Vintage Base Ball National Festival in Gettysburg

Gettysburg, PA– A record 24 clubs from 11 states will converge on Gettysburg July 19-21st to compete in the 10th Annual Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival.  Vintage base ball’s most prestigious is coming back once again where 24 clubs will be competing in 48 matches over 2 days in this mid Summer classic.

Come out and bring your lawn chairs, blankets, picnic baskets and shade tents and watch base ball (2 words) played the same way it was in Central Pennsylvania in 1863.  Clubs will be using the same style uniforms and equipment and playing by the same rules and customs of the mid 19th century.

This year’s clubs come from as far away as Tennessee, Maine, and Michigan as well as some clubs who have been to all previous 9 events.  This years line up includes some of the finest 19th century base ball clubs in the nation.  Make sure you come and see these great clubs.  Here is the line up: from Rhode Island, the Providence Grays; the Dirigo BBC of Maine; the Liberty BBC of Connecticut; the Atlantic BBC of Brooklyn and the Eckford BBC of Brooklyn from New York; from New Jersey you can see the Flemington Neshanock and Liberty BBC of New Brunswick; Delaware’s entrant is the Lewes BBC;  the Phoenix BBC of East Nashville is representing Tennessee, the Bear Clan of Flint Rock and the Walker Tavern Wheels are coming from Michigan; Ohio’s clubs are the Monarch BBC of Moscow and the Great Black Swamp Frogs of Sylvania; from Maryland the Talbot Fair Plays, the Rising Sun Club, the Chesapeake Nine and the host Eclipse BBC of Elkton; and from Pennsylvania- the co-host Gettysburg Generals, the Keystone BBC of Harrisburg, the Allegheny Iron Sides, the Addison Mountain Stars, the Athletic BBC of Philadelphia, the Brandywine BBC of West Chester and the Mohican BBC of Kennett Square.

The 2018 edition of the Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival may have been a partial washout but that is not discouraging anyone from coming together next July 19-21 for the very special 10th Annual event in 2019!

If you are an established club and want to participate, contact us as soon as possible at info@GettysburgBaseBallFestival.com.  There are very limited spots and we are looking for national participation once again.  You are scheduled for 4 games over 2 days and we set up the schedule so there is plenty of time for sightseeing.  You will probably play against clubs you have never seen or haven’t played for a long time.  We’ll help you every step of the way if you want to come to town!

If you are a sponsor, a vendor, a member of the media, or a sutler, we’d love to hear from you.  We have all kinds of great ideas to make next year special and we want you to be part of it.  We are especially looking for Civil War era bands/musicians, Civil War era civilians (including medics, doctors, etc) as well as those who sell their 19th-century goods!  If you are a maker of uniforms, bats, caps, balls, or anything else to supply the vintage game, let us know.

If you want to partner with us in doing an event on the grounds in conjunction with us, we’d love to hear from you too.

We are looking forward to making the best 19th century base ball event in America in to a really special event for not only the fans who come out but also the participants!  We hope to hear from you!

Due to the terrible storms that came through yesterday and last night, for the safety of our fans and players, we have to cancel the festivities for Sunday. Thank you to everyone who came out yesterday in the challenging weather and we hope to see you next year in the third week of July for the 10th annual event!

The ninth edition of the Gettysburg National 19th Century Base Ball Festival kicks off this weekend with 20 clubs from all over the country converging on Adams County for this great Gettysburg Summertime Tradition!

While the main attraction is the 40 games that will take place on Saturday and Sunday at 965 Pumping Station Road using the rules of 1863, there are many other things to do during the weekend event.

Things get started at 6pm at the Gettysburg Rec Fields in the center of town with a kids clinic put on by the Gettysburg Generals vintage base ball club.  Following the clinic, the Generals with help from other clubs that are already in town, will take on the Gettysburg Little League Coaches in a game with rules and equipment from 1863.

Saturday morning games kick off at 8:30 on 5 fields and go on until about 5pm.  See players from all over America play using the same rules and customs and playing with the same style equipment and uniforms of the 1860s.

There will be many vendors there selling vintage base ball wares including bats, caps, balls and more.  There will also be local businesses set up giving out information about their companies and of course great ballpark fare for sale as well.  Of course you can bring your own picnic basket in and your own chairs and blankets to this totally free event!

Manny Sanguillen, former Pittsburgh Pirate great, will be signing autographs from 1-3pm on Saturday under the big top (appearance courtesy of Doubleday Inn, a 2018 Festival sponsor)

Also on Saturday, Lawrence Knorr, the author of Gettysburg Eddie will be in the big top signing and selling copies of his book.

Saturday night there will be a bar crawl sponsored by and benefiting LK5K.  Bracelets are $10 and available also at the Big Top.  Several Gettysburg establishments up and down Steinwehr Avenue will be providing specials for participants beginning at 5:30

Sunday morning, the games continue starting at 8:00am and continuing until about 4:30pm.  20 more games featuring clubs from Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, and Rhode Island will take place throughout the day.

The event is free (donations accepted!) and parking is provided by the Gettysburg Little League (donations appreciated).  See  you there!