Tallies. Strikers. Behinds. Cranks. What are we talking about here? It’s the great American game of baseball, as played in its infancy during the Civil War era.
Tallies? That would be a run scored. And be sure to ring the tally bell behind home plate or the run doesn’t count. Strikers are batters. The behind? The catcher, of course. And the cranks are the fans. All these terms were batted around last weekend at the United Methodist Campground in Des Plaines, where two vintage baseball “club nines” faced each other.
The match pitted the Great Black Swamp Frogs from Sylvania, Ohio, against the Chicago Salmon from Mt. Prospect. The match was part of the campground’s 39th Country Fair, which also included a Civil War encampment, an arts and crafts show, a quilt show, a ladies’ tea and hay rides.
“This is a lot of fun,” said Jerry “The Yank” Petersen of Mt. Prospect, the Salmon’s third baseman. “With some of the different rules, you have to think a lot more when it comes to different situations. For instance, a fly ball caught on the first bounce is still an out. That took some getting used to. It’s fun to step back in time for a few hours.”
Shortly after, Petersen took his place at third base. A Swamp Frog striker swung his 60-ounce hickory bat and smashed a line drive at Petersen. The ball smacked off his hands, and the cranks let out a collective “ouch.” Petersen shook it off and got in position for the next striker.
“Honest” Jim Apel of Holland, Ohio, the game’s umpire and announcer, said there are about 30 vintage baseball teams from New York to Colorado. After last weekend’s game, the Swamp Frogs continued westward and played a game in Des Moines, followed by a game in Dyersville, Iowa.
Despite all of the excitement caused by the baseball match, Bill Steck of Villa Park wasn’t interested. Steck is the camp cook for the 10th Illinois Volunteers, and he was making a pot of chili over an open fire.
“Baseball? Who’s got time. I’ve got hungry men to feed,” he said with a laugh.
In case you’re keeping score at home, the final score was Swamp Frogs, 18 tallies, and Salmon, 13 tallies.
