While timing may not be everything, it certainly contributed to the success of Saturday's Paul Solomone Base Ball History Day. Had the festival been scheduled 48 hours earlier it would have had the dubious distinction of being the first vintage baseball event ever cancelled due to smog. Fortunately, however, the calendar and the atmospheric conditions, like the "Mighty Casey," "bade the game[s] go on." A good thing too, since it allowed six vintage baseball teams to honor the late Paul Solomone by playing the game he loved, at his favorite venue. Some 24 years ago, Paul founded the Elizabeth Resolutes, New Jersey's first vintage baseball team. It's fair to say that he would have wanted no greater honor than historically accurate baseball games played in his memory. And he would have been equally pleased with the other five teams, the Atlantics and the Neshanock, two old friendly adversaries, the Liberty Club, a team he helped start plus Monmouth Furnace and the Athletics, two relatively newer clubs.
As noted last week, every vintage baseball game has its challenges and the more teams, the greater the number. Saturday's problem was player shortages on multiple teams requiring some creative solutions including combining teams and lending players. For the first game, Ken "Tumbles" Mandel, Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta and Scott Patrylo of the Neshanock manfully agreed to play for another team. Their cooperation is much appreciated. While the Flemington three were helping make another game possible, the Neshanock took on their old friends, the Atlantic Base Ball Club of Brooklyn, consistently one of the country's top vintage teams. Sadly, the highlight of the game for Flemington came early when Joe "Mick" Murray won the bat toss sending the Atlantics first to the striker's line.
The Brooklyn club led 1-0 after one, but over the next two innings, the Atlantics added six more runs, aided by multiple Neshanock muffs. Definitely not a recipe for success against this opponent. After that Flemington's defense behind the pitching by Dave "Illinois" Harris and Bobby "Melky" Ritter settled down and allowed only three more runs. Unfortunately it was far too late since the Atlantics, as they often do, put on a clinic in the field, holding the Neshanock to one tally on just three hits, to win 10-1. Only Danny "Lefty" Gallagher, Tom "Thumbs" Hoepfner and Ernie "Shredder" Albanesius struck balls out of the reach of the Atlantic defense.
Unfortunately, I had to leave after the first game which created challenges in reporting on the second contest. For example, "Lefty" or one of his collaborators tainted the scorebook with RBI notations when, as they well know, no such statistic existed in the 1860s. The player shortages continued throughout the day so Flemington, along with two members of the Liberty, took on a consolidated Monmouth and Athletic team. Flemington led 12-7 after five innings, but Flemington's morale suffered a major blow when wily veteran Mark "Gaslight" Granieri fell victim to the hidden ball trick. So great was the distraction that Monmouth/Philadelphia tallied seven times in the top of the sixth for a 14-12 lead. Fortunately the Neshanock scored five times in the bottom of the eighth for an 18-14 win. Although "Lefty" didn't have any RBIs, he hit a home run and earned a clear score. Credit also goes to "Gaslight" for manfully complying with the overwhelming demand and reporting his baserunning blunder.
Besides being a fun day of baseball, festivals like the Paul Solomone Base Ball History Day are also a special opportunity to teach baseball history. Multiple vintage games played simultaneously in old fashioned uniforms can attract people to watch and learn about how the game was played over 150 years ago. Saturday's event got me thinking about how vintage baseball can teach not just how baseball was played, but also some of its early history. The opportunity starts with something we may take for granted - the importance of team names. Most vintage baseball teams are named after actual nineteenth century clubs each of which has it's own history. That's true of all six teams present at Rahway River Park on Saturday, but of the New Jersey clubs, our hosts, the Elizabeth Resolutes had the broadest and richest experience.
Founded in 1864, the Resolutes quickly became one of New Jersey's most competitive teams and won the unofficial New Jersey state championship in 1870 and 1872. Motivated by that success, the club's backers decided to compete on the game's biggest stage, the National Association. Although not recognized as a major league, from 1871 to 1875, the National Association was the country's first all professional league. It was a poorly organized endeavor in many ways, especially in pitting teams with major financial support against clubs like the Resolutes who had little or no financial resources. This fatal flaw doomed Elizabeth's chances from the start and the club dropped out before the season was finished. It was not the end of the Resolutes, however, as the team continued to play at the semi-pro level at least through the 1870s.
Those who see the modern version of the Resolutes play can learn not just how 1870s baseball was played, but also about the first state championships, the first all-professional league and the early days of semi-pro baseball. The Resolutes have an especially rich history, but every vintage team has its own story. An excellent example of how to do this, is the 1870 state championship banner the Resolutes proudly display at their games - the flag invites questions about that historical achievement. Banners with club names and founding dates can play a similar role. Teams could also distribute a leaflet with the both the playing rules and a summary of the team's history. Lastly, but not finally, some vintage games are preceded by a rules presentation to the spectators. It wouldn't be difficult to include a little baseball history in such presentations. It's worth trying and another good way to honor Paul Solomone.
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