Sesquicentennial vintage ‘base ball’ games July 27
Scientists say time travel is impossible, but area residents will be able turn back the clock via baseball later this month.
Actually via base ball, which is what it was called in the early days of Whitehall, when teams like the Whitehall Sand Scratchers, Coral City Centennials and Hale Muffins battled it out in a game that looked quite different than it does today. That’s the game that will be on display Saturday, July 27, when the Whitehall Area Historical Foundation sponsors a 1860s-vintage base ball tournament at Melby Park in Whitehall.
The mini-tourney will feature two established teams, the La Crescent (Minn.) Apple Jacks and Menomonie Blue Caps, both members of the national Vintage Base Ball Association; the Sand Creek 9, a newer team from the Dunn Co. town of that name; and the Sand Scratchers, a team of area players put together for the occasion.
The four-game tourney will start at 10 a.m. and continue until about 2 p.m. There will be no admission charge and, in the event of inclement weather, there is no makeup date. The Apple Jacks and Sand Creek will meet in the first contest, followed by the Blue Caps and Sand Scratchers; losers of the first two games will then meet in the consolation game, with the winners meeting in the championship tilt.
The games will be played according to VBBA rules, which model those used in the 1860s. The most notable differences from the modern sport are that no baseball gloves are used, and that batted balls caught on the first bounce, like those caught on the fly, are outs. Bats, balls and bases are all different from the modern articles.
Also different, at least for teams like those participating July 27, is the spirit of the game — while competitive, there is a friendliness to it, according to Menomonie’s captain, Dustyn Dubuque. (The current Blue Caps were organized in 2012, but continue the name of an amateur team that played from 1882 to 1941.)
Dubuque got involved with the Blue Caps when the team needed players for a road trip to, of all places, La Crescent. “Since that day, I was hooked,” he said.
“The camaraderie is my favorite part of the game,” he added. “This being a gentleman’s game gives each team the leeway to create their own brand for themselves. The Blue Caps are that of fun.”
Besides baseball, also on the menu July 27 will be a free-will donation lunch featuring Smashburgers, served by the Whitehall Lions Club from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Independence native Mike Lyga will be on hand to talk about and sign his book, “On the Field West of Town,” about the Independence city teams that also contains history about other area teams.
It is not known when baseball was first played in Whitehall — the first two years of the Trempealeau Messenger, the first newspaper, are apparently lost to history, but it likely was soon after the community was established in 1874. By 1876, teams were being fielded by Whitehall and other area towns, including Arcadia, Coral City, Hale and Independence.
The Whitehall Area Historical Foundation is the organizing entity for this year’s sesquicentennial observance, “150 Years of Welcome Home.” Besides the base ball tournament, other events being planned by WAHF are a Vintage Farmers Garden Market on Aug. 16, an Historic Farm and Harvest Day on Sept. 7, and an Artists and Authors Fair on Oct. 12.