Baseball Players to Relive the 1800s

It’s baseball season at the Oatlands Plantation this weekend and three teams from the Mid Atlantic Vintage Baseball League will play a double header during on Sunday.

The Loudoun Preservation Society will host the first annual event, which will follow the rules and customs of the 1860s. All of the uniforms and equipment will be authentic replicas and games will be played in an open area without gloves, helmets or catching gear.

“We’re not going to have a PA system and there’s no play by play or anything like that," said Loudoun Preservation Society President Lori Kimball. "The players do talk to the fans so it’s a bit of an interactive game. Back in those days it was a social event, typically on a Sunday and people would just come and sit on the ground or stand and watch the game.”

According to Kimball, the Oatlands Plantation does have a bit of history when it comes to the American game.  Conrad Powell “Nick” Carter, grandson of George Carter, who began construction on the Oatlands mansion in 1804, was a standout player at the University of Virginia and later pitched professionally for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1908.

After his short-lived major league career, Carter played on various minor league teams for five more years. In 1925 he coached in the Florida League and in 1929 the West Texas League. He died in Grasonville, MD, in 1961 and is buried at Wye Mills Cemetery in Talbot County, MD.

Sunday’s event will be a great opportunity to celebrate Carter and the game of baseball, Kimball said, and she anticipates at least 1,500 people to attend.

“It’s a very family friendly event and I’m looking forward to the recreation of baseball here in Loudoun,” Kimball said. “I just think it’s a unique event and a way to see baseball as it was originally played.”

The Potomac Nine of Washington DC, the Chesapeake Nine of Baltimore and the Elkton Eclipse Base Ball Club will play three matches starting at 11 am, 1 and 3 pm.
Food vendors, merchants, informational booths and other activities will be available for everyone who attends. The Loudoun Hounds will also be in attendance including local author Jack Barrett, who recently published, "A History of Loudoun County Baseball 1869-1987”.

The event will take place this Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., at Oatlands Historic House and Gardens in Leesburg. It’s suggested that everyone brings a chair or blanket to sit on. No pets or alcohol are allowed on the event fields. Admission is $20 per car, motorcycle, van, truck or RV and $50 per bus. All proceeds from 19th Century Base Ball Day will go toward LPS’s Grant Program.