Photo: In vintage base ball, the umpire is provided a chair from which he often observes and rules upon on-the-field action. Here, “Honest” Harold Longbons, the Ground Squirrel’s umpire, enjoys a rest between innings at Trobaugh Field in Rock Springs.

Close your eyes and call to mind the national pastime as it originated. “Base ball” is a two-word game played by gentlemen. Fielders snare balls with bare hands, runners “leg it” around the base paths, and players shout encouragement and compliments to their opponents.

Now, open your eyes and if you are fortunate enough to be seated in the shade beside a field in the Macon County Conservation District’s Rock Springs Center, you see it all before you. Base ball, circa 1860, is alive and well in Illinois.

Vintage base ball—as the game’s 20th-century manifestation is known—is played from Long Island, N.Y., to Denver, Colo., and from Rochester, Minn., to St. Petersburg, Fla. But the heart of the Midwest game is in Columbus, Ohio.

In July 1992, a spur-of-the-moment or “pick-up” team—composed of staff and volunteers from Rock Springs—traveled to Columbus to play a game against the Ohio Village Muffins. The Muffins had launched the game in the Midwest in 1981. Despite a 10-1 loss, the Macon County delegation—who had christened themselves the Ground Squirrels—came home with enthusiasm and commitment to start their own vintage base ball program.

Even before playing their first contest, the Ground Squirrels caught the colorful spirit of the game. Running onto the field, the “team nine”—as squads are known—spontaneously burst into a loud, collective “CHEE! CHEE! CHEE!,” later identified as the “bloodcurdling cry of the rampant ground squirrel.”

Present to record the cheer was a Wall Street Journal reporter whose account of the Muffins vs. Ground Squirrels game appeared on the newspaper’s front page. That was followed a short time later by an article on the game and the Ground Squirrels in the in-flight magazine of Southwest Airlines.

23 | Illinois Parks and Recreation | May / June 2000

Photo above:
Ground Squirrel Robert “Playdirt” Grindy crosses home base before the ball reaches behind catcher Hal “Toad” Warrick.

Photo below:
“Tallykeepers Rich Coombes and Pam Sampson keep track of runs scored in vintage base ball game at Trobaugh Field. Before a run can count, the player must approach the tallykeepers’ table and request “Tally me, ma’am. Then the player must ring a bell to make the run count.

“We were nationally known before we had a team,” recalls Lee Slider, cultural interpreter with the Macon County Conservation District and originator and director of its living history program at Rock Springs. In his 1860 persona as Joseph Trobaugh, proprietor of Homestead Prairie Farm, Slider became the “owner” of the Ground Squirrels.

“We decided we’d better do something to live up to our reputation.” That meant forming a vintage base ball team which, in turn, required authentic uniforms and equipment. Macon County’s living history program centers around the Trobaugh-Good House, a circa-1854 farmhouse located in Rock Springs and now on the National Register of Historic Places. This facility and its programs provided something for the fledgling team to work with.

Since 1989, volunteers have dressed in period clothing presented educational programs and interpretive tours at the home. Most were not interested in playing the game, but enthusiastically provided ready-made fans for contests. Several “open” games were played at Rock Springs between the falls of 1992 and 1993, each exposing new people to the game. The next year, the Ground Squirrels became the first vintage base ball team in Illinois.

“We were fortunate to have among our volunteers Nancy Torgerson who has become a nationally recognized expert in vintage clothing,” says Slider. “Working with her, we researched what type of uniform a team might have worn in 1860, the year we recreate in our living history program. We settled on a white shirt with blue piping and a shield that buttoned on the chest, Amish straw hats, and modern blue jeans that resemble those worn in the 1860s.

“Nancy made the shirts and at our Independence Day program in June 1994, we unveiled the new uniforms.” Equipment posed another challenge. Vintage base balls are slightly larger, a bit softer and stitched differently than the modern version. Through the Muffins, Slider was able to locate a man in Louisville, Ky., who made the balls by hand. Bats, too, are different. Those in the vintage game are thicker and not as tapered as those used today. Tim Talbott, an original Ground Squirrel and then with the Champaign County Forest Preserve District’s Early American Museum, turned the first three bats on a lathe.

