Civil War Era Baseball is Being Played All Across New York

Baseball fans are getting ready for another thrilling season on the diamond.

With that being said, a local baseball league is also getting ready for their season, but they're playing by a different set of rules.

An old school set of rules. A really, really old set of rules. We're talking Civil War era rules. Have you heard of Vintage Baseball?

What is Vintage Base Ball?

The following photo made its way across my social media timeline recently, and to say I did a double take is an understatement.

Max Rainwater

The sepia filter and old school uniforms really grabbed my attention. Was there an old school baseball team that I've never heard about?

Sort of. We reached out to the original poster Max Rainwater, who told us he was part of a vintage base ball club. Naturally, I had a ton of a questions.

Rainwater explained that he plays for the Kingston Guard a vintage baseball team that plays with Civil War era rules. He tells us "We follow the rules set out by Beadle's Rule Book of 1864."

These rules are definitely very different from what we see today. Rainwater tells us:

The main difference between 21st century baseball and the style we play are: 1. No gloves, 2. A ball caught on one hope (or "bound") counts and an out (or "hand" in 1864 terminology), and 3. pitchers throw underhand, focusing more on trying to get batters (or "strikers) to hit the ball weakly rather than trying to get them to swing and miss."

Imagine Aaron Judge trying to catch a fly ball with no glove? (Insert joke here how he couldn't catch a routine fly WITH a glove in the World Series.)

Civil War Era Baseball Takes Over the Hudson Valley

Could the Hudson Valley be in its Civil War era? We learned that there have been a few leagues in play for the last few years.

Max tells us that there are a couple of "long-running vintage base ball clubs in the Catskills."

The Bovina Dairyment and the Mountain Athletic Club of Fleischmanns were the 2 clubs that inspired other clubs like the Saugerties Brickmakers and the Hamden Nine/ Delhi Polecats to get the ball rolling and bats swinging.

Don't Miss the Vintage Baseball in Kingston for the 2025 Season

The Kingston Guard play their home games at Herzog Field in Kingston Plaza right near the Catskill Mountain Railroad Station.

This season kicks off Sunday, June 1st (first pitch is TBD, but they usually start in the early afternoon.

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If you're interested in playing vintage baseball, all are welcome. They recommend attending a practice to "get used to the rules and barehand style of play" before getting into the game.

Email kingstonguardsbaseball@gmail.com, learn more at Kingstonguards.com or find them on Instagram @Kingstonguardsbaseball.

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