Vintage Base Ball ready to take field

Oxford’s Vintage Base Ball teams are set for their second season to begin this weekend.

Oxford will again be fielding two teams, the Oxford Blues and the Miami Big Red, their second season of playing by 1860 rules of the game.

Last year, the teams played all home games either between themselves or with the Columbus Muffins, the vintage base ball team of the Ohio Historical Society. This year, the team is scheduled to play five times over the next seven weekends, including road games with the Muffins in Columbus.

“This year we have the opportunity to play at Ohio Historical Village as guests of the state’s leading ambassadors for Vintage Base Ball, The Columbus Muffins,” said Oxford coordinator Tom Poetter. “Our club is thrilled about the opportunity to play matches in the cradle of Ohio vintage base ball on Sunday, May 31.”

Players in the 1860s did not wear ball gloves and rules included such things as balls caught on one bounce were outs and the “striker” (batter) could not overrun first base after “striking” the ball.

The game in those days was called “base ball” not the combined one-word name of today.

The teams will open the season this Sunday, May 3, at 2 p.m. with games against the Cincinnati Red Stockings. They will play all 2009 games on Ditmer Field, on Ohio 73, next to the DeWitt Cabin.

“We enter our second season hoping to at least to replicate the joy we and our fans experienced playing by the rules of 1860 in our inaugural season, 2008,” Poetter said. “We have many excellent players returning, and our experienced, fair and reputable showman/umpire, Mr. Dave “Big Dog” Brooks. We hope fans of vintage base ball will come to our games in Oxford.”

Sponsors for this year’s teams are The Smith Library of Regional History and William Holmes McGuffey Museum.

All home games at Ditmer Field near DeWitt Cabin.

May 3 – Cincinnati Red Stockings in Oxford, 2 p.m.

May 17 - Springfield Reapers in Oxford, 2 p.m.

May 31 - Muffins in Columbus, 12:30 and 2:30 p.m. (v. Blue Ashlars)

June 7 – Huntington in Oxford, 2 p.m.

June 13 – Blues v. Big Red in Oxford, 2 p.m. (Oxford Cup Games, best of 3)