Batter Up! Vintage Baseball Comes to Bowie

Before there were the Nationals, the Orioles and even before the Baysox, Bowie still had baseball.

During the 1930s and ‘40s, teams formed in Huntington City and residents challenged each other to friendly competitions. Blacksox Park in Mitchellville was home to the Mitchellville Tigers and the Washington Blacksox, African-American teams that challenged others throughout the county.

With a nod to the national pastime’s deep roots in Bowie, the city’s Historic Properties Division is taking a step back in time and bringing vintage baseball to the city. Teams from the Chesapeake and Potomac Vintage Baseball Club, which play by 19th-century rules with period-authentic equipment and uniforms will take to Huntington South Field at 2 p.m., Sept. 25. The game is free and open for spectators.

“We play by 1865 rules,” said Howard Berkof, a player and the club’s general manager. “No one will be wearing baseball gloves or catcher’s mitts or anything like that.”

In addition to playing barehanded, “ballists,” as players were called in the Civil War era, wear period uniforms and pitch underhanded.

There are some other rules that make vintage baseball different from the modern game, Berkof said.

“It was a different game back then. The objective was to put the ball in play … It wasn’t about trying to strike you out," he said.

Pam Williams, city of Bowie Historic Property Manager, said the game will be a fun way to bring history to life at a time when many in Bowie are looking back.

“I just thought it would be a really fun thing to do. Baseball has deep roots in Bowie,” she said. “With the Levitt 50 year [anniversary], we’ve taken a lot of looks backward and even after 2012, we’re not going to stop. There’s just really cool and interesting history here and baseball is a part of that. The Baysox are stepping into some historic shoes.”

Always a huge baseball fan, Berkof said he first got involved in vintage baseball because of the purity of the game and the convenience of weekend matches. But the old-style sport attracts all types of people and all ages. Players range from teenagers to people in their 60s or older, he said.

“Members come from all walks of life,” he said. “There are real diverse folks who come for the love of the game.”

The game takes place at 2 p.m., Sept. 25, at Huntington South Field, located on Route 564, just off Route 197. The game is free, but Williams suggests bringing chairs. For more information, call 301-809-3089 or email museumevents@cityofbowie.com.