Wheaton Kiwanis to host throwback baseball

Wheaton Kiwanis aren't getting any younger, but this weekend they'll turn back the clock for a few hours and relive baseball the way it was played 150 years ago.

There is a double-header purpose to the game.

One goal is to educate the public about the origins of baseball and explore the potential to have another old-time game in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Wheaton's chartering next year.

The second goal is to use the game to draw more attention to the Kiwanis.

"Our club is an aging club," said Wheaton Kiwanis member Allen Reed. "As we're tending to get older, we're not attracting younger members."

Reed said the game will help show all the diverse community activities the Kiwanis Club is involved in and, hopefully, draw in some new members.

That is, if anyone playing the baseball game survives. The rules of 1850s baseball are quite a bit different from today's slugfest.

There were no helmets, no gloves, no catcher's masks or umpire padding. The ball used is a made of yarn and rubber and covered with leather. Runs were called aces. And if a ball is caught on one bounce it's an out the same as if it were caught in the air.

"We just thought it would be kind of fun," Reed said.

The Kiwanis will play the Chicago Salmon, a traveling vintage baseball team.

The event is not a fundraiser for the Kiwanis, but the concessions stand will be open. The event is free for all spectators. The game begins at 1 p.m. Sunday at Seven Gables Park in Wheaton.

If you go

What: Vintage baseball game

When: 1 p.m. Sunday

Where: Seven Gables Park, Wheaton

Cost: Free

Who: Wheaton Kiwanis vs. Chicago Salmon, a traveling vintage baseball team