Vintage Base Ball Season Opener

The St. Croix Base Ball Club, which plays by the rules of 1860 and is a program of the Washington County Historical Society, will begin its season in Lake St. Croix Beach, MN at Pettit Park against the Afton Red Socks on Sunday May 16th. The match begins at 2pm and there is no admission fee to attend.

 

This year the club has a full schedule of matches which includes play at Osceola, Wisconsin; at the Olmsted County Historical Society in Rochester, at Stillwater’s Lumberjack Days; at the Denmark Township Town Hall and many more venues.

 

The rules of 1860 have some very interesting differences. The players do not wear gloves; if the ball is caught on the first bounce the batter is out; there are no balls or strikes called by the umpire – although a batter can still strike out if he swings and misses three times; foul balls are not considered strikes; and the base runners can be tagged out if they over run first base.

 

This is the 13^th season for the vintage base ball club and they have appeared all over Washington County, in Minnesota and have played in National exhibitions in Milwaukee and Columbus, Ohio. The club has been feature in local newspapers and on sports shows such as “Life to the Max” and “Perk at Play.”

 

To see the complete schedule of matches and other programs of the Washington County Historical Society visit their website at www.wchsmn.org or call 651-439-5956 for more information.