In their attempt to return to baseball (make that “base ball!”) as it was played before the hype, the egos, the gridlock, the TV – some enthusiasts are rebuilding older stadiums to the specifications of yesteryear. But as our slide show proves, the vintage game is played in a wide variety of settings, on meadows, parks and fields. Just about any level expanse of grass will do, but the presence of a historic house, a living history farm or a village green adds flavor and authenticity to the game.

The vintage base ball revival began in the heart of picturesque and authentically re-created Old Bethpage Village on Long Island. Today the Old Bethpage Old Time Baseball League (actually there are two, playing by 1867 and 1887 rules) fields nine teams plus the travelling New York Mutuals.

The other pioneer venue, Ohio Village in Columbus, is also a large-scale open air museum, where, over Labor Day weekend, the Muffins and Diamonds host the Ohio cup, with 19 gentlemen’s and three ladies’ teams playing matches representing eras from 1845 to 1924. (Alas, this is one of the few opportunities to explore Ohio Village; this year, due to state budget cuts, it's open only for special events.)

Greenfield Village, with the Henry Ford Museum, in Dearborn, Michigan also hosts an annual two-day tournament. The Lah-De-Dahs and visiting teams compete at Walnut Grove and Hawthorne Glade, and stage cricket and town ball demonstrations on the village green. Many other pioneer village greens - like Dakota City Historic Village, which hosts the Halsey Hall Quicksteps spring opener each year - stage local and regional events.

The six (4 gentlemen, 2 ladies) teams sponsored by Genessee Country Village in western New York play their vintage games at the recently rebuilt Silver Base Ball Park. “Cranks” watch the game from bleachers; the outfield fence sports period advertising; there’s a press box; a tower for the tallykeeper and special seating for unattended young ladies.

Most vintage stadiums have manual scoreboards, like the one shown at the Olmsted County (MN) Historical Society’s Schmitt Field, home of the Roosters and scene of the 6th annual Rochesterfest match in June.

Because the basic measurements have not changed much over the years, vintage teams sometimes display their skills in today’s major and minor league stadiums. The Rochester (MI) Grangers played at Detroit’s Tiger Stadium in July, 2001 against the Greenfield Village Lah-De-Dahs as part of the city’s 300th birthday celebration.

The peripatetic New York Mutuals have played exhibition games at Pawtucket (RI) Sox McCoy Stadium, but their big city tours often take them onto more historic grounds. Boston Common may now be rimmed with tall buildings, but it is still a superlative setting for a vintage Massachusetts game.

The towers of downtown Hartford are visible, but forgotten, during the city’s annual Fourth of July Base Ball tournament, which takes place in America’ s first public park. Established in 1853, and designed in a then novel naturalistic style to screen out the bustle of city life, Bushnell Park is a period perfect setting for this major tournament and for the home games of the Hartford Senators and the new Hartford Homestead Grays. (Note that Hartford’s native son Frederick Law Olmstead could not design Bushnell Park, only because he was busy shaping Central Park in NYC, whose Great Meadow is now also the scene of vintage base ball games.)

Small town parks and greens are perhaps the most evocative settings for the vintage game. The Ouray, Colorado Tommyknockers, sponsored by the town’s historical society, play to delighted crowds at downtown Hot Springs Pool Park.

Playing in any historic setting helps the team and the “cranks” get into the mood of the game. In Kirtland Hills, Ohio, the Lake County Pirates play a full schedule of games within sight of Shadybrook, the Baldwin family’s historic farmhouse, now home to the Lake County Historical Society. Just to the south, Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron is one of the finest examples of Tudor Revival architecture in America. Visiting teams have the pleasure of facing the Black Stockings and the Lady Locks on their Great Meadow, directly in front of the manor house.

An even grander stage for the sport of gentlemen is the lawn at Lyndhurst, a massive Gothic structure on the Hudson River at Tarrytown, where the Roxbury Nine play a local tournament each year. Both Lyndhurst and their home field, Kirkside Park, were owned by Jay Gould’s daughter Helen Gould Shepard, at the turn of the century, so the team plays by 1898 rules, using authentic pancakes style crescent mitts.

The vast majority of games are played in humbler settings, many of them rural. It took some time for the Rock Springs (IL) Ground Squirrels to find their field of dreams. Over the years, they played in a literal backyard in Beason, a tree-covered field at the Old Methodist Campground in suburban Chicago and an actual horse and cow pasture near Dayton, Ohio. But now they’re at home in the friendly confines of BeautifulTrobaughField (always one word, please), which takes its name from the Squirrels founder’s alter ego, Joseph Trobaugh, proprietor of Homestead Prairie Farm, a National Register of Historic Places site.

The verdant fields of Living History Farms in Iowa, Conner Prairie in Indiana and many other working heritage farms are wonderful settings for vintage base ball games. The nationally registered and recently restored Van Hoosen dairy barn, projects a stunning silhouette behind Rochester Hills (MI) Grangers home games. The St. Louis Perfectos often play at (Ulysses S.) Grant's Farm, where lush pastures are set off by the white fences of a working horse farm. Gen. Grant would have been familiar with the game, which many historians say became our national pastime during the Civil War.

To learn more about these venues, please follow the links in our Credits list. For more open air museums interpreting bat and ball games as part of their living history programs, see the VBBA list compiled by Dean Thilgen.

Venues Photograph Credits:

Bushnell Park
Photograph courtesy of Hartford Senators

Doubleday Field
Photograph courtesy of Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce

Genesee Country Village
Photograph courtesy of Cooperstown Chamber of Commerce

Grant's Farm
Photograph courtesy of St. Louis Perfectos

Old Bethpage Village
Photographs © Doug Merriam, courtesy of Old Bethpage Village

Pawtucket Sox McCoy Stadium
Photograph courtesy of New York Mutuals

Hot Springs Pool Park
Photograph courtesy of Ouray County Historical Society

Schmitt Field
Photograph courtesy of Rochester Roosters

Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens
Photograph courtesy of Akron Blackstockings

Trobaugh Field
Photograph courtesy of Rock Springs Ground Squirrels