Vintage Baseball Comes To The Grange

The trombones played encouragement for the home team and its crowd as some female fans strolled along the grounds in daytime frocks.

An announcer stood in a gazebo reciting the roster of each group of ballists gathered for a spirited competition in a glorious game.

Though the passing cars on the adjacent road provided constant reminders of 2011, it was 1864 for those at Islip Grange who came to watch baseball played as it was centuries ago, as part of the Sayville Summerfest.

"It's fun," said Ed "Pigtail" Elmore, one of the Atlantic's senior members, who's been on the team since it was founded in 1997. "It's become like a family on the team and with other teams that we come to know. It's just such a great game, so much better than what you see today."

While many of the rules and vernacular has changed in the nearly 200 years for the game, three Old-Time baseball teams teleported the crowd to when the game was a friendly competition between gentlemen.

Two local New York-based teams, the Atlantic Baseball Club and the Gothams, and one from New Jersey, the Flemington Neshanock, played two games apiece as part of the three-team day.

They donned old-style uniforms and played by 1864 rules and customs. This meant catching any ball on one bounce was an out, strikers (batters) and hurlers (pitchers) were "warned" first by umpires before calling balls and strikes, and a ball struck foul was actually not a strike.

And of course, no gloves were used.

"This is the ideal way to play," said Dean "Dreambucket" Emma, who lives in Smithtown. "It's friendly to the other team. You play hard, but you play right. Everybody is honest for the most part."

The Atlantic Club won both of their games, while the Gothams lost. Flemington went 1-1, but the scores didn't matter.

"Everything seems the same, but is different than what you learned as a kid," said spectator Gary Roert. "Catching the ball on one bounce is unique, but you can see why they would eventually change that. It's fun to see it played this way."

All three squads have rich historical roots. The New York-based Gothams played home games on Staten Island and claims that the oldest definitively identified baseball photograph is of the 1856 Gotham Club. In the 1860s, the team featured three of the sport's stars: Candy Cummings and brothers George and Harry Wright.

The original Neshanock were established in 1866 and made up largely of the town's prominent constituents. The team's website states that they once lost a game 77-25. The Flemington team resurfaced in 2001 under the direction of Bradley "Brooklyn" Shaw.

The local Atlantics were founded in 1855 and quickly became one of the country's premier teams. According to its website, the team's finest moment came on June 14, 1870, when they handed the Cincinnati Red Stockings, baseball's first all professional team, its first loss in two years. They were also a member of the National Association, the first professional league.

Years later, thanks to dedicated baseball historians, new generations of the Atlantics, Gothams and Neshanock are eager to pass on such history to fans. But of course, they're playing because they love it.

"When I started playing 10 years ago, I had no idea what the rules or the customs were, or how uncomfortable these uniforms were to wear, but now we get a taste of it," said Anthony "TC" Cannino. "The camaraderie that the guys have is like a brotherhood. To us we're a family and we're here to have fun."