Bethpage festival

The Grays had a triumphant weekend at the 10th annual Vintage Base Ball Festival in Old Bethpage, New York. The festival is held on two beautiful fields in the birthplace of vintage base ball, and serves as a sort of family reunion for teams across the northeast. Though there is no formal championship at this wonderful event, the Grays won all four games they played, and demonstrated to all observers that they can still be a mighty force.

The team's two Saturday games were played by 1884 rules. The simplest way to win an 1884 game is to have a great pitcher and a great catcher to hold him. Check and check. Scott Olson pitched both games and Gililigan Faria caught for a total of sixteen grueling innings each. In the first game, they beat the Providence Game Hens 9 to 5, a well-played game that was marred only by the serious disablement of two Hens, one of whom fractured his leg in a third-base collision. We wish him the quickest possible recovery. His place was taken by hard-hitting Brian Sheehy of the Beaneaters, however, so the Grays did not profit from the Hens' misfortune. In the second game, Olson took the ball against the Elizabeth Athletic Club, who are perhaps as evenly matched with the Grays as any team could be. The Grays struggled with Flanagan's left-handed rising submarine pitches, but Olson and Faria were invincible and won the game by a score of 2 to 1, one of the great defensive battles the Grays have ever fought. Both teams deserved to win.

Has there ever been a pair of vintage ballists who have played together for as long and as brilliantly as Scott Olson and Gilligan Faria? Olson has distinguished himself at every spot on the diamond and has been called the most powerful hitter in vintage base ball. Gilligan is, of course, the master catcher, and impresses every observer from veteran to novice with his pitch-blocking and throwing. They have both been among the greatest players in the game for ten years now, playing in nearly every game of a grueling schedule. The Miklich-Jordan duo of the Mutuals would be the strongest competition for the honor that this writer is familiar with. However, our vote is for the two modest men from Bristol, Rhode Island. Alongside Charlie Dryer and Brian Travers, who have been with the Grays nearly as long, the team has counted on star performance at the key positions (pitcher, catcher, first base, and shortstop) for many years now. They have each played in at least 200 games for the Grays. Without slighting the contributions of many other fine players, this core is the main reason why the Grays have been able to compete with the best teams in the sport so consistently for so many years.

While Saturday's games spotlighted Olson and Gilligan, Sunday's games were a true team effort. The first game was against the new Bridgeport Orators team by 1864 rules. The Grays won 9-2, scoring most of those runs late in the game. The Orators look to have a bright future on the ball field, though it has not quite arrived. They are young, athletic, play with great respect for the game and its history, and most importantly they field nicely without gloves. Batting in a bound-rules game is a distinct skill, and these lads will soon translate their long fly balls into stinging line drives. The second game was a victory over the Hartford Dark Blues by 1876 rules. Since the previous week, the Dark Blues were bolstered by the return of their captain and star Greg Franks, and also filled out their ranks with three of the Bridgeport players. They took an early lead over the Grays, and after seven innings the Grays lead was only 9-8, but the Grays drove their horses hard in the final innings to win 16-8. Every one of the Grays earned their salary in these Sunday games: Captain Dryer with tricky underhand pitching, Dusel and Lucas with zesty slugging, Hoffman with several pretty catches in left, Travers with some fancy scoops at first base, McClellan with several rolling bound catches behind the plate, Duggan with the catch of the day at shortstop, Stattler with a couple of his old-fashioned fair-foul hits, and Eric Olson acquitting himself well in the unfamiliar territory of centre field until a warren of rabbit holes caught his ankle and ended his afternoon.

Thus ended a fine festival. Many thanks as usual to Mssrs. Fesolowich, Miklich, Jordan, Monti, Higham, and all the other members of the Bethpage base ball community who umpired, scheduled, raked, and hauled water to make this festival live up to its longstanding reputation as a highlight of the summer.

Noted in passing:

Ken Schlapp's Gothams looked like they have been doing some recruiting, pulling off a decisive victory. But were those new recruits really "Dean the Dream" and "Flash" of the Atlantics earning extra pay on their off day, or just look-alikes?

Old-time base ball cranks were glad to see old Mutuals star Tom "Kid Speed" Heinlein pitching for a local team. He was thought to be permanently sidelined with back troubles, but he looked spry beating out an infield single in his halcyon form. He may be no kid at this point, but "Sir Speed" still fits nicely.

Base ball historian David Nemec was on hand peddling his collected works; his great "The Beer and Whiskey League" occupies a prominent place on the shelves of many ball-players. He was also offering a work of fiction, "Early Dreams," which tells the story of a journeyman player in 1884. Time permitting, a review will follow.

Mike Paes of the Bulldog Bat Company was also on hand, showing off his fine craftsmanship as well as taking the field with his nine, the Newtown Sandy Hooks. He talks of entering the base ball manufacturing realm.

The annual cook-out was held at the ball-grounds this year, rather than at a players' home. This was probably done to thwart the Providence nine's annual dominance at the horseshoe pit.

The Neshanock club of Flemington looked stylish in their new floppy caps. Captain Shaw is said to keep a small rodent under his hat, who helps him in his field decisions.

Luck was not with the Game Hens. After their tough loss to the Grays, they lost very close games to Elizabeth and the gritty Glen Head Zig Zags. A handful of runs would have given them a sweep.

The Eclipse club of Elkton, Maryland once again took the prize for the longest journey to Bethpage.