Love Baseball? Come See It Played By 1864 Rules

WALL, NJ — First pitches are being thrown at baseball stadiums around the country this weekend. But have you ever been curious about the game's beginnings?

History buffs and baseball fans can get a front-row seat to what those old games looked like as the Monmouth Furnace Base Ball Club (the sport's name was two words in the 19th century) takes the field Saturday, April 1 at Allaire State Park in Wall.

It is the first of a dozen games scheduled in the coming months involving the Monmouth Furnace team.

The Monmouth Furnace Base Ball Club is comprised of Shore-area residents. They will face the Neshanock of Flemington at 11 a.m., re-enacting the way the national pastime was conducted in its early years.

“We have good old-fashioned fun by making history come alive on the diamond with our bare hands,” said Russ McIver, the team captain. “We catch without gloves, use wood bats and we wear long-sleeved shirts and cravats (ties). Although pitches must be thrown underhand, it's an exciting, fast-paced game.”

The local team is named Monmouth Furnace because the Historic Village at Allaire was an iron-making “factory town” in the 1800s. Today it is a living history museum with guides in period clothing who take visitors through authentically restored buildings, McIver said. There will be no admission charge for the park and the opening-day game on April 1.

Vintage squads from other states consider Allaire hallowed ground. It was the spring training site for the 1898 Brooklyn major league team that later became the Dodgers.

On April 22 the Monmouth Furnace squad will participate in a vintage “base ball” tournament on Long Island, vying for the New York-New Jersey Cup. At another historic gathering, it will face the New York Mutual Base Ball Club in Neshaminy, Pennsylvania, on April 30.

“Our next local game will be at Monmouth Battlefield State Park in Freehold during the Spirit of the Jerseys festival on May 13th,” McIver said. “We'll be competing against the Flemington team and vintage clubs from Trenton and Hoboken.

“Our sporting gentlemen will be home at Allaire on May 20th to play the Rising Sun Base Ball Club of Maryland.” he continued. “The next day, May 21st, a contest against the Diamond State team will take place at Fort DuPont, Delaware.”

The Monmouth Furnace club will play the next three weekends in the Shore region: a rematch against the New York Mutuals June 11that the Parker House in Little Silver, June 17th versus the Hoboken Nine at Longstreet Farm in Holmdel, and against a team comprised of Civil War re-enacters during their encampment at Allaire on June 18th.

Governors Island, near Manhattan, will be the site of a game August 19th with the New York Gothams. Then Monmouth Furnace will travel to Maryland on September 2nd to compete in a tournament for the Mason-Dixon Cup. The Allaire team will finish its season in Keansburg on October 8th by facing the New York Gothams again.

The Monmouth Furnace team is seeking a few more more volunteers to play in its games this season. Current club members are from Ocean, Monmouth and other counties – and they range from teenagers to senior citizens. Additional information is available from McIver at 732-859-7643 or furnace@monmouth.com.

Photo courtesy of Monmouth Furnace Base Ball Club