Oxford County site of first recorded baseball game 175 years ago
By Mark Schadenberg
BEACHVILLE – As we all know Abner Doubleday invented
baseball near Cooperstown, New York.
Right?
Wrong
It’s been well documented that Beachville in Oxford
County was the site of the first recorded baseball game in 1838. The publication noting the event was Sporting Life and a story written by Dr Adam Ford.
After doing some quick math, it’s apparent that 2013
marks 175 years since Canada’s rounders creation.
Check out www.beachvilledistrictmuseum.ca/baseball
or read the links below for details on how the local shrine will honour this anniversary
over two different weekends – May 25 – 26 and June 1 – 2 – starting daily at 10
a.m. Admission will be $5 per person or $10 for a family.
The batter was called a knocker and you could earn an out
by hitting a base runner with the ball between the bases – that was called a
plugging. There were also four bases plus a different home plate.
The game may have resembled cricket as much as baseball, however,
it was the forerunner to the game we see the Blue Jays attempting to perfect.
Local history of all angles is important to measure and
remember.
The Beachville museum has invited several nostalgia teams,
including the Woodstock Actives and London Tecumsehs replica squads, to compete
on those weekends. Woodstock’s sister city from Sylvania, Ohio has an
old-fashioned team which I believe is called the Swamp Frogs.
The committee will also borrow memorabilia from the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame in nearby St. Marys to augment their on-going
display.
For details, dial (519) 423-6497.
By the way, the Beachville museum is on that main street
of Beachville (Beachville Road or Road 9) just west of the intersection at County Road 6,
so it’s just moments off the 401.
The museum has many other scheduled programs and planned
shows, so keep them in mind for your southern Ontario spring and summer
excursions.
See:
or: Woodstock Sentinel link:
http://www.woodstocksentinelreview.com/2013/04/04/beachville-district-museum-will-celebrate-the-175th-anniversary-of-the-first-recorded-baseball-game-in-north-america-in-late-may-and-early-june
Just
another reason to move to Oxford County:
Mark Schadenberg
Sales Representative
Royal LePage Triland Realty
757 Dundas St, Woodstock
www.wesellwoodstock.com
(519) 537-1553, cell or text
Email: mschadenberg@rogers.com
Twitter: markroyallepage
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