Donations helped pay the start-up costs and additional funding came—and continues to come—from appearance fees in the range of $200 to $300 gained from area community festivals, where the Ground Squirrels often play local pick-up teams. The Macon County Conservation District does not directly fund the team, but provides support services such as mowing Trobaugh Field at Rock Springs, use of district vans for transportation, and allowing Slider to spend time running the vintage base ball program. Team members buy their own shoes, pants and hats—which were switched to a blue, white-stripped driving cap after the straw hats kept blowing off as players ran the bases.

One of the first festival games came courtesy of the Peoria Park District, which decided in 1995 that something new and different was needed to spice up its popular “Old-Fashioned Sunday in the Park” event held each June in Glen Oak Park. Dennis Mantick, superintendent of recreation for the Peoria Park District, liked one idea, vintage base ball, suggested by a focus group. First, he had to find out what it was. Mantick’s inquiries led him to Slider and the two booked the Ground Squirrels for the 1995 “Old-Fashioned Sunday” event. For its part, the Peoria Park District purchased period uniforms based on the 1906 Peoria Distillers, a professional team.

“It’s proven to be a good event,” said Mantick. “We have a lot of people who turn out each year to watch the game.” For now, the Peoria Distillers play only one or two games a year, usually against the Ground Squirrels. However, in 1997 another vintage team emerged in the Chicago suburbs.

“The Mount Prospect Park District hired me to

21 | Illinois Parks and Recreation | May / June 2000

“I started researching the game and that led me to Doug Smith, who directs the Muffins vintage base ball program at Ohio Village.” The result was the Chicago Salmon which plays about nine games each season, usually against pick-up squads at Civil War re-enactments in the Chicago suburbs. The Salmon also play the Ground Squirrels twice each season and the Indiana-based Deep River Grinders, the only vintage team in that state.

Who are these men—and, in the case of the Ground Squirrels, a woman—who risk broken fingers, twisted ankles, not to mention bruised egos, to revive a style of baseball dead nearly 150 years?

Carlson says the 14 men that fill the Salmon roster are, on average, in their mid-40s. All of the Salmon players, with one exception, are also youth baseball coaches. The oldest active Ground Squirrel at 54 years of age is Larry “Root Hog” Crisler, a professor of sociology at Decatur’s Millikin University. The average age of his teammates is in the high-40s. Diana “Shameless” Warrick, possibly the only female on the roster of a vintage team, is in her 30s.

“We find that the players who most enjoy the game, who stick with the team, are a little older, too old for competitive slow-pitch softball but still wanting to play,” said Slider.

Players are expected to congratulate opponents, observe the rules—which prohibit sliding, swearing or sweating—and respect the umpire, who can levy 25-cent fines for infractions.

“They also need to be good sports, interested in history, and able to enjoy the game for itself.” One institution of the game wherever it is played is player nicknames. Among the more colorful labels for Ground Squirrels players are “Dinnerplate” Merrick, a prodigious eater who manages to remain rail thin; “Mad Dog” Landers, whose “whole hog” style of play will lead him into creeks and bushes in search of the

How To Start a Vintage Base Ball Program

Lee Slider, cultural interpreter with the Macon County Conservation District and founder of the Rock Springs Ground Squirrels team nine, emphasizes that off-field decisions and preparations are crucial to a successful program.

Funding, player recruitment, selecting the team name and uniform, preparing a playing field, and educating players and spectators are just some of the challenges facing those wanting to start a vintage base ball team.

"Fortunately, John C. Wells of the Ohio Village Muffins has put together an excellent article on how to proceed," said Slider.

