The Lookout Mountain Vintage Base Ball Club and Lightfoot Club of Chattanooga played a pair of matches near Fort Oglethorpe's 6th Cavalry Museum. The historic version of the National Pastime is played with rules straight out of 1864.
Balls can be caught on the bounce, catching gloves are nonexistent, and ball/strike counts aren't even kept. The point of the game is to put the ball in play, and so all pitches are thrown softly underhand.
Anyone, of any age (over 18) and gender, can play the vintage game.
Score is kept, and there is an arbiter acting as a modern-day umpire. But calls are mostly made by the players themselves, and there is an emphasis on sportsmanship. For several hours on Saturday afternoon, balls were slapped around the grass without incident.
The teams also dressed in era-appropriate garb, which can be heavy and uncomfortably warm in the summer months. But on a blustery and chilly day such as Saturday, the uniforms were somewhat welcomed. While the score was kept and winning was the priority, Lightfoot captain Heath Farris and his glorious mustache said entertaining viewers and having fun was what the day was about.
"Don't fool yourself, because if you put 18 players on the field and we're keeping score, we all want to win and are competitive," Heath Farrris said. "But we're really here to put on an enjoyable show for the community, and it's all about respect."
More coverage to come in the next few weeks....
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