St. Croix Base Ball Club


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ABOUT THE ST. CROIX B.B.C.	ABOUT VINTAGE BASE BALL	2007 PARTICIPANTS
2007 PUBLIC EVENTS	2007 GAME RECORD	2007 PHOTOGRAPHS

About the Saint Croix Base Ball Club.

In December 1997 the Quicksteps, a Twin Cities vintage base ball club, challenged the Washington County Historical Society to a match game of 1858 rules base ball (to follow the vernacular of the day, we use two words). WCHS accepted and decided to revive the Saint Croix Base Ball Club to defend the honor of the St. Croix Valley and the National Pastime. (See “The Original Club” and ‘What is Saint Croix?” for more information.) Through the sponsorship of Andersen Windows, the Saint Croix base ball nine again took to the diamond as part of Lumberjack Days 1998.

The group that played in the first St. Croix Base Ball Club game in 1998. Click on image for a larger view.

The vintage base ball matches played in Minnesota essentially emulate the game that would have been played after the 1857 nine inning rule took effect and prior to the 1864 rule change that changed the one-bound out rule starting in 1865. The minor rule variations that took place between these years are sometimes open to debate. A stealing rule, and occasionally other rules and conventions are agreed to prior to a match. Vintage clubs around the country do not necessarily play the exact same 1860 game because of variations that go beyond the 38 sections in the rule set. The 1860 “New York Rules” game that the St. Croixs follow was also played by Civil War soldiers during times of leisure, which helped to make it a pastime for the entire nation.

To learn more about the Washington County Historical Society vintage base ball program, contact WCHS Executive Director Brent Peterson by calling 651/439-5956 or by e-mail: brent@wchsmn.org

The 1860 base-ball rules that the St. Croix Base Ball Club follows.