The Summit Historic Society’s third annual Classic Baseball Sport is ready to happen Aug. 27, persevering with an extended historical past of baseball in Summit County.
From the early days as a mining and farming group all through to right this moment, baseball (or softball) has been an enormous a part of leisure time within the county. Very like right this moment’s summer season league softball video games, baseball groups within the early days of Summit County have been organized by cities, companies and any native teams that needed to get out and play. On the Dillon facet of the county, this usually meant farmers and native enterprise employees getting collectively to play at any time when the chance introduced itself. An 1886 commercial within the Summit County Journal even reveals the Montezuma baseball workforce providing to play any workforce, anytime in change for “three kegs of beer.”
Probably the most organized groups even grew to incorporate uniforms as a part of their setup. These uniforms weren’t the breathable light-weight gear you see professionals carrying right this moment, however have been usually product of wool and may very well be cumbersome on very popular or wet days.
For a lot of groups, this meant pinning a emblem on gown shirts whereas others would accumulate for brand spanking new uniforms yearly. In Breckenridge, the Fireman’s Ball would usually embody a donation bucket the place residents of the city may donate funds to the workforce for uniforms, tools and to assist with journey bills. Being alongside the railroad helped to ensure each Breckenridge and Leadville had a daily inflow of kit {and professional} gamers.
For the Summit Excessive College Classic Baseball Sport, groups shall be taking part in by 1864 guidelines, which could have some surprises for followers of right this moment’s video games. For one factor, when hitting, a participant is out if the fielder catches the ball on the fly or off of 1 hop. The ball also can nonetheless be thought-about in play if it flies into the stands. That means, if you happen to catch a foul ball on the sport, test with the fielders earlier than handing it off to the closest kiddo for a memento.
The Classic Baseball Sport is free to attend and shall be performed at 1 p.m., Aug. 27, at Rainbow Park in Silverthorne. There aren’t any bleachers for the sport so convey your chairs or blankets. As a fundraiser for Summit Historic Society, concessions, beer and nonalcoholic drinks shall be obtainable for buy. For extra data on the sport, go to SummitHistorical.org.
