GRAHAMSVILLE, NY — On Sunday, September 8, vintage base ball fans were treated to an exhibition of the game as it used to be played by the Rules of 1864. The Mountain Athletic Club of Fleischmanns squared off against the Connecticut Base Ball Club of Hartford.

The Fleischmanns Mountain Athletic Club (MAC) was founded in 1895 by Julius and Max Fleischmann, sons of the yeast magnate from Cincinnati, OH. In 2020, the site of the original base ball field was listed on the National Registry of Historic Places in celebration of the club’s 125th anniversary.

In 2007, MAC was revived to “carry on a baseball tradition in Fleischmanns, NY since 1895.” In the words of Honus Wagner, a 1936 Hall of Famer, “There ain’t much to bein’ a ball player—if you’re a ball player.”

On the other side of the field, the Connecticut Base Ball Club of Hartford is a relative newcomer to the world of recreating vintage base ball. It was founded in 2017 as a “throwback to the Yale College teams of the 1880s.”

In the “play of the game,” from the Constitution State team, Owen Brown slashed an opposite field three-run homer over the short field to right to end a nine-run in the fourth inning for the Connecticuts, on the way to winning 20-8.

The game was called by Jim Wegrzyn, billed as a “seasoned arbiter” from the Hudson Valley, with over 20 years calling the shots as an umpire for games from Little League to college baseball.

The players from Fleischmanns: Andrew “Crutches” Krutz, Collin “Stumpy” Miller, Todd “Moonshine” Pascarella, Carlos “Kid” Santiago, Archie “Sawmill” Biruk, Cody “Coco” Conrad, Josh “Jaybird” Cohen, Chrissy “Showtime” Skubish and Butch Wojurtski.

Connecticut: Drew “Aces” Moran, Owen “OB” Brown, Brett “Gooch” Barry, Andres “Andele’” Conde, Christopher “Grit” Moran, Jeff “Pinetar” Kornhaas, Chuck Cazerelli, Adam “Grabber” Grabowski and Dave “Duke” Hurtgen.

Moments before the game started, Pinetar Kornhaas, a player with the Connecticut Base Ball Club of Hartford, took a few moments to show this sports scribbler how a bat from the early days of baseball differs from the sticks used today. He picked up a mighty piece of lumber, similar to one used by Shoeless Joe Jackson in 1919.

“It was a big bat for the day,” he explained. “So we’re playing a great game with all of this stuff today.”

The thrilling exhibition of vintage base ball at the Grahamsville Fairgrounds was sponsored by the Time and the Valleys Museum, a 1930s Catskill farm located in historic Grahamsville, NY. The museum’s stated mission focuses on the future of “supporting and promoting watershed protection and access to clean water for all.”

For information about vintage base ball and the Mountain Athletic Club of Fleischmanns, visit the club on Facebook/Instagram or email www.macvintagebaseball.org.