Summarizing Wells's recommendations and drawing on his own experiences, Slider offers the following checklist.
• Start planning at least six months before your first match and look first at expenses and funding.
• Determine how you will fund a team. Some agencies fund the teams; others like the Ground Squirrels rely primarily on paid appearances to offset equipment and other costs. What relationship do you want the team to have to your district/agency?
• Select the period you wish to represent. Any time from the 1840s to 1900 is included in vintage base ball, but most Midwestern teams have found the best success with the 1860-era. The game at that time is close enough to the modern version to be recognizable, but different enough to be surprising and interesting. You will want to do research in appropriate local newspapers to see what base ball teams were active in your community or area at the time you've selected.
• Select and prepare a playing field. Ideally, this should be located on or near your site if you have a living history program. The base paths are 90 feet, the same as today. Don't worry too much about obstructions such as trees and buildings; sometimes they make the game more entertaining.
• Locate a source for authentic uniforms. There are firms that specialize in making these or you can try to find a local or area seamstress or tailor to make them. Don't forget that you also need to outfit an umpire, a tally keeper, and, ideally, some sideline characters.
• Find sources for equipment. Bats can be turned out by local or area craftsmen. There are places to purchase the correct balls.
• Provide seating and table for a tally keeper and benches or straw bales for the teams.
• Prepare publicity packets and press releases.

For more information, contact Lee Slider at the Macon County Conservation District, 3939 Nearing Lane, Decatur, IL 62521, 217.423.4913. Or, Doug Smith at the Ohio Historical Society, 1982 Velma Ave., Columbus, OH 43211-2497, 614.261.0454.

— by Robert D. Sampson, Ph.D.

25 | Illinois Parks and Recreation | May / June 2000

Photo: As part of the living history program at Rock Springs, the Ground Squirrels and their “cranks”—or fans—also provide glimpses into issues of 19th-century America. On occasion, the game is interrupted by women demanding the right to vote or the prohibition of alcoholic beverages.

Vintage base ball takes seriously its label, “a gentlemen’s game.” Players are expected to congratulate opponents, observe the rules which prohibit sliding, swearing or sweating (sometimes waived on hot days and especially for the heavy wool-clothed Distillers), and respect the umpire, who can levy 25-cent fines for infractions.

Spectators, too, seem to appreciate the game’s pace and friendly style even if it takes a while to learn the 1860-era rules. For instance, balls caught on the first bound leave the striker—as batters are known—out. No balls or strikes are called and hurlers (pitchers) are expected to toss the ball underhanded. All fielders, save the shortstop (or rover) must remain in fixed positions until the pitched ball reaches home plate. For outfielders that means mid-field in their respective fields and for infielders a step off the bag.

No runs count until the runner reports to the scoring table and requests of the official scorer, “For the honor of the gallant Ground Squirrels would you please, tally me, sir?” An affirmative answer allows the runner to ring a bell, officially signaling the score.

“Vintage base ball has proven to be one of our most popular programs in terms of outreach,” says Slider. “It takes the Macon County Conservation District to other communities and other states. People come to Rock Springs to watch a game and at the same time, they learn about the other things we have to offer at this 1,400-acre site.”

Slider notes that a new vintage base ball team is being formed in Atwood, a village about 20 miles east of Decatur, after two Ground Squirrels visits in as many years as part of the entertainment for the Apple Dumpling Festival. Events like the Apple Dumpling Festival not only earn the team cash to pay for equipment, but create interest in the game and the Macon County Conservation District, though sometimes in odd locations.

One year, the Ground Squirrels traveled to Beason, Ill., to play a pick-up team as part of the village’s centennial. Expecting a base ball diamond or at least an open field, the Ground Squirrels instead found themselves dashing around a backyard, a rather large one, but nevertheless a backyard.

“It turned out to be one of our most enjoyable games,” Slider says.

After seven years of struggling, the Ground Squirrels enjoyed their first winning season in 1999, amassing a 15-3 record, including a 5-1 mark at the Ohio Cup played each Labor Day weekend at Ohio Village in Columbus. While not discounting the positive effect of the wins on players and spectators, Slider noted that the main attraction is still the game itself and a gentler, simpler style of play.

“Today, people read the sports pages and sometimes wonder if they turned to the police blotter or business section by mistake,” he says. “Vintage base ball lets players and spectators experience—if only for an hour or two—a bygone era.” 

Robert D. “Droopy drawers” Sampson, Ph.D.
is the president of the Macon County Conservation District Board of Trustees. Photographs courtesy of the Macon County Conservation District.

26 | Illinois Parks and Recreation | May / June 2000