Something Old, Something New

Unless otherwise noted, all pictures by Mark Granieri

Thanks to consistently bad weather, the Neshanock didn't get on the field much in May and when we did, it was in less than favorable conditions.  If Saturday at the Howell Living History Farm was any indication, however, we're heading in the right direction weatherwise.  Plenty of sunshine along with moderate temperatures made for what was definitely "a most splendiferous day for baseball" and a visit to one of our favorite venues.  It was also a unique opportunity to be on the field with the "old" and the "new" of New Jersey vintage baseball.  Saturday was the first 2024 match for the Elizabeth Resolutes, as the state’s senior vintage club began its 25th season.  Helping out the Resolutes were some members of New Jersey’s newest nineteenth-century club, the Logan Club of Lambertville, more about them later.

Part of the crowd that enjoyed two games in perfect baseball weather

Left to right, Scott "Snuffy" Hengst, Jason Blazakis and Sam "Ewing" Ricco of the Logan Club - photo by Filomena Hengst

Today’s event featured two seven-inning games, one by 1864 rules, followed by a contest using the 1870 rule book.  The Resolutes/Logan team won the more historically accurate coin toss and chose to strike first. They put their opportunity at the striker's line to good use, tallying twice, but the Neshanock quickly scored three times. Flemington then kept Elizabeth off the scoreboard for the next two innings while adding four more tallies for a 7-2 lead, heading to the top of the fourth.  Any complacency on the Neshanock side evaporated quickly as nine hits led to seven tallies and a 9-7 Elizabeth/Lambertville lead.

The big challenge in setting the ground rules was what to do with the large tree, far right, that took up almost all of right field

After some discussion it was decided that any ball hit into the tree on the fly was an out, enabling Ernie "Shredder" Albanesius to record one of the most unusual putouts in baseball history

Their lead did not last long, however.  Bobby “Melky” Ritter walked and three straight hits by Chris  “Lowball” Lowry, Danny “Lefty” Gallagher and Thomas “Hawk” Prioli produced three Flemington runs and a 10-9 Neshanock lead.  A double by Rene “Mango” Marrero and a single from Mark “Gaslight” Granieri added two more tallies and Flemington led 12-9 after four innings.  The Resolutes went out in order in the fifth and consecutive home runs by “Lefty” and “Hawk” keyed another five run inning, putting the Neshanock fully in control.  Solid defense supported the pitching of “Melky” and Bob “Riverboat” Smith to keep Elizabeth/Lambertville off the scoreboard the rest of the way and Flemington prevailed 17-9.

 

 

The Neshanock were glad to welcome back Joe "Mick" Murray from the injured list - photo by Rene Marerro

The Neshanock attack was led by  “Lefty” and “Hawk” both of whom had four hits with each hitting a home run and two doubles. In the process, they both earned clear scores. Also contributing two doubles was “Mango."  Another noteworthy double was a prodigious clout off the bat of Ken “Tumbles” Mandel, over the center fielder’s head, possibly the longest hit of the Neshanock veteran's long and colorful career.  Joining “Tumbles” and “Mango” in the two hit group were Chris “Lowball” Lowry and Mark “Gaslight” Granieri.  “Gaslight” would have earned a clear score, but uncharacteristically for the usually wiley baserunner, he managed to get picked off first base.  We were delighted to welcome Joe “Mick” Murray back from the injured list and hope he can play on a regular basis going forward.

As Paul "O'Neill" Cincotta strikes the ball, Thomas "Hawk" Prioli breaks for home

After a break, highlighted by lunch supplied by our generous hosts, the 1870 game got underway with Flemington at the striker's line.  "Lefty" made his only out of the day, but four straight hits drove in three Neshanock tallies.   Flemington added five more tallies in the top of the second and the  Neshanock lead grew to 15-4 heading to the Resolutes/Logan's last at bat. While it may have seemed beyond reach,  no lead is safe in 1870s baseball.  That was proved once again as the Elizabeth/Lambertville strikers belted one hit after another, tallying nine times before the Neshanock finally closed out a 15-13 victory.  "Mango" led the Flemington attack with four hits including two doubles, giving him a six-hit day along with flawless play at first base. "Lefty," "Hawk" and "O'Neill" each had three hits with "Hawk" earning his second clear score.  "Gaslight" and "Riverboat" had two hits apiece.  

One of the most sickening moments in nineteenth-century baseball - Chris "Lowball" Lowry realizes he's about to be put out on a foul tip by catcher Scott "Snuffy" Hengst off of a Craig Combs pitch

While there was no shortage of hard-hitting at the striker's line, there were also some interesting plays in the field and on the bases.  In the second game, "Hawk" made an especially manly catch of a line drive while Ernie "Shredder" Albanesius, thanks to the unusual ground rules, recorded a put-out without touching the ball.  Even more unique was "Gaslight's" performance.  After getting picked off first in the opening game, he had to leave that game due to an injury.  However, he manfully returned for the second contest, proclaiming he "was as good a player as he ever was."  Then to prove it, he quickly managed to get thrown out attempting to steal second.  He did, however, somewhat offset those blunders from his catcher's position, first by tricking an unsuspecting baserunner and then even more unusually throwing out a runner attempting to steal.  Gaslight manages the latter feat somewhat infrequently. It's probably not as rare as an unassisted triple play or a perfect game, but it's not something many baseball fans have witnessed.

After another splendiferous day of nineteenth-century baseball at Howell Farm, Ken "Tumbles" Mandel waves goodbye for the Neshanock - photo by Rene Marerro

Saturday was a time to honor the past and anticipate the future of vintage baseball in New Jersey.  The Resolutes' 25th season is quite an accomplishment for the state’s senior club.  We wish them well the rest of the way and look forward to being part of their history weekend at the end of June.  At the other end of the spectrum is the Logan Club of Lambertville, the project of Sam “Ewing” Ricco and Scott “Snuffy” Hengst of the Neshanock.  While continuing to play for Flemington, “Ewing” and “Snuffy” plan to recreate this 1865 club by playing six to eight games a season.  It’s an important project as New Jersey is now down to four vintage clubs.  In baseball’s pre-professional era, 1855 to 1870, almost 2400 baseball clubs were formed in New Jersey, second only to New York.  A state with that rich baseball history needs and deserves more teams to preserve and tell the story.  Here’s to the Logan Club becoming an important part of that effort.