You will think you have stepped back in time as the National Park Service at Fort Vancouver National Historic Site will once again host its popular evening of 1860s vintage base ball at 6:00 pm on Saturday, July 25, 2015, on the national park’s historic Parade Ground.
This event is a fun, free, and fantastic opportunity to experience “base ball” (then two words) at its infancy, with costumed players and supporters, a brass band concert, and a mountain howitzer firing to start the game.
This living history demonstration will feature base ball played according to the rules in place in 1867; which is very different than today’s game. Costumed staff and volunteers will be portraying two of the Pacific Northwest’s earliest baseball teams: the Sherman Base Ball Club, consisting of soldiers from the Army’s Fort Vancouver, and the Occidental Base Ball Club of Vancouver.
Along with the costumed players will be well-dressed “cranks” (baseball fans from 1867), and music between innings provided by Dr. Jim Rourk and the Vancouver Community Concert Band. Based on last year’s successful experiment, a play-by-play will be provided over loudspeakers during the match game from the scorer’s table, blending modern communication technology with nineteenth century terminology, historical tidbits and phrases, and explanation of on-the-field action.
“With our event just a week after Major League Baseball’s All-Star Game and its festivities, visitors have an opportunity to visit a national park and explore the roots of the game so popular today,” said Greg Shine, the park’s chief ranger and historian.
“Base ball in 1867 was a very different game than what we play in 2015,” said Shine. “The hurler–the predecessor of today’s pitcher–threw to the striker’s liking. Players wore no gloves, and could catch the ball on one bounce for an out–though such a practice was not considered gentlemanly. In a time of growing community rivalries, there was an extensive code of conduct to ensure all would play in a gentlemanly manner. Sliding into a base, while now a standard practice, was not considered a gentlemanly activity in base ball the 1860s.”
Many historians credit the nineteenth century US Army for the spread of baseball throughout the country. On May 11, 1867, an organized team of soldiers from the Army’s Fort Vancouver – dubbed the “Garrison Boys” by the press – played the Occidental Base Ball Club of Vancouver, with the soldiers winning by a score of 45 to 5.
“Our match with not be an exact repeat of this historic game, in order to spare our participants the task of running around the bases so many times,” joked Park Ranger Robert Gutierrez, the event organizer, “but we can assure the crowd that it will be a lot of fun and all will adhere to the code of conduct of the time. If not,” he said with a smile, “the umpire may very well levy some fines.”
Food and beverages will be available for purchase during the event. The Friends of Fort Vancouver will have sodas, water, and Cracker Jack for sale, and The Nomad will have its variety of “Weird and Worldly Weiners” and hot dogs for sale as well.
