Gentlemen ballists
to the garden

The old timey Vintage Base Ball Federation
looks and plays 19th century, but
still courts modern controversy

by ERIK LEIJON

Back in the 19th century, long before billionaire owners, juiced-up players, hi-tech stadiums and elaborate television productions demystified America’s pastime, base ball—as it was spelled back then—was a gentlemanly pursuit involving respect for one’s opponent, baggy uniforms, cool moustaches and obligatory nicknames. The American-based Vintage Base Ball Federation (VBBF) is one of a handful of organizations that play baseball the old tyme way, and their second annual VBBF World Series this August in Westfield, Mass., produced a Quebec-based winner—even if the circumstances of their win could be considered as contentious as Ty Cobb beating Napoleon “Nap” Lajoie for the 1910 Chalmers Award.

The origins of baseball are still up for debate, although there’s no doubting that, since the original Knickerbocker Rules were published for a Manhattan club in 1845, variants of the hitting, catching and fielding game—from Town Ball to Rounders—preceded in one form or another the popular game that exists today. Vintage base ball specifically refers to the rules commonly seen in the 1860s (with some minor liberties), which played nothing like the sport’s roaring heyday of the early 20th century.

LOOKING FOR AN ACE: Martin Johnson

Politeness and ginger

“In vintage base ball, I’m referred to as the ‘captain,’” says Quebec All-Star manager John Elias, using the parlance of the times. “There’s a lot of jargon that would be unfamiliar to today’s fans. Something very different is how there’s only one umpire, and he’s always called ‘sir.’ The beauty of it is, if there’s a call that needs to be made that he’s not sure about, he asks the players involved and they truthfully relate what happened.”

RECTANGLE, NO MOUND: Hurler Pat Gervais

“It’s a game of manners,” says Jim Bouton, VBBF’s chairman and a former major league pitcher best known for writing the tell-all insider book Ball Four. “It’s gentlemanly. You talk to the fans [known as ‘cranks’], and you congratulate your opponents when they make a nice play. Vintage baseball is a sport and you’re out to be sportsmen, but it’s also a theatre. It’s a play and the players are actors; the way they behaved in the 19th century is to show respect for the other team, so no showboating or hot-dogging.”

If base ball players were more polite and demure patrolling the garden (outfield) in the old days, perhaps it’s because the game itself required some serious ginger (determination) to play. Large basket gloves had yet to be invented, so ballists—the correct term for players—would catch throws with hand protection no bigger than a gardening glove. Behinds (catchers) wore mitts with no webbing and minimal body padding.

“You definitely feel the ball a lot more when you catch it in one of those gloves,” says Martin Johnson, 32, a member of the Quebec All-Stars and the provincial team that won a silver medal at the national championships in Brandon, MB a week following the VBBF World Series. “After a couple of catches, your hand starts to feel sore. It was noticeable for a lot of us after the games.”

Other important rule differences include the lack of a pitching mound. Instead, there’s a small four-by-six rectangle, and the hurler (pitcher) stands 10 feet closer. Hidden ball tricks, like placing one under a base and waiting for a baserunner to lose concentration, are perfectly legal. The striker (batter) also has his choice of high or low strike zone, needs six balls instead of four in order to walk, and the ball thrown to him is based on the old leather-skinned lemon ball design.

“The ball is softer, but it still travels surprisingly well,” says Johnson. Like the discussions of the origins of base ball, though, the rules are constantly being revised and changed.

CHAMPS NON-GRATA:
Quebec All-Stars, with John Elias (top row, far right)

Quebec kicks ass, gets uninvited

The Quebec All-Stars easily won all three of their matches in Westfield, including capturing the final against the host Wheelmen 14-6. The team will not be invited back next year, mostly because Bouton feels the Quebec team—which brought together many of the best Senior Elite League players—went against the spirit of the event, which was tailored towards base ball enthusiasts and not superstars.

SMALL GLOVES FOR LEMON BALLS: Jean-Luc Désormeaux

“I said [to Quebec manager John Elias] it’s like town ball in the later 19th century,” recalls Bouton, “where every town had its own team, and they were made up of the local baker and butcher—that’s sort of what vintage base ball is today.”

As an example of the Quebec team’s might, after two weeks of playoffs, the entire league had mustered only four home runs, yet the Quebec All-Stars hit 10 bombs throughout the tournament, and had to ease up on the competition after only a few short innings of putting up aces (runs).

Johnson and his teammates had only practised with the unique equipment once before leaving for Westfield. “I was expecting us to lose since they play vintage base ball a lot more than we do,” he says. “They know more of the tricky plays, and we figured we wouldn’t know what to do.”

Elias is considering starting his own vintage baseball competition in Canada, saying he’s received interest from teams in Ontario. “Bouton said I brought an all-star team, which I didn’t, and the crux of his unhappiness was that we kicked the shit out of American teams. He wasn’t very happy and he kept telling me he asked for recreational players. But my guys go to work on Monday, they don’t get paid to play.”

Despite the experience with Elias, Bouton said the Quebec ballists were all playing with the class befitting the vintage game and would consider bringing a Canadian team again if an amateur-type league forms in the future.

Nevertheless, says Bouton, “I was thinking for the first time since I retired from major league baseball that I wished I had my old fastball back again. Because if I did, I would have gone out on the mound and they wouldn’t have even gotten a foul ball, let alone a home run.”