Former Red Sox Star Visits Vintage Conference

By Collin Miller

The Vintage Base Ball Association (VBBA) - a national organization founded in 1996 to promote the sport of nineteenth century baseball - hosted their annual conference March 28-30 at the Otesaga Resort & Hotel in Cooperstown.

A highlight of the weekend was an “all-comers” match held at the Clark Sports Center where players from seventeen different teams assembled to play an exhibition of 1864-rules baseball. 14 year major league veteran and Red Sox Hall of Famer, Bill “Spaceman” Lee traveled from his home in Northern Vermont through a snowstorm to meet up with the players and participate in the match. After seven full innings of play and Lee’s team down by a score of 14-11, the left-hander, now 78 and recovering from heart surgery, said he’d had enough.

“I’m out of shape”, said Lee. “I think this bear hibernated too long this Winter!”

Later that evening, Lee would go on to deliver the keynote address to a crowd of 75 vintage baseball enthusiasts covering his entire professional and amateur careers and sharing some personal stories along the way.

Tim Haney, a player for the Athletic Base Ball Club of Cooperstown and owner of Cooperstown Bat Company - a sponsor of the event, said he thoroughly enjoyed getting back into the nineteenth century game after a long hiatus since he’d been a part of the town ball games held occasionally at the Farmer’s Museum several years ago.

“It’s a terrific organization (VBBA) to get involved with,” said Haney.

All local clubs affiliated with the VBBA in our region have released their schedules at www.delcovintagebaseball.org and look forward to kicking off their seasons with some open practices in April and games starting up full swing in May. Teams in Bovina, Hamden and Fleischmanns are always looking for players and umpires to join the fun. Interested parties should contact the organization through the contact form on the organization’s website.

Collin Miller aka “Stumpy” from the Fleischmanns Mountain Athletic Club poses for a pre-game photo with Bill “Spaceman” Lee after donning him with a fresh M.A.C. t-shirt.

Bill “Spaceman” Lee tosses his famous “eephus” pitch to a player from the Whiskey Island Shamrocks on March 29 in Cooperstown.

Seventeen teams from as far away as Colorado stepped back to the year 1864 to play an “all-comers” match on March 29 at the Vintage Base Ball Association annual meeting in Cooperstown. Red Sox Hall of Famer, Bill “Spaceman” Lee is pictured kneeling at center wearing the cap of his current team, the Savannah Bananas.

Bill Lee shares a laugh with the crowd during his keynote address at the Vintage Base Ball Association conference March 29 in Cooperstown. VBBA East Region Trustee, Collin Miller (right) conducted the live interview of Lee.

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