2012 Newsletter
October
UM-Flint Helps Bring Vintage Base Ball to Flint
October 26th, 2012 By: Mel Serow
“Take me out to the ball game” will be more than lyrics to a song next summer in Flint. In fact, baseball fans will be able to root, root, root for a new “old” home team.
The University of Michigan-Flint’s Department of History is partnering with the Whaley Historic House Museum to bring Vintage Base Ball (yes, it is two words) to Flint.
Vintage Base Ball is a competitive, amateur sport that combines historic reenactment with team sports. Players wear costuming based on uniforms popular in the 1860s and 1870s to recreate the game based on nineteenth-century rules and customs. There are 23 vintage base ball clubs in Michigan that compete every summer at museums, parks, and tournament re-enactments across the state.
Lumber City Base Ball Club uniform
Andrew Clark, executive director of the Whaley Historic House Museum choose Lumber City Base Ball Club as the team’s name. “We thought this was a great name for a number of reasons. First of all, it was a real amateur club that existed in Flint around 1870. The name also had historic ties to the campus and the Whaley family.”
Wyatt Professor of