Vintage 'base ball' brings camaraderie for those playing, an education for those watching
The St. Louis Brown Stockings and Topeka Westerns pose for a group photo Saturday at Oscar Twillman Field in Boonville. The two teams played in a doubleheader Saturday, following vintage base ball rules from the 1860s, which includes no mitts, no batting helmets, underhand pitching, and one-hop outs.
Jack "Crackin'" Burkman, left, talks with the St. Louis Brown Stockings team captain Donald "Kaiser" Hesse between innings during a game between the Brown Stockings and Topeka Westerns on Saturday at Oscar Twillman Field in Boonville. Crackin' got his nickname because, during his first at-bat with the Brown Stockings, he split a bat in half.
Scott "Toon" Roth sits in the St. Louis Brown Stockings dugout Saturday at Oscar Twillman Field in Boonville.
Tony "Lightning" Wicker poses for a photo. Wicker, along with his wife, Tracy "Thunder" Wicker, founded the St. Louis Brown Stockings Vintage Base Ball Club in 2009.
Fans watch a game of vintage base ball between the St. Louis Brown Stockings and Topeka Westerns on Saturday at Oscar Twillman Field at Harley Park in Boonville. The original The Brown Stockings and Westerns teams actually played against each other in the 1860s. The end of the game was marked by the teams giving each other "huzzahs."
Willie, the dog of Brown Stocking Mike "Capo" Youngstrom, sits by the dugout Saturday in Boonville. Mike's father, Gene "Swede" Youngstrom, is also on the Brown Stockings and was the umpire for Saturday's doubleheader.
Circuit, Oil on canvas 200cm x 130cm
Adrian 'Law Dog' Sulser holds a vintage baseball Saturday in Boonville. Per 1860s vintage base ball rules, players don't wear mitts. Susler's hands have taken a beating over the years. He's broken the tip of his left ring finger, the first knuckle on his right pinky and dislocated another finger.
Strokes, Oil on canvas 200cm x 130cm
Trent "Twister" Wicker takes a lead off of second base Saturday during a game between the St. Louis Brown Stockings and Topeka Westerns at Oscar Twillman Field in Boonville. Though Trenton didn't bat in the game, he scored a few runs as a pinch runner. He and some Boonville little leaguers got to pinch run throughout Saturday's games. His parents, Tony "Lightning" Wicker and Tracy "Thunder" Wicker, are co-founders of the Brown Stockings.