As part of Minneapolis’ sesquicentennial celebration, a club nine (“team” in 1860 lingo) of Minneapolis elected officials will take on the Quicksteps in a match (game) of baseball very unlike what you’d see today. Officials from the Minneapolis City Council, the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, and the Minneapolis School Board will team up and play the game the way it would have been played about the time that Minneapolis first became a town. The game will be played just off the Mississippi River, the birthplace of the city.
Minneapolis sesquicentennial vintage baseball match
11 a.m., Saturday July 19
B.F. Nelson Park
(Between Marshall Avenue and the river, five blocks north of the Hennepin Avenue Bridge)
The public is invited for some free entertainment and a rare opportunity to see baseball played by its original rules. The National Association of Base Ball Players adopted its first uniform code of rules in 1860, and the rules have evolved a lot in the last 150 years.
Vintage baseball was played without gloves or mitts (gloves weren’t introduced into the game until 1875), so players caught the ball with bare hands, which often led to painful results. The pitcher was expected to pitch the ball so the striker (batter) could hit it, and strikes were called only on a clean swing and miss. Even the home run was different; just because you hit it out of the park didn’t mean you automatically scored an ace (run). That’s because the ball remained in play anywhere, even over the fences!
Baseball was a gentleman’s game. Plays on the bases were on the honor system, so the base runner and baseman would agree on a call, and the umpire would only make a ruling if the two players couldn’t agree. The umpire also did not generally call balls and strikes, but left that to the honor system as well.
The lingo was different too. In addition to talking about club nines, matches, strikers, and aces, 1860 players knew the catcher as a “behind.” A foul ball was referred to as a “foul tick” and was not considered a strike. For more information on vintage baseball and the Quicksteps, Minnesota’s premier vintage baseball team, visit www.halseyhall.org/quicksteps.html.
Minneapolis is celebrating its sesquicentennial in 2008, and this summer provides all kinds of opportunities to look back on Minneapolis’ first 150 years while celebrating the future of our city. The city’s official sesquicentennial events will be held in conjunction with the Minneapolis Aquatennial July 18-27, and many Aquatennial events will have a Minneapolis history theme to celebrate the 150th anniversary. To see a full list of Minneapolis 150 events, visit www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/150.
July 15, 2008