Gimme that old-time baseball

Two dozen men in vintage baseball uniforms sauntered onto the field at Waban Park to turn back the clock by over a century on Saturday morning, carrying wooden bats and period-accurate baseballs in hand, ready to play the game as it was done in the 1800s. 

Baseball fans filled Waban Park in Oak Bluffs on Saturday morning to witness how the game used to be played, complete with old-school rules and heavy wool flannel uniforms with knee-high knicker pants. The two teams, who came to the Island for a historical re-enactment of a doubleheader, set up the field with measured base paths, painted foul lines, vintage canvas bases, and a portable backstop. Crowds of baseball lovers from across the Island came out to the makeshift diamond to watch the living history.

The Westfield Wheelmen and the Providence Grays, the two vintage baseball teams who met for the doubleheader, play not for glory or trophies, but to honor the history of the sport. 

“The glory we play for is to honor the game. There is no trophy. This is my family. That’s why we do it,” Brian Traverse, captain and CEO of the Providence Grays, said.

Vintage baseball is a historical re-enactment of how the game was played when it first became popular in America, using equipment, rules, uniforms, and etiquette of the 19th century. 

The matches’ venue also played a role in the history of local baseball on the Island. Dan (“Gunner”) Genovese, who founded the Wheelmen 20 years ago, said Waban Park once served as the Island’s main hub for the baseball scene from 1880 to around 1910, when teams like the Cottage Citys, also known as the Cottage City Nines, and the Martha’s Vineyard Herald competed in Oak Bluffs. 

The Grays, who historically sported gray flannels instead of white back when the team was part of the National League from 1878 to 1885 — which now forms one-half of modern Major League Baseball — won the first “world championship” between two teams from the National League. The Providence Grays that play today were established in 1998, and continue to carry on the history of the team. The Grays donned their signature gray uniforms on Saturday. 

The Wheelmen earned their name from highway bicycle riders, who rode big-wheel bikes in the 1880s and 1890s, said Genovese. The bikes, known as penny-farthings, were famously made in factories in Westfield. The bikers historically took on the responsibility to scare horses, livestock, and wild animals off the road. A penny-farthing made an appearance at the game on Saturday, ridden around by Wheelmen pitcher Andres (“Andale”) Conde. 

The Wheelmen and the Grays, who travel all over New England to compete in roughly 40 to 50 games a season, split the doubleheader on Saturday.

In the first game, which started at noon and used underhand pitching and Civil War–era rules of 1864, the Grays had a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning to narrowly win the game, 16-15. 

Genovese said in an interview with The Times that the old rules force players to master baseball as it was played in the 19th century. Seven balls is a walk; a foul ball is not a strike; and if a player gets hit by a pitch, it’s only a ball. In the underhand game, if a fly ball hits the ground, it can still be caught for an out after the first bounce. Genovese also said vintage baseball creates more room for manipulation of the game, since it has less regulations than modern ball. 

Just like in modern baseball, a dropped third strike gives the batter a chance to run to first base, but in vintage baseball, it can be turned into a strategic double or triple play. Under the old rules, catchers could drop the third strike intentionally when bases were loaded, forcing baserunners — including the batter — to advance. The catcher can then pick up the ball, step on home plate, throw to third base, and turn a dropped third strike into a double or triple play. 

Genovese previously told The Times that fielders don’t wear gloves either, so players take their bumps and bruises throughout the game. 

In the second game, which started around 1:30 pm, the two teams played 1886 overhand rules, and the Wheelmen edged out the Grays 23-14. 

Batters in the overhand game also have the unique option to call a strike zone. When approaching the batters box, batters would say “high” or “low,” and the umpire, Chris (“Grit”) Moran, who wore a historically accurate three-piece suit, would call strikes only in that specific zone. 

Genovese said that while many other sports have grown in popularity throughout the country, baseball and its history are still important to American culture. 

“It’s still America’s game. You can have football, you can have soccer coming on, but this is America’s game, and … it’s beautiful,” said Genovese.

Many of the bats used at the game were hand-crafted by the Wheelmens’ own Kipngetich (“Batman”) Rutto, founder of Rutto Bats, a family-owned business in Holyoke. 

Unique baseballs accurate to the time period used in the game were manufactured by vintage baseball brand Hanford Baseball Co. The balls used in the underhand game had a slightly softer texture than the harder balls with thinner threads used in the overhand game.

“Everybody contributed,” Genovese said after the game. “I don’t think I came up with one particular star in mind, and that’s what it’s all about.” He did, however, single out Conde, the pitcher for the Wheelmen, calling him “relentless” and “spectacular.” 

Traverse called the underhand game the kind that everybody loves to watch, with a lot of back-and-forth scoring, and plenty of home runs. Traverse said he couldn’t “think of a better thing to do on a nice, sunny Saturday” than play old-time baseball.

“We got to spend some time on the field with our brothers,” Traverse said after the game. 

Traverse highlighted that while the Grays and the Wheelmen are competitive, the camaraderie created when the two teams face off is more akin to a family gathering. “This is family beyond anything else,” said Traverse.

Both teams thanked local hosts Oak Bluffs parks and recreation for the hospitality, and the Island for welcoming them. Genovese added that they would definitely return for another game in the future. 

Robert (“Bubba”) Rudolph, a longtime Islander who housed the Wheelmen in his yard in Katama in tents during the days before the game, said it was great having the team visit. Rudolph also plays for the Wheelmen, batting and pitching for the Westfield team. 

“I couldn’t ask for a better group of guys to come down here,” Rudolph said. “It was great to come along and play; I just wish I was a little younger, and I could play a little bit more.”