Kelleys Island History Blog

  BASE BALL RULES OF 1860 It was noted that the old rules of base ball were quite different than today’s rules, but many of the Customs remained the same. These Rules and Customs came from the Rules and Regulations of the Game of Base Ball Adopted by the National Association of Base-Ball Players March 14, 1860: The ball is pitched underhanded from anywhere behind the pitcher's line. The batsman must stand on or straddle a line through home plate. The pitcher must deliver the ball as requested by the batsman, who holds out the bat to indicate where the ball is to be sent. Pitches are not judged as balls or strikes, but the umpire may call a strike if the batsman persists in not swinging at well-pitched balls. The ball is judged fair or foul according to where it first touches the ground (people, structures, and trees don't count as the ground). Articles of clothing such as a hat or mittens may not be used to catch a ball. An out is declared if: A hit ball is caught on the fly ...

  This is one of the first references to baseball on Kelley’s Island. While organized baseball had been around for several years, 1869 marked the first year that a recognized all-professional baseball team took the field. An Ohio team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, was the first team to be openly paid a salary. They closed the 1869 season with a record 65 wins and no losses. This Ohio team fired up the baseball spirit of the islanders. January 1869 - “A few thoughts concerning Base Ball – The great game of American base ball has been having a ‘great run’ throughout the United States, ever since the greater excitement of the late war has terminated, say since or within the last three years. The ‘fever’ has not, until the present winter, reached the Island but it is now here in its most virulent form and the probabilities are that the Doctor will have all she can attend to unless those liable to be taken, exercise a great deal of caution during its prevalence. All the preliminary s...