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Celebrate 100 Years on Saturday

09/17/2014, 9:45am EDT
By Mike Mazzolla

1864 Historical Re-Enactment Game to Commemorate 100 Year Anniversary of Cameron Field

South Orange Recreation and the Historic Preservation Commission are presenting a 19th century baseball game on Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014, starting at noon at Cameron Field in South Orange. This is the 100th anniversary of the field "where legends played". Famous Yankee all-stars Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth and Whitey Ford played here as well as several Negro League stars including Josh Gibson of the Pittsburgh Crawfords. It has also been the venue for many local teams including Little League, School Teams and Adult Leagues. Period style uniforms and general sponsorship is being generously provided by Ed Ayuso and The Gateway Rental Residences. (Photo above, the South Orange Semi-professional Baseball Team, Circa 1929.) Part game, part show, part history lesson and all fun, the Flemington, NJ Neshanock Team will play against local volunteers in bare-handed baseball, wearing period uniforms and using rules from 1864 or 1873. The event will also include a short lesson on the history of the game and a recitation of “Casey at the Bat” as well as a few interesting surprise appearances. As New Jersey celebrates its 350th anniversary, this event also commemorates the state’s role in baseball history. Hoboken’s Elysian Fields was the location of the first officially-recorded game of organized baseball, on June 19, 1846, when the New York Nine beat the New York Knickerbockers, 23-1.


The recognition event and game is free and open to all and there will be an old-style food concession as well.

Come out and watch League Commissioners Michael Mazzolla, Tim Ritchie and Middlesex Twins manager David Micallef compete in this historical re-enactment game on Saturday, 1pm for the South Orange Villagers.

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