Vintage ‘base ball’ games at Meadowcroft turn the clock back to the 1860s
Brad Hundt/Observer-Reporter
JEFFERSON-Monday through Friday, Alex Schreckengost handles financial issues at an insurance agency.
On select weekends, though, he becomes “Wheels” Schreckengost and chases balls in the outfield as a member of the Somerset Frosty Sons of Thunder, a “base ball” squad that turns back the clock to the infancy of what we now know as baseball and plays by rules that were hatched in the 1860s.
“It’s competitive, but it’s friendly,” Schreckengost said. “There are different strategies compared to traditional baseball.”
Schreckengost and his teammates in the Frosty Sons of Thunder were at the Meadowcroft Rock Shelter and Historic Village for three vintage “base ball” games, along with the Canal Fulton Mules of Ohio and the Mountain Stars of Addison. The games unfolded just two weeks before the Ohio Cup Vintage Base Ball Festival, which will see 25 vintage “base ball” teams converge on the Ohio History Center in Columbus for two days of contests.
The 1860s rules of “base ball” have players catching and throwing balls without gloves. Players were also referred to as “ballists” 160 years ago; a batter was called a “striker,” and a fly ball caught after one bounce resulted in the “striker” being called out.
“Base ball” games have been happening every summer at Meadowcroft for at least the last 10 years, according to Dave Scofield, director of the Meadowcroft Rockshelter and Historic Village. He explained that Meadowcroft’s mission is to tell the story of what has happened in the area over the last 19,000 years, and recreation is a part of that story.
Ned Williams, a Washington resident and baseball enthusiast, was there for the first game on Saturday.
“It’s just a remarkable thing,” Williams said. “Baseball is such an interesting game … It really touches some deep roots in people.”