Baseball fans in the Illinois-Wisconsin-Indiana area might find this interesting. There will be a vintage base ball tournament at Cantigny Park in Wheaton, Illinois on July 7, 2012. As of now there will be ten teams participating including my favorite base ball team, the Vermilion Voles with their captain, Jim “Weed-eater” Knoblauch.
Here is a pdf promoting the event.
If you have not been to a vintage base ball game before and are a baseball history buff, you have been missing out. They are quite fun. Your mileage may vary depending on which particular base ball league you watch but the Vermilion Voles play by the base ball rules of 1858. Usually the events don’t just entail a game. The whole production is geared around the pre-Civil War era including uniforms, equipment, and yes, vernacular.
Here’s a list of 19th century base ball slang so you can understand what’s going on. Also, there somewhere out there is a gallery of photos I’ve taken of the Vermilion Voles games I’ve attended. That should whet your taste.
If I can, I’m hoping to go to this. Anyone else?