Town Ball Rules
Town Ball Rules
Courtesy of Seamus Kearney (seamus@eris.cs.umb.edu):
Town Ball was a form of baseball played before the American Civil War. It was, I believe, one of two forms of baseball played by Union troops in the Civil War. It was called the Massachusetts Game (the other was the New York Game). There are several groups (for want of a better term I will call them living historians) who are playing Town Ball today.
Foremost are the Leatherstocking Baseball Club of Cooperstown, New York (where Doubleday did not invent baseball). Others are my group, the Commonwealth Comets; a HalseyHallSABR chapter group called the Minnesota Quicksteps; and a team in Ashfield, Mass. [Correction: the Quicksteps play by New York rules - ed.]
I am posting this to allow familiarization of Town Ball rules. If any groups coalesce around the rules and challenge the Commonwealth Comets, so much the better.
The rules for Town Ball are as follows:
(These rules are taken from a pamphlet published in 1992 by the Cooperstown Bat Company, Inc. and the Leatherstocking Base Ball Club of Cooperstown, New York. The rules were originally in "The Base Ball Players Pocket Companion" published in Boston in 1859 by Mayhew and Baker)
THE RULES OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GAME
(TOWN BALL)
as Adopted by the
Massachusetts Association of Baseball Players
Dedham, Massachusetts, May 13, 1858
1. The Ball must weigh not less than two, nor more than two and three-quarter ounces, avoirdupois. It must measure not less than six and a half, nor more than eight and a half inches in circumference, and must be covered with leather.
2. The Bat must be round, and must not exceed two and a half inches in diameter in the thickest part. It must be made of wood, and may be of any length to suit the striker.
3. Four Bases or Bounds shall constitute a round; the distance from each base shall be sixty feet.
4. The Bases shall be wooden stakes, projecting four feet from the ground.
5. The Striker shall stand inside of a space of four feet in diameter, at equal distance between the first and fourth Bases.
6. The Thrower shall stand thirty-five feet from and on a parallel line with the Striker.
7. The Catcher shall not enter within the space occupied by the Striker, and must remain upon his feet in all cases while catching the Ball.
8. The Ball must be thrown - not pitched or tossed - to the Bat, on the side preferred by the Striker, and within reach of his Bat.
9. The Ball must be caught flying in all cases.
10. Players must take their knocks in the order in which they are numbered; and after the first inning is played, the turn will commence with the player succeeding the one who lost on the previous inning.
11. The Ball being struck at three times and missed, and caught each time by a player on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. Or, if the Ball be ticked or knocked, and caught on the opposite side, the Striker shall be considered out. But if the Ball is not caught after being struck at three times, it shall be considered a knock, and the Striker obliged to run.
12. Should the Striker stand at the Bat without striking at good balls thrown repeatedly at him, for the apparent purpose of delaying the game, or of giving advantage to players, the referees, after warning him, shall call one strike, and if he persists in such action, two and three strikes; when three strikes are called, he shall be subject to the same rules as if he struck at three fair balls.
13. A player, having possession of the first Base, when the Ball is struck by the succeeding player, must vacate the Base, even at the risk of being put out; and when two players get on one Base, either by accident or otherwise, the player who arrived last is entitled to the Base.
14. If a player, while running the Bases, be hit with the Ball thrown by one of the opposite side, before he has touched the home bound, while off a Base, he shall be considered out.
15. A player, after running the four Bases, on making the home bound, shall be entitled to one tally.
16. In playing all match games, when one is out, the side shall be considered out.
17. In playing all match games, one hundred tallies shall constitute the game, the making of which by either Club, that Club shall be judged the winner.
18. Not less than ten nor more than fourteen players from each Club, shall constitute a match in all games.
19. A person engaged on either side, shall not withdraw during the progress of the match, unless he be disabled, or by the consent of the opposite party.
20. The Referees shall be chosen as follows: One from each Club, who shall agree upon a third made from some Club belonging to this Association, if possible. Their decision shall be final, and binding upon both parties.
21. The Tallymen shall be chosen in the same manner as the Referees.
FURTHER COMMENTARY FROM THE LEATHERSTOCKING BASE BALL CLUB
Here are some key differences between the 1858 Massachusetts Game and modern baseball:
There is no foul territory although certain ground rules may be in force to ensure the safety of spectators. Anytime the thrown ball touches the bat the ball is in play and the striker/runner is liable to be put out.
Four wooden stakes are used as the bases and these are set sixty feet apart in a square. The striker or batter stands in a four- foot-square space situated between the first and fourth stakes.
A ball caught on the fly is an out as in modern baseball, but in town ball the scout or fielder must remain on his feet after the catch. Diving catches are not permissible and the ball remains in play if the scout fails to stay on his feet.
The sides change place after one out
Runners must touch all four stakes in consecutive order (running counter-clockwise) to tally. However the runners are not obligated to take a direct course between the bases.
Runners may be put out by "plugging" or "soaking" them with the ball meaning the ball is thrown at the runners to put them out. If a thrown ball touches a runner while he is off a stake it is an out.
Tallies made prior to a catch or plug will be counted.
When an agreed-upon number of tallies is reached the match is declared for the side first to reach the goal, provided the sides have batted an equal number of times. Typically the tally goal is set at twenty-one.
A batter may strike out on three missed swings but only if the catcher missed the ball on the fly and remains on his feet. For this reason strikeouts are rare in town ball. (I cannot figure this rule. There must be something wrong with the wording. any opinions? SK)
The thrower or pitcher delivers the ball with an over-handed motion but at a slow speed and in a manner calculated to assist the striker in hitting the ball. The thrower was essentially a trigger to put the ball in play.
Well, there they are. Now you know some of the roots of the National Pastime.
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