Play ball!
Vintage Base Ball brings the American classic back to its Civil War roots

by Keith Griffin Photos by Karen O’Maxfield

Head on out to Colt Meadows, in the shadow of the Colt Dome, on any given Saturday from May through August and you’ll see a group of men playing baseball. At first glance, it could be a game among the leagues that dot Greater Hartford.

Stop a spell, though, and it quickly becomes evident this is not the baseball of modern day players like Alex Rodriguez and Josh Beckett. It’s baseball from a Civil War-era perspective. Welcome to Vintage Base Ball in Hartford.

The league’s commissioner is Gary Goldberg-O’Maxfield, or as he is known around the diamond, “Pops.” He’s a walking encyclopedia of 19th century “base ball” in and beyond Hartford. The game comes alive through his words as he looks out over the Hartford base ball grounds in Colt Meadows.

“All of our teams are historically accurate for the 19th century,” he said, adding that the Charter Oaks were state champions for most of the period from 1862 to 1870.

The first thing that’s different about the game is the way it’s spelled as two words. Then there are a host of rule differences, such as:

• the ball is pitched underhand

• a runner is out if the ball is caught on one hop

• the sole umpire gets involved only if the players can’t make a decision

• there are three balls and three strikes

• players can’t overrun a base or they’re out

• the strike zone stretches from the ankles to the shoulders, or anywhere the bat can reach

• there is no backstop behind the catcher and there is no outfield fence

• players don’t wear protective equipment

The best way to learn all of this is to talk to a player. They’re enthusiastic about explaining the game to newcomers. “There’s a lot of strategy that goes into this game,” said Pops.

“It’s not about hitting home runs. You want ground balls. It’s too easy to get outs with the bound out rule. It’s about hitting where they ain’t.”

There are three teams in the newest league. “We did a huge recruitment and managed to get 45 players. We were hoping to get four teams, but we’re glad to have three,” said Karen O’Maxfield, the board president and treasurer for Vintage Base Ball.

Pops is an enthusiastic ambassador of the game. A slight man, his voice becomes animated as he talks about the sport.

“There’s a whole different vernacular. You play with ‘ginger,’ which means with fortitude and focus. A pitcher is a hurler. The catcher is a behind. The outfielders are called gardeners. A hard hit ground ball is a Daisy cutter.”

Players wear collared blouses with buttons on shields (almost like old fireman uniforms) atop long work pants. Chicago-style pillbox hats with no logos are the players’ caps.

The equipment is different from the modern bats and balls. The latter is softer than the modern hardball. The bats, made out of willow ash, are all hand turned and heavy. There is less taper to them than the modern bat, and players use a split-handed grip when hitting.

The biggest difference between the 19th and 21st century versions is the civility. “It was more of a gentleman’s game,” Pops wistfully recalled. Players didn’t argue with the umpire. There was no swearing. Teams applauded opponents’ good plays and team captains thanked their opponents at game’s end.

At each game, everybody plays. “It’s supportive. Everyone supports each other. It’s not cutthroat, vicious. That’s a lesson that really needs to come back – not just in sports, but in life,” Pops said.

Friends of Vintage Base Ball was formed in the summer of 2008. The group partnered with the Coalition to Strengthen the Sheldon/Charter Oak Neighborhood and the City of Hartford to designate a field of play in Colt Park for vintage base ball. The park is contained within the Coltsville district in Hartford, which has recently been named a National Historic Landmark and is well on its way to becoming a National Park.

Base ball as it was played in the 19th century has a national following. Pops said there are about 350 teams. “Each year, there are more. The game is really catching on,” he said, adding there are co-ed teams, too.

Locally, the movement is supported and promoted with a small budget, but Karen O’Maxfield hopes that changes soon with the group’s designation as a 501(c)3 in February. “That will make it easier for us to get grants,” she said. The resurgence in interest in Coltsville should also help the league. “What we do here is going to be a big part of the Coltsville experience.”

The historical base ball movement in Hartford traces its roots to the Hartford Senators, who first played in 2001 in Bushnell Park. They never had a home field, “so we set about to change that,” she said. The Senators enjoy an active schedule. Last summer, they played teams from New York, New Jersey, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

“We had quite a full schedule last year; it was phenomenal.”

The sport attracts former high school players who are looking for a gentler version of the game. That was the case with Chris Moran of West Hartford, who has played with the Senators since 2001 and has added the 1860s version. He played for Hall High School and then softball as an adult, but it didn’t appeal to him. Vintage base ball does. He enjoys learning the history of the sport as he plays it, as well as the civility of it all. “You cheer for both teams. It’s refreshing. It’s not ‘win at all costs,’” Moran said.

Jeff Kornhaas, a plumbing supply sales rep from Meriden, is nicknamed “Pine Tar” and can tell you a lot about the substance that was prevalent in the early days of the sport. He’s captain of the Nutmegs, one of the league’s three teams. Kornhaas last played regular baseball at age 15, got into working, and had a family. A birthday gift at age 38 to play fantasy baseball whetted his appetite for the game. He now plays for three different teams in different aspects of the sport. “If I had to choose one or the other, I would choose vintage. There is more demand on skills.”

It’s obvious vintage base ball has his heart. “It’s baseball with a purpose. I share what it’s like. I share its history.” That includes talking to scout troops in the offseason about the game. “You play your butt off and enjoy the sport of it,” he said.

As for the future of this historical sport, Pops would like to see a 19th century ballpark in Colt Meadows. “We hope some day to have a museum to Connecticut base ball. It is very rich in history but mostly forgotten,” he said, talking about the days when Connie Mack, the great player and manager, played in Hartford.

Morgan Bulkeley, 54th governor of Connecticut and president of Aetna for 43 years, was also the first president of the national league.

Bushnell Park used to be the location of games, where Corning Fountain now stands.

“Fans would line both sides of the Park River [which used to run through the park] to watch the game. The greatest teams in the country would come to Hartford to play,” said Pops. There were no professional teams during the Civil War, but players were often given jobs.

It was an exciting destination for players. They would arrive by train at Union Station, get a tour of the Colt Armory and then play a game at 3 p.m. After, they would be feted with a huge banquet and depart on a 9 p.m. train with a Travelers insurance policy in their pockets.

One little historical tidbit most people might not know is that the curveball was invented as an underhand pitch by Candy Cummings, who played in Hartford from 1874-1876.

Pops would like to see that history brought into school curriculums. He is working with a Boston social studies teacher who incorporates base ball into his U.S. history class.

“We feel it would be a great way to get students involved in history,” said Karen O’Maxfield.

As Pops pointed out, “The [sport] parallels the history of the 19th century. If you teach it through base ball, the students get it. We have all kinds of plans, but we’re a small organization.” HM

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