While on a walk through St. Louis's Lafayette Park this past weekend, we encountered a game of vintage base ball. There are four vintage base ball teams in St. Louis - the Saint Louis Brown Stockings, the Saint Louis Perfectos, the Lafayette Cyclone Base Ball Club, and the Saint Louis Unions. In this case, the Brown Stockings and the Cyclones were facing off. The teams play with the rules and equipment used in base ball (two words then!) as of 1860, which you can see here on the Brown Stockings' club website.

It's amazing how often the rules (and spelling) of base ball/base-ball/baseball have changed over the years. I looked up base ball in both my counterfeit copy of the 9th edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica (~1889) and in my handy edition copy of the 11th (1910).

Here are some excerpts from the 9th edition entry on base ball (in my copy, volume 3, pp. 406-407); the highlight of which seems to be that base ball is a much quicker game than its English relative (amusing, considering the most common modern complaint against base ball seems to be its speed):

Americans do not appreciate the patience of Englishmen, and do not care to witness a cricket match which may extend to three days, and then remain undecided, whereas the average time of a base ball match is from two hours to two hours and a half.

The scene chosen for this pastime should be a clear level piece of turf, not less than 500 feet by 350 feet. The following diagram shows the laying out of the ground.

Formerly, nine a side was the usual number of players; but, latterly, an additional man has been introduced as right short-stop, and the sides increased to ten. Their positions are marked in the above diagram. The theory of the game is that one side takes the field, and the other goes in. The pitcher then delivers the ball to the striker, who endeavours to hit it in such a direction as to elude the fielders, and enable him to run round all the base lines home without being put out.

The ball must weigh not less than 5 ounces or more than 5¼ ounces avoirdupois [Note: avoirdupois means that the weight system used has 16 ounces = 1 pound], must be not less than 9 inches or more than 9¼ inches in circumference, and must be composed of 1 ounce avoirdupois of vulcanized india-rubber, covered with worsted and leather, red being the most suitable colour for the latter. The bat must be circular in shape, not exceeding 2½ inches in diameter at any part, or 42 inches in length, and must be made exclusively of wood.

In delivering the ball, the pitcher must not move either foot outside the limits of the square, and the hand must not be raised higher than the hip. All balls delivered over the home base, and at the height requested by the striker, are fair balls. All other balls are unfair or called balls, and if three occur in succession the striker is allowed to take the first base, and any other players move on a base accordingly. A striker may, however, take an unfair ball at his own risk. Balking, or pretending to deliver the ball and not doing so, is inadmissible, and any player, on first, second, or third base, is allowed to run a base whenever balking is attempted. If, after being warned by the umpire, three balks are made during the same innings, the out side at once forfeit the game.

Should the striker fail to strike three fairly delivered balls, he must run the first base. [...] A batsman is out — (1.) If a fair ball be caught before touching the ground, no matter how held by the fielder catching it, or whether the ball first touches the person of another fielder or not, provided it be not caught by the cap; (2.) If a foul ball be similarly held, or if it be so held after touching the ground but ounce; (3.) If a fair ball be securely held by a fielder while touching the first base with any part of his person before the base-runner touches said base, after hitting a fair ball; (4.) If the batsman, after striking three times at the ball and failing to hit it, and, running to first base, fails to touch that base before the ball is legally held there; (5.) If, after the batsman has similarly failed to hit the ball, it be caught either before touching the ground, or after touching the ground but once; (6.) If the batsman wilfully strikes at the ball to hinder the ball from being caught; (7.) If the batsman hit the ball on a called foul strike, and it be caught either fair or foul, or if he make two called foul strikes.

The pastime requires good catching, throwing, and running powers, combined with courage, nerve, good judgement, and quick perception of what to do in the field. The great draw-back os so much being left to the umpire, and his decision being so frequently called for. Hardly a ball is pitched or struck, or a base run without his being called on for a decision under some rule or other, whereas the details of the game should be so plain and clear as only to call for an umpire's decision under exceptional circumstances. The attitude of the striker is not an elegant one, and the pitcher is allowed to keep the former's muscles too long on the stretch before actually delivering the ball. Base ball is a quicker and more lively pastime than the great English national game of cricket, which is the chief thing to be said in its favour.

A couple of decades later, the sport, now hyphenated, had changed a good bit. It was remarkable to me that Japan gets a mention in the 11th edition; it's love of baseball stretches back farther than I had thought. Overhand throwing became permissible, the players were now allowed gloves, and the catcher, now decked out in safety gear, was positioned right behind the batter. Here are some excerpts from the much longer entry in the 11th edition (volume 3, pp. 458-461):

BASE-BALL (so-called from the bases and ball used), the national summer sport of the United States, popular also throughout Canada and in Japan. Its origin is obscure. According to some authorities, it is derived from the old English game of rounders (q.v.), several variations of which were played in America during the colonial period; according to other authorities, its resemblance to rounders is merely a coincidence, and it had its origin in the United States, probably at Cooperstown, New York, in 1839, when, it is said, Abner Doubleday (later a general in the U.S. army) devised a scheme for playing it.

In spite of its popularity, the game acquired certain undesirable adjuncts. The betting and pool selling evils became prominent, and before long the game was in thorough disrepute. It was not only generally believed that the matches were not played on their merits, but it was known that players themselves were not above selling contests. At that time many of the journals of the day foretold the speedy downfall of the sport. A convention of those interested financially and otherwise in the game, was held in 1867 in Philadelphia, and an effort was made to effect a reformation.

For some years the National League consisted of twelve clubs organized as stock companies, representing cities as far apart as Boston and St Louis, but in 1900 the number was reduced to eight, namely, Boston, Brooklyn, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Pittsburg, Philadelphia and St Louis. Certain aggressive and dissatisfied elements took advantage of this change to organize a second great professional association under the presidency of B. B. Johnson, the "American League," of eight clubs, six of them in cities where the National League was already represented.

Each side has nine turns, or innings, at bat, unless the side last at bat does not need its ninth innings in order to win; a tie at the end of the ninth innings makes additional innings neccessary. A full game usually takes from 1½ to 2 hrs. to play. Three batsmen are put out in each innings, and the side scoring the greatest number of runs (complete encircling of the bases without being out out) wins.

The catcher and first-baseman (v. infra) may wear a glove of any size on one hand; the gloves worn by all other players may not measure more than 14 in. round the palm nor weigh more than 10 oz.

The pitcher, who delivers the ball to the batsman, is the most important member of the side. In the act of pitching, which is throwing either over or underhand, he must keep one foot in contact with a white plate, called the pitcher's plate, 24 in. long and 6 in. wide, placed 60.5 ft. from the back of the home-base. Before 1875 the pitcher was obliged to deliver the ball with a full toss only, but about that time a disguised underhand throw, which greatly increased the pace, began to be used so generally that it was soon legalized, and the overhand throw followed as a matter of course. [...] Change of pace, disguised as well as possible, is also an important part of pitching strategy, as well as variation of the delivery and the play upon the known weaknesses or idiosyncrasies of the bastman.

The catcher wears a mask, a breast-pad, and a large glove, without which the position would be a very dangerous one.