Vintage 'ballists' star at Hometown Picnic

While historians may quibble about whether Abner Doubleday really invented baseball, it's indisputable that the game showcased at Wrigley Field and U.S. Cellular Field these days is a bit different from 1850s-era baseball.

Those differences will be on display when "ballists," as players were called back then, take the field Saturday in the center of Naper Settlement, Naperville's historic museum village.

The Lemont Quarrymen, a team comprised of history/baseball buffs, will square off against the Deep River Grinders, a similar Indiana-based team. It's all part of the settlement's Hometown Picnic festivities.

The baseball game is the centerpiece of the event, which also will include games for children, a baking contest and a vintage fire pumper demonstration, said Anna Di Cosola, the settlement's learning experiences coordinator.

Richard Kurek, a history teacher at Metea Valley High School who also coaches baseball, bowling and badminton, plays for the Quarrymen.

"The Quarrymen speak the way they spoke at baseball games in 1848. We play with the same-sized hardball they use today, but without gloves or mitts. The ball is hurled underhand and there are no walks or strikeouts," wrote Kurek in an email message. "The bats are heavy and our attitudes are gentlemanly."

Kurek, of Orland Park, wrote that the team has been together for 11 years and has players from the West and Southwest suburbs. The men use nicknames during play, he said, rather than birth names. A few examples: Buttery Biscuits, Hush Puppy, Chicken Legs and Bootlegger. Kurek said he goes by the moniker "Sauce Nose."

Di Cosola said this is the fourth year for the picnic at Naper Settlement. Last year, she said, roughly 250 people attended. The grounds open at noon and the game starts at 1 p.m.

Visitors may bring lawn chairs, blankets and picnic food, she said. Junior volunteer educators will be selling lemonade and cookies at a lemonade stand.

The apple-pie baking contest is another highlight of the day, Di Cosola said. Former Naperville mayor George Pradel will be on hand to judge entries, along with state Rep. Grant Wehrli, state Sen. Michael Connelly and Positively Naperville Publisher Stephanie Penick.

A vintage 1871 fire pumper truck will be wheeled out onto the green, she said, for a demonstration that will give both children and adults a chance to get involved.

All activities are free with museum admission. Admission to the museum is free for Naperville residents and museum members.

If you go

What: Hometown Picnic

Where: Naper Settlement, 523 S. Webster St., Naperville

When: Noon to 4 p.m. Saturday

Cost: Free for Naperville residents and museum members; $12 for adults, $10 for seniors 62 and older, $8 for youth ages 4-12

Info: (630) 420-6010 or www.napersettlement.org