball and in a force situation, runners must advance accordingly or be subject to a force out.

éPitching Motion: Unrestricted and can include overhand, three-quarters, sidearm, and underhand motions. Breaking balls, change-ups and spitballs are permitted.

éCatcher’s mask, protectors and gloves approved; unlimited use of fielder’s gloves approved.

In a display case outside the library’s children’s department is a display case filled with additional items from Mr Shaw’s personal collection. “Old Time Base Ball Collectibles” was put together to compliment to photography exhibition in the Olge Knoepke Memorial Meeting Room and it does so perfectly, with metal baseball players made in Bridgeport, a Babe Ruth doll, a Spalding catcher’s mitt, vintage catcher’s masks, and plenty of vintage photos, balls, scorecards, bats and more. The display case also includes a copy of Mr Shaw’s first compilation for the local vintage base ball team, The Christening of a Vintage Nine.

Mr Shaw is a graduate of Massachusetts College of Art, was an officer in the US Army, worked as a designer and art director for Fortune 500 companies including Gillette and Procter & Gamble, and was a partner in a multinational design firm. He and his wife Susan have been married for nearly 40 years, have lived in Newtown for 14 years, and have a daughter who resides in Cincinnati.

Beyond the July 1 home game at “The Asylum,” home games are also scheduled for The Newtown Sandy Hook Vintage Base Ball Team on Saturday, July 15, when the team will host The Hartford Senators at 2 pm, at The Asylum; Sunday, August 20, hosting The Waterbury Connors, at a field to be announced; Saturday, September 16, hosting The Providence Game Hens, 2 pm, at The Asylum; and Sunday, October 1, at 1 pm, hosting New York Mutuals at St Rose of Lima, on Church Hill Road.

Updates and additional information are available at VBBNewtown.com.