Javier Herrera and Dan Blanchard thought an old-fashioned baseball game would be a fun way to celebrate Independence Day in the neighborhood.
Eight years later, Springfield Throwback Baseball is synonymous with the holiday, drawing local food trucks and up to 500 people both in and out of Springfield.
Residents on the east and west side of the neighborhood, divided by Main Street, play against each other on Klutho Park’s baseball field in a 1906-style game. Complete with a wooden scoreboard, early 1900s baseball uniforms, bats, baseballs (called deadball for its softer core and loose weaving) and gloves, the Westside Giants and Eastside Reds square off in the yearly nine-inning game played by modern baseball rules.
While there is a little neighborhood rivalry — the Reds have won six of the July 4 games while the Giants just clinched their second win this year — the focus of the game is fun. Herrera, who has organized the event since the first game in 2007, says that the nature of baseball gives people at any skill level a chance to play.
The two teams, made up of as many as 20 players on each side, range from ages 18 to the mid-60s, with equally varying baseball experience.
“It’s fun. It brings everybody out and it really rejuvenates the area,” Herrera said.
Putting the first game together with Blanchard was easier than Herrera expected. Already playing an early-1900s football game on Thanksgiving with neighbors, called the Turkey Bowl, he had 40 people interested in the baseball version.
Online he found throwback baseball leagues, along with sites that sold early baseball uniforms and equipment. The rest was neighborhood enthusiasm, which only grew after the first game. Every year, teams are put together on a first-come, first-serve basis, with the first pick given to those who played the year before.
After Blanchard moved to New York, Springfield Preservation and Revitalization stepped in to help Herrera organize and coordinate with the city to get the correct permits, ensure the grass is cut and the field prepared, as well as to advertise the game to the neighborhood.
M.J. Easterling, Eastside player and manager of the Eastside Reds, says that other neighborhoods such as San Marco and Riverside have been attracted by the game. The San Marco Preservation Society has formed its own throwback baseball teams that want to play against Springfield. Easterling, SPAR president Bill Hoff and others welcome the idea of bringing in other neighborhoods, but the focus will still be on the Reds and Giants.
The event has even blossomed to include Springfield kids; the recently formed Springfield T-Ball League played just before the July 4 old-time game.
“It’s kind of a unique event. They can come down here, watch the game, relax, eat, watch the fireworks here afterwards,” Hoff said. “I think a lot of it, too, is not just watching the game, but for the people who come, it’s hanging out here with a few hundred of your friends and neighbors, too.”
Tiffanie Reynolds: (904) 359-4450
