Let's Play Ball!
We offer the nation’s most comprehensive 19th-century base ball program, including games all summer and the National Silver Ball Tournament. Each season the Museum’s vintage base ball teams unpack their woolen uniforms, brown balls, and double-knobbed bats to play in Silver Base Ball Park, the first and finest replica 19th-century base ball park in the country.
They are carrying on a long tradition of base ball (as it was spelled in the 19th century) in the Rochester area. For three months, the ball park is filled with all the ambiance of play in the 1860s—no gloves or other protective equipment, wooden bats and scoreboard, grand stands, bleachers, tally-keeper’s perch, top-hatted umpires, and a concession stand selling peanuts, snacks, and cold drinks.
The program includes two women’s teams – the Belles and Porters (nee Priscilla Porter’s Astonishing Ladies Base Ball Club).
The History of Base Ball
Who invented base ball? When and where did it happen?
Let’s look back to the 1700s…
Vintage Rules and Slang
You’re OUT! Men’s matches at Genesee Country Village & Museum are played according to the rules and regulations adopted by the National Association of Base Ball Players in New York on December 11, 1867.