Greenfield Historical Society will host vintage baseball contest Sept. 17

The Greenfield Historical Society will be hosting a vintage baseball game in celebration of its 50th anniversary at Oak Park Sept. 17 at 11 a.m.

Lenny Cornwell has been heading the project as he closes out his last year as president of the society, and the public team will be coached by Rob Hannings and former longtime ConVal baseball coach Mike Marschok.

They will be competing against Dirigo Vintage Base Ball Club of Maine, which competes across New England in a vintage baseball league and is a popular act in the region. The club is a nonprofit, educational team meant to educate the public on the traditions of baseball in its earliest days, as far back as 1861. Teams within the league play in traditional uniforms and use a “dead ball,” an early version of the modern baseball. Players also use thinner gloves or no gloves at all, in addition to several other rules practiced in previous eras of the sport.

Cornwell had wanted to bring the club to Greenfield for years after seeing the league featured on television. He was drawn to the historical accuracy as well as the ruggedness of the players.

“I’ve been wanting to do this for about five years or more because I ran it by the board and last year I called and I sent emails to a couple of teams and they said, ‘Sorry, we’re booked for the year,’ ” said Cornwell. “Channel 9 ‘Chronicle’ had them on and Channel 5 ‘Chronicle’ both had them on both the times they played; they were playing another team and the same vintage baseball leagues. The ones we saw, they didn’t even bother with gloves. It showed the guy’s broken fingers and, you know, taped up fingers and stuff like that.”

Sign-ups are currently open to the members of the public above age 18. Those interested should contact Cornwell at 603-547-2198. A practice schedule is yet to be determined and will be contingent on the obligations of those involved with the team.