On the weekend of Aug. 3 and 4, the Cornshuckers Base Ball Club from Canton, Mich. will travel 600 miles east to test their baseball acumen with the three clubs of the Delaware County Vintage Base Ball Association. First up will be a match at 11 a.m. Saturday with the Polecat Base Ball Club featuring the Hamden Nine at the Crawford Field on Launt Hollow Road in the hamlet of Hamden, where baseball was played as far back as 1825. Climbing further eastward over the mountains on Saturday afternoon, the Cornshuckers will descend into the village of Fleischmanns for a 4 p.m. match with the Mountain Athletic Club at the historic M.A.C. Grounds where the era of play will be 1895 - a first ever for the Cantonites who primarily play an 1867 rule set. Food and drink will be available for purchase from Catskill Hot Dogs.
To round out the barnstorming trip on Sunday at 10 a.m., the Bovina Dairymen will host the ‘Shuckers at Creamery Field just west of Bovina Center for what is expected to be a very exciting match with both teams coming off four-game sweeps at the Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival. During the nineteenth century, New York’s “Blue Laws” prohibited games on Sundays, but these men will need an early start before departing the Empire State. What is guaranteed is that they will bring with them the finest competitive spirit and sportsmanship to display. The Cornshuckers are a collection of some of the finest athletes in the vintage baseball circuit having captured big wins at every major festival in the vintage baseball world coast to coast and border to border. A full schedule of all the DCVBBA team is online at delcovintagebaseball.org.
