Play Ball 19th-Century Style

June 18, 2011

One of Hoboken’s “100 Firsts” is hosting the first officially recorded, organized “base ball” game played under Alexander Joy Cartwright Jr.’s rules, on June 19, 1846. According to historical records, the New York Nine defeated Cartwright’s Knickerbockers, 23 to 1, in four innings at Hoboken’s Elysian Fields, which were located near the Hudson River, about where the former Maxwell House Plant was located.

The Museum will commemorate the event again this year with a re-creation of a mid-19th century game, on Saturday, June 18, at 1 p.m. at Stevens Institute of Technology’s Dobbelaar Baseball Field. This year, one of those teams will be a new team of Hoboken volunteers, who will learn how to play by 1873 rules for a competitive match with the Flemington Neshanocks. Anyone interested in playing on the Hoboken side should contact the Museum at 201-656-2240.