Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018
11:30 a.m.
Leary Field, Portsmouth, NH
JUST IN: Due to poor field conditions and expected thunderstorms, today’s Vintage Base Ball game has been cancelled.
Nineteenth century baseball returns to Portsmouth this summer! The Portsmouth Athenaeum will again partner with Essex Base Ball Association to bring vintage baseball to Portsmouth on Saturday, August 18, 2018. The Portsmouth Rockinghams will host the Lowell 9 in a double-header at historic Leary Field in downtown Portsmouth.
The Rockingham Club is a member of the Essex Base Ball Association, an association dedicated to presenting base ball as it was played in its formative years. Both teams are named after actual teams that played in New Hampshire and Massachusetts in the 1860s. The teams play in period uniforms and follow the 1864 rules, which are very different from the modern rules. There will be no gloves and no helmets but expect clever base running and lots of scoring.
The schedule of events begins with a children’s demonstration and an explanation of the 1864 rules at 11:30 am including a display of the historically correct equipment. The double-header will commence at 12:00 noon. The field concessions stand will be open for food and refreshments.
Vintage baseball, or as purists refer to it, 19th century base ball, is a fast-paced, high scoring game guaranteed to be fun for the whole family.
For more information on this free event, please contact the Portsmouth Athenaeum at (603) 431-2538.
[Photo: The Portsmouth Rockinghams and the Lowell Nines in front of the Athenaeum, 2013; Photo by Steve Hemeon.]