Yesterday at beautiful Kennekuk State Park near Danville, Illinois, the Vermilion Voles vintage base ball team hosted the 2012 Uncle Joe Cannon Base Ball Jamboree and I was a happy spectator. Other fine participants in the tournament were the Indianapolis Hoosiers, Rock Springs Ground Squirrels and the Springfield Long Nine.
But wait… who was Joe Cannon? I actually took the time to look him up on Wikipedia before going:
Joseph Gurney Cannon (May 7, 1836 – November 12, 1926) was a United States politician from Illinois and leader of the Republican Party. Cannon served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1903 to 1911, and historians generally consider him to be the most dominant Speaker in United States history…
Fair enough.
The scores didn’t matter which is a nice way of saying the Voles lost all three games. The first game against the Hoosiers was especially one-sided as evidenced by this photo despite a last inning five ace rally by the valiant vermin Voles. The Hoosiers scored 26 against the Voles but lost in their next game against Springfield.
But the balls were hit hard and some good plays were made by all teams. For those who were keeping score though, it was the Springfield Long Nine who won all three of their games. Hats off to them!
I’ve posted some photos from the day to my Vintage Base Ball photo gallery.