The Sun Sets on the Season

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.

Doing History - Talking History

There is going to be a break on posts on Jane Austen even though I am plowing through "Emma" and enjoying it a great deal. The reason for the break is first this post related to last Saturday's vintage base ball game in Trenton and at least one on "Henry IV, Part I." This past Saturday, the Eureka Base Ball Club returned to the field for the first time since July to play the Flemington Neshanock at Cadwalader Park in Trenton, a match sponsored by the Trenton Historical Society.

The location was of special interest to me since the field is located on Stuyvesant Avenue in Trenton and my mother, Ann Winder was born at 743 Stuyvesant in 1916 of all years (see "The Major League Pennant Races of 1916". I only remember a few visits to the row house where my mother was born and my grandparents lived for, I think, their entire married life of almost 50 years. The area right around 743 is in pretty bad shape, but when I passed last year, the house was still in good repair. The base ball field is at the far end of Stuyvesant and interestingly there are some really nice homes bordering the park - in some cases, large almost mansion like homes.

These homes were pointed out to me by Brad Shaw, founder of both the Neshanock and the Eureka and one of the moving forces for vintage base ball in New Jersey. Invariably at every vintage game I go to there is some discussion of history, both base ball and otherwise. On Saturday it started when a few of us arrived early and someone asked who the park was named after. He may have regretted the question because it got me started on explaining that Cadawalader was a revolution war general which led someone else to ask about the battles of Trenton and Princeton. That in turn gave me an opening to talk about the little known 2nd battle of Trenton, the day before the battle of Princeton.

That conversation about history was followed by one I had with Sam Bernstein the founder of the New Jersey chapter of SABR on some base ball topics. Then while I was "tallying" (scoring) the game, I was engaged in conversation by a park ranger about vintage base ball. I may have told him more than he wanted to know, but I don't think so as he kept asking questions. I also spent some time talking with one of my teammates on the Eureka about the ins and outs of researching and writing both Civil War and base ball history.

While it doesn't always take this form, every one of these games seems to lead into some discussion of history. In a way vintage base ball is a form of "object-based" learning, that is, learning from something other than a text book or a pure lecture. Perhaps this is just another example of how different forms of learning/education create/spark an interest in history that people may not even know is there. Come to think of it, watching a vintage base ball game is in some ways a form of of working with original source material.

The other thing to say is how much I have enjoyed this year with the Eureka, we have one more game scheduled for October, but it is not clear if it will come off. Regardless I have enjoyed every minute of it. Part of it is simply getting outside which I don't do often enough. Another part of it is getting back involved in a game that I have loved since I was a child, even though I am not playing. The Eureka is a great bunch of guys and we have had a lot of fun even though there haven't been a lot of wins. I am already looking forward to next year!!

Eureka Base Ball Club of Newark

Last February right before Carol and I left for England I had an e-mail from Brad Shaw the leader of the Flemington Neshanock, a New Jersey vintage base ball team (19th century spelling). Brad, Ron Colonga and others had decided to start a new vintage team based upon the Eureka Base Ball Club of Newark, one of the premiere base ball clubs of the 1860's. I already been working without success to start a team based upon the Newark Peppers (1915) so it seemed to make sense to work with them. The Neshanock had grown to the point that there were enough players to fill out two lineups so that major obstacle was already overcome.

Based on age and infirmities, I decided not to try to play, but to serve as the score keeper (tally keeper in 19th parlance) and unofficial historian. Then in an unusually serendipitous moment, I read on SABR's 19th Century baseball e-mail list about the pioneer project. The pioneer project is an effort led by Peter Morris, John Thorn and other noted 19th century baseball historians to compile a book of histories of the prominent teams of the pioneer period - roughly 1855 to 1870. They were looking for volunteers for teams in New Jersey so it made perfect sense for me to volunteer for the Eureka. At the moment the list has expanded to include the Newark Base Ball Club and the Olympic Base Ball Club of Paterson with the Irvington club probably to be added.

Since no one else has volunteered at this point, I am basically writing the New Jersey chapter of the book. And a good thing I might add since a book about this era without the New Jersey teams would be a tragedy both for New Jersey history and the project itself.

My research into the Eureka has been focused on the Newark newspapers of the era which I had used quite a bit when researching "The Mutinous Regiment." The Eureka were founded in 1860, playing sparingly in 1861-63 before really taking off in 1864. The Eureka and other Newark teams of the era were initially hampered due to men serving in the Union army, but interestingly after 1863 it wasn't much of an issue. Ironically at the same time the 33rd New Jersey was off to the "seat of war" in September of 1863, the Eureka were on their way to Philadelphia for their first extended road trip.

Base ball exploded in New Jersey after the war and the Eureka had their best season in 1865 going 10-5, but the five losses were to the best teams of the era. This included two-one run losses to the Brooklyn Atlantics who went undefeated that season. The Eureka played full seasons in 1866 and 1867, but became less active in 1868 and basically dropped off the face of the earth in 1869. Surprisingly the same thing seems to have happened the Olympic Club of Paterson. I have some theories as to what happened to the Eureka, but it needs more work.

An important part of the pioneer project histories is the lives of the players after they stopped playing base ball. The Eureka are interesting group including several who went on to play professional base ball as well as those who enjoyed considerable success in later life. One became a New Jersey assemblyman while another became the head of New Jersey's National Guard. Sadly with one minor exception none of their obituaries mentions their role with the Eureka during this formation stage of base ball in New Jersey. That makes the telling of the Eureka story for this project even more important. A book about the Eureka is also a possibility, but needs further consideration.