Old time baseball

From 1878 through 1885, the booming industrial capital of Rhode Island hosted one of the best teams in baseball history: the Providence Grays of the National League. The original Grays won pennants in 1879 and 1884 -- and in the latter year, captured baseball's first World Series, sweeping the New York Metropolitans.

For the last decade, a hardy band of local men has been giving local fans a flavor of major-league baseball in that age by dressing up in replica gray uniforms trimmed with sky blue, authentically made of wool ("Hot as hell," shortstop Mike Duggan observes), and playing ball under 1884 National League rules, with 1884 equipment.

That means playing barehanded -- all but the catcher, who works during the game with modified hand gloves. It means using exact replicas of a big, heavy 1880s bat stamped with the name Burlingame. The original was produced in Providence at a woodshop on 41 Harrison St., not far from the original ball park on Messer Street.

From the Providence Journal. Missed the exhibition game the other weekend, but it's good to get a little background before catching the next.

Posted by David on June 17, 2008 9:29 PM