Editor’s note: For our article below on vintage base ball and the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo, who play by 1864 rules, we will be spelling base ball as two words like it was spelled during that era. According to the Society For American Baseball Research (SABR) it wasn’t until the early 20th century when there was general uniformity in the spelling of “baseball.”
By Bruce Rolfe
Visitors in Climax Memorial Day will get a rare opportunity to watch vintage base ball from the 1860s era when the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo play a game at 11:30 a.m. against local players at Roger Dilno Field where the C-S girls softball team plays behind the Intermediate School.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo will play a team made up of C-S Panthers of all ages. Men, women, boys and girls are welcome to play in this game.
But don’t bring a glove.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo plays under 1864 rules when gloves weren’t used in games.
The Memorial Day game in Climax will be the first event of the year for the club.
Chris Fusciardi, captain of the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo, said besides playing without base ball gloves, there will be some other obvious signs the team will be playing from a different era.
Pitchers will pitch the ball under hand, with the ball coming in on a quicker line.
A batter will be out if a player catches a ball on a bounce. Fusciardi said the rule allowing a player to record an out by catching the ball in the air did not go into effect until 1865.
The team captain adds many players on the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo will wear long pants and long sleeves, with no lettering on the uniforms.
Fusciardi said a few years ago the team name was on the front of the uniforms, but the club made the transition to make the uniform more appropriate for the period of time they play in.
“It won’t look like a modern baseball game,” said Fusciardi when asked about the uniforms.
He adds players will be using wooden bats, noting some players make their own bats, however a number of vintage bats are purchased from a bat company in Columbus, Ohio.
Fusciardi said Climax resident Andy Gilbert, who plays on the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo, made the club aware about the opportunity to play a game in Climax as part of the Memorial Day schedule of events.
Fusciardi said before Covid, the club wasn’t very active getting involved in the local area. Besides playing a few games in the Kalamazoo area, the club would often travel to South Haven, Benton Harbor, Paw Paw and other areas who had clubs. He said the last couple of years the club has tried to schedule games in areas where there will be large gatherings to expose what they do.
So the club welcomed the opportunity when Gilbert told them about playing in Climax Memorial Day. The club will also walk in the Climax Memorial Day parade.
“That’s a chance for us to get in front of these communities and do some education about early baseball, the history and why it looks the way it does there versus how and why it looks now,” said Fusciardi, who said this is the 13th year the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo has been performing.
“The Kalamazoo area in general, has a long history of baseball. We have real vibrant softball leagues around here. But not a lot of people know about us and what we do. So, we’re trying to get out there so people can see us and see what we do. To a certain level, I’d love to get more people involved in this,” said Fusciardi, who said the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo is a non-profit organization.
Nine players from the club, including Gilbert, played at the Field of Dreams field in Iowa for 4 hours last year. The next day the group played at a Civil War event in Galesburg, Illinois. The group plans to play a game in Gettysburg later this year.
They also will be playing in Vicksburg June 14 at 10 a.m. at 301 S. Kalamazoo Street as part of the Vicksburg Old Car Festival.
The team will be hosting the biggest vintage baseball event in Michigan June 28 and 29 at Ramona Park with 23 teams from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan participating.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo wants to grow vintage base ball and welcomes people who are interested in the club to contact them through the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ContinentalBBC or website at www.kalamazoocontinentals.org.
By Bruce Rolfe
Visitors in Climax Memorial Day will get a rare opportunity to watch vintage base ball from the 1860s era when the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo play a game at 11:30 a.m. against local players at Roger Dilno Field where the C-S girls softball team plays behind the Intermediate School.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo will play a team made up of C-S Panthers of all ages. Men, women, boys and girls are welcome to play in this game.
But don’t bring a glove.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo plays under 1864 rules when gloves weren’t used in games.
The Memorial Day game in Climax will be the first event of the year for the club.
Chris Fusciardi, captain of the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo, said besides playing without base ball gloves, there will be some other obvious signs the team will be playing from a different era.
Pitchers will pitch the ball under hand, with the ball coming in on a quicker line.
A batter will be out if a player catches a ball on a bounce. Fusciardi said the rule allowing a player to record an out by catching the ball in the air did not go into effect until 1865.
The team captain adds many players on the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo will wear long pants and long sleeves, with no lettering on the uniforms.
Fusciardi said a few years ago the team name was on the front of the uniforms, but the club made the transition to make the uniform more appropriate for the period of time they play in.
“It won’t look like a modern baseball game,” said Fusciardi when asked about the uniforms.
He adds players will be using wooden bats, noting some players make their own bats, however a number of vintage bats are purchased from a bat company in Columbus, Ohio.
Fusciardi said Climax resident Andy Gilbert, who plays on the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo, made the club aware about the opportunity to play a game in Climax as part of the Memorial Day schedule of events.
Fusciardi said before Covid, the club wasn’t very active getting involved in the local area. Besides playing a few games in the Kalamazoo area, the club would often travel to South Haven, Benton Harbor, Paw Paw and other areas who had clubs. He said the last couple of years the club has tried to schedule games in areas where there will be large gatherings to expose what they do.
So the club welcomed the opportunity when Gilbert told them about playing in Climax Memorial Day. The club will also walk in the Climax Memorial Day parade.
“That’s a chance for us to get in front of these communities and do some education about early baseball, the history and why it looks the way it does there versus how and why it looks now,” said Fusciardi, who said this is the 13th year the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo has been performing.
“The Kalamazoo area in general, has a long history of baseball. We have real vibrant softball leagues around here. But not a lot of people know about us and what we do. So, we’re trying to get out there so people can see us and see what we do. To a certain level, I’d love to get more people involved in this,” said Fusciardi, who said the Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo is a non-profit organization.
Nine players from the club, including Gilbert, played at the Field of Dreams field in Iowa for 4 hours last year. The next day the group played at a Civil War event in Galesburg, Illinois. The group plans to play a game in Gettysburg later this year.
They also will be playing in Vicksburg June 14 at 10 a.m. at 301 S. Kalamazoo Street as part of the Vicksburg Old Car Festival.
The team will be hosting the biggest vintage baseball event in Michigan June 28 and 29 at Ramona Park with 23 teams from Kentucky, Tennessee, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Michigan participating.
The Continental Base Ball Club of Kalamazoo wants to grow vintage base ball and welcomes people who are interested in the club to contact them through the club’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ContinentalBBC or website at www.kalamazoocontinentals.org.
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