“One man dead!”
Today, the family and I headed out to Kennekuk County Park to see the Vermilion Voles play some vintage base ball. The St Louis Perfectos complete with their red socks and all, came to play.
It was a beautiful day and when we arrived, I was pleased to see that there was a good crowd, so much so that we needed to park out by the road. No complaints… I’m glad the Voles are getting some attention.
Speaking of attention, the Voles were getting some media attention today. A cameraman from the local news station (Channel 3) was out there getting some good footage of them.
Today they had a doubleheader and we were able to stay for the first game. As for the game itself, it was probably one of the best vintage base ball games that I’ve seen. When we arrived somewhere around the 3rd frame, it was 4-3 Voles. I heard later that the Voles had never beaten the Perfectos before so I bet the Voles were pretty excited.
The Perfectos tallied an ace in the 7th to tie the game to put it in extras. Captain Jim “Weed Eater” Knoblauch told me that was the first time they had a extra-inning game at Kennekuk Park.
Two innings later, the Perfectos hit a 3-run double in the top of the inning. The Voles managed to put to men on base in the bottom of the inning but were left stranded. Perfectos won 7-4.
A good game by all gentleman (and gentlelady)!
Here are few of the photos I got today:
One thing I remember about the Perfectos from last year is their insanely red socks.
Voles’ catcher Rita “Hustle” Hostetler gets friendly with the opposition.
I swear, this cigar never left the mouth of this Perfecto ballist. Whether he was batting or playing catcher, it stayed there.
This two-parter shows a dandy play by the Voles’ third-sacker.
I thought this gentleman bore a resemblance to Morrie from the Dick Van Dyke Show. I’m not laughing though. He was 5 for 5 with 5 rbis. Well done, sir!
Between games, Ed “Hambone” Hamiliton, who is the tallykeeper for the Voles, led the fans in a rousing song of “Buffalo Gals”.
When we got home tonight, I overheard my 8-year old daughter singing it to herself. Well played, Hambone!
Hambone at his normal station.
You’ll find lots more photos from today at the Photo Gallery.
Once again, we had a really good time. Unfortunately, the Voles couldn’t pull it out but it was a really good game with some really good defense (see the two photos above). Hopefully, the Voles came out the victor in game two.
If you’re in the East Central Illinois area, come out to a Voles game sometime. You’ll find their schedule on the Voles’ web site. If you don’t live in the area, find a vintage base ball team around you. A good place to start is the Vintage Base Ball Association directory. Maybe there’s a team around you and you don’t know it.