ESPNU to Broadcast College Baseball's 150th Anniversary Game

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Wahconah Park
PITTSFIELD, Mass. – When Williams and Amherst colleges next meet on the baseball diamond, it will be broadcast live nationally on ESPNU.

The matchup will mark the 150th anniversary of college baseball at, appropriately enough, historic Wahconah Park in the "Birthplace of College Baseball."

The two teams competed in the first intercollegiate game in 1859 in Pittsfield when a mutual site could not be agreed upon. The city's amateur Pittsfield Base Ball Club offered its original grounds, which now the site of a downtown coffeeshop.

"Pittsfield as the birthplace of college baseball, and the first city in America to play ball is proud to host the 150th anniversary game," said Mayor James M. Ruberto. "We are also looking forward to unveiling our new infield and upgrades to historic Nokona Field at Wahconah Park."

(The field is being renamed after Nokona Athletic Goods, owned by some of the partners in the city's new collegiate baseball franchise, the American Defenders of Pittsfield.)

Wahconah Park, site of minor league and key collegiate and amateur games for two centuries, was designated as college baseball's birthplace by the College Baseball Foundation of Lubbock, Texas, last year. The Ephs and Lord Jeffs weren't able to play the scheduled day because of heavy rain, but Williams prevailed 9-4 in a May 4 makeup tilt. A logo to celebrate college baseball's birthplace was revealed in pregame ceremonies.

Williams and Amherst's rivalry date back to Amherst's founding in 1821 by a splinter group from Williams who sought to have that college moved to a more central location, such as in Hampshire County. The spirited competition between the colleges is most obvious in its sports teams, especially football.


The schools originally challenged one another to a "friendly game of ball" in 1859 as players from both schools had competed in "rounders" and "base ball" on sandlot sites and at prep schools before the initial intercollegiate clash. This also was 47 years before the founding of the National Collegiate Athletic Association by President Theodore Roosevelt, so eligibility of contestants was not an issue.

Amherst won the 1859 game 73-32 (that's right) in 25 innings. Teams played (like cricket) in those days until the squads tired, or it was time to hitch the wagons or catch the trains to return to campus. The nine-inning framework for baseball contests followed in the later 1860s and early 1870s.

The Lord Jeffs and Ephs (both members of the New England Small Athletic Conference and solid contenders for the 2009 league crown) finished with identical 24-12 records (Amherst also had a tied to close at 24-12-1) last year and have two of the strongest baseball traditions among New England colleges.

"This 150th anniversary game will be preceded by a re-enactment of the original game under vintage rules with alumni players of both schools participating," said Dan Duquette, a 1980 Amherst alum and partner in the American Defenders. "We are also planning to honor Amherst baseball coach Bill Thurston (longtime head of the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee) who will be completing his 41-year Amherst coaching career."

The 150th anniversary game will be carried live nationally on ESPNU on Sunday, May 3, 2009, at 1 p.m.
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Letter: Is the Select Board Listening to Dalton Voters?

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

A reasonable expectation by the people of a community is that their Select Board rises above personal preference and represents the collective interests of the community. On Tuesday night [Nov. 12], what occurred is reason for concern that might not be true in Dalton.

This all began when a Select Board member submitted his resignation effective Oct. 1 to the Town Clerk. Wishing to fill the vacated Select Board seat, in good faith I followed the state law, prepared a petition, and collected the required 200-plus signatures of which the Town Clerk certified 223. The Town Manager, who already had a copy of the Select Board member's resignation, was notified of the certified petitions the following day. All required steps had been completed.

Or had they? At the Oct. 9 Select Board meeting when Board members discussed the submitted petition, there was no mention about how they were informed of the petition or that they had not seen the resignation letter. Then a month later at the Nov. 12 Select Board meeting we learn that providing the resignation letter and certified petitions to the Town Manager was insufficient. However, by informing the Town Manager back in October the Select Board had been informed. Thus, the contentions raised at the Nov. 12 meeting by John Boyle seem like a thinly veiled attempt to delay a decision until the end of January deadline to have a special election has passed.

If this is happening with the Special Election, can we realistically hope that the present Board will listen to the call by residents to halt the rapid increases in spending and our taxes that have been occurring the last few years and pass a level-funded budget for next year, or to not harness the taxpayers in town with the majority of the cost for a new police station? I am sure these issues are of concern to many in town. However, to make a change many people need to speak up.

Please reach out to a Select Board member and let them know you are concerned and want the Special Election issue addressed and finalized at their Nov. 25 meeting.

Robert E.W. Collins
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

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