Vintage baseball is rapidly growing in stature all across Michigan, but no community anywhere else has three of its own Vintage clubs the way Benton Harbor does. If you haven't been following the action, there's still time to get into the stands and scope out this amazingly entertaining action before the season concludes.
Benton Harbor is home base to the House of David Echoes, the Livery Brewers, and the Lil Fillies, one of only three Vintage Ladies clubs in all of Michigan. All three teams will see action in the week ahead, beginning with a classic match up on the other side of the state at mid-week. That's when the Lil Fillies, who have been working hard to hone their skills, will play baseball on the site of the old Tiger Stadium in a Gatling Gun match, where each of the ladies teams play in a combined game.
Since there are few opportunities to compete with their peers, the ladies join the Livery Brewers and the House of David Echoes every week for practice in addition to drills and practice sessions on their own. On Wednesday, September 28th, the Lil Fillies will play in a pre-game match of teams made up of Brewers and Fillies in order to get some field time under their belts prior to their outing at Navin Field, the former Tiger Stadium site. That pre-game scrub match with the "Billies"/"Frewers" will get under way at noon.
Back here at home, the Benton Harbor Livery Brewers will host the Hop Yard Classic Season Finale for the local Vintage Baseball clubs from South Haven, Paw Paw, and Benton Harbor next Saturday. There will also be an exhibition match starting at 1:30 that day, Saturday, October 1st, between the South Haven Peaches and Benton Harbor's Lil Fillies. Authentic pump organ music will accompany the action.
Saturday's Season Finale begins at 10:30am at the Hop Yard field located at Hall Park at 2nd Street & Highland Avenue in Benton Harbor pitting the Paw Paw Corkers against Benton Harbor's House of David Echoes. At noon, the Livery Brewers take on the South Haven Barkpeelers, followed by the exhibition match between the ladies teams at 1:30, and then the winners of the first two games will compete for the Hop Yard Classic trophy.
The play of 1858 Vintage Baseball marks the unofficial beginnings of the sport, and many clubs play by those rules while others play by 1860-to-1862 rules. There are subtle differences according to organizer Richard Rabbers, but all the Benton Harbor clubs play by the stricter 1858 rules. He argues that local Vintage play not only honors the origins of baseball, but the games provide great family fun and brings communities together "in a most gentlemanly and lady-like fashion." In fact, in glove-less stand up play between competitors, spectators are encouraged to join the fun by catching a foul tip and delivering the ball to the team of their choosing.
The umpire for the games is local historian Bob Myers who always provides interesting bits of history and entertainment, while Bob Catania plays rousing music on an antique pump organ when the weather permits.
