Yesterday on a pristine October afternoon the Eureka Base Ball Club of Newark (21st Century version) concluded its 2008 season with a loss to the Mountain Athletic Club of Fleischmann's, New York. Carol and I made the 2 plus hour ride up to Fleischmann's in Delaware County, in addition to the game we got a chance to see some spectacular autumn foliage.
This game was played under 1890's rules which is very similar to today's game, the major exception being that foul balls are not strikes. After seeing a few games played by these rules I understand why reformers wanted to change this rule - it is a tremendous advantage to the batter. Of all the forms of 19th century rules I have to say that I like the 1890's version (the overhand game) the least. I think the closer that the rules are to the modern game, the more it favors teams made up of predominantly younger players which is definitely not this year's version of the Eureka. The other thing is that if we are going to recreate an early version of the game it seems to make sense to do so in a way that is distinctly different from today.
One encouraging development is that there is interest in forming two new teams next year which would give us five vintage base ball teams in New Jersey. That would allow for more games in the state with less travel. Being retired I don't mind the travel that much, but it is tough on younger guys especially those with young children. There is to be a meeting on the subject in the near future and I hope we can make this happen. It will also be interesting to work on this at the same time that I am involved in the planning for the 150th Civil War anniversary.
On a related note, I received an e-mail this week from Peter Morris of the pioneer project, indicating that my drafts of team histories for the Eureka, the Newark Club and the Olympic Club of Paterson were in fairly good order. It looks now like I will basically be writing the New Jersey chapter of this book. Besides finishing these first three, I have to go on and write about the Irvington club plus see what other teams are out there. Based on what I have seen so far, I will probably also include a history of the Centennial Club of Jersey City and something about the Resolute Club of Elizabeth.
A big question going forward is how I am going to proceed with researching the early history of base ball in New Jersey. Expanding this chapter into a book is a distinct possibility, but one that would require a lot more research and some careful planning about how to write it. One thing that is very appealing is that it does not appear that there has been a lot of work done in this area. On the other hand the narrow focus is a drawback in terms of getting it published. The question is one I will be wrestling with as I work to finish the current project by the April 1, 2009 deadline.
All of that is for another day, however, the key thing today is to honor the 2008 Eureka - a great bunch of guys. I have enjoyed every minute of it and am already looking forward to the 2009. So three cheers and a tiger for everyone who made this possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment