Fairfield Museum to host “Town Ball” and a Community Picnic

Bring dinner on Wednesday evening July 14th and join neighbors and friends at the Fairfield Museum and History Center’s old-fashioned, free community picnic and evening of Town Ball (different from Baseball), from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The evening is co-sponsored with FCBuzz.org and the Museum will be open to everyone for It’s a Hit! A Hometown View of Our National Pastime along with the Museum gift shop, which is carrying a diverse selection of baseball-related gifts. The exhibition is being made possible through a grant from the Connecticut Humanities Council and the generous sponsorship of GE, The Bank of Fairfield, Bridgeport Bluefish, WSHU Radio and Fairfield University.
The exhibition will be open through January 2, 2011 and includes a range of educational and community programs, like this Town Ball picnic.
“Since this is a community picnic and Town Ball is a “pick-up game,” anyone who wants to play is welcome,” said Central Connecticut State University historian and Town Ball buff Bruce Reinholdt. “This is a casual game with no foul territory. All struck balls are played. I will help organize and begin the game by throwing (pitching) the ball to the first several hitters. Once people get the hang of it, I’ll turn the throwing over to others and simply referee the game.
“I’ll explain about rounders, soaking and one-out, all out, and I will bring two reproduction balls that I will be borrowing from the Gunn Museum in Washington Depot, Conn. along with a couple of simple bats.”
Reinholdt pointed out that Town Ball is different from baseball, especially as we know baseball today. It was meant to be fun and is played much less competitively than modern baseball. “Town Ball takes no athletic prowess at all, so it can literally be played by everyone!” he added.
“Baseball is firmly embedded in American life and history, and even in our everyday language, and discovering how passion for the game became so widespread after the Civil War is fascinating,” said Adrienne Saint-Pierre, curator of the Fairfield Museum and History Center. “We want visitors to discover and understand the evolution of baseball and see how this region contributed to baseball’s rich history, built a sense of community and still does today with pro ball and area natives who have played in the major leagues.