What better way to celebrate the unofficial end of summer than a baseball tournament.
Out at the Ohio Village at the Ohio Historical Society, players took part in a 2-day event, but it's not the game many are used to seeing.
The Ohio Cup Vintage Base Ball Fest features 31 teams from eight different states and features the largest gathering of vintage base ball clubs in the nation.
"We enjoy the teams we play against. We enjoy the meals afterwards. We are truly vintage base ball players. The game is just part of the overall experience," Jim Basala, a player from Indiana said.
This is the 30th season for the Ohio Village Muffins, the home team.
It's one of the oldest vintage base ball programs in the country.
All teams wear authentic 1860 style uniforms, use wooden bats and follow some of the earliest known rules of baseball.
Alex Tornero of The Muffins explained, "We play by the 1860s rule and they are strikingly similar but there are some interesting differences. There's no called strikes or balls so you can stay at the plate as long as you want to in order to get the right pitch"
The Vintage ball players also do not wear gloves.
"The balls are a little softer. It's a slight bit bigger than a modern day baseball but it makes it a little harder. We're also allowed to catch the ball on the bounce, but it's not a manly way to catch the ball so, we try to catch it on the fly,” said Tornero
The Ohio Cup and the Muffins Base Ball Team is not for fun. It's also about living history.
The players interact with the spectators and talk to them about the historical aspects of the sport.
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