It’s time to PLAY BALL, 19th-century style!
Meadowcroft will host its annual Vintage “Base Ball” Day on Saturday, Aug. 20, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Come watch base ball (originally two words) 19th-century style with the Somerset Frosty Sons of Thunder, Addison Mountain Stars, and the Keystone Base Ball Club, who will use 1860s rules. Bring a picnic lunch and enjoy America’s favorite pastime!
The teams will play three games, round-robin style, using the rule book adopted on March 14, 1860, by the National Association of Base-Ball Players that included many distinct differences from the pastime we know and love today:
• Gloves were not commonly used.
• Players were referred to as “ballists.”
• A batter was called a “striker.”
• A fly ball caught after one bounce resulted in the batter, or striker, being called out.
Throughout the day, step even further back in time and enjoy family-friendly activities offered at Meadowcroft. Please note that the Frontier area will be closed due to the game.
Explore an Indian wigwam in a recreated 16th-century Monongahela Indian Village, watch a blacksmith forge red-hot iron in the 19th-century Meadowcroft Village, and tour the Rockshelter, a National Historic Landmark and the oldest site of human habitation in North America.
The event is included with standard Meadowcroft admission: $15 for adults, $7 for children between the ages of 6-17, $14 for senior citizens, and $7 for students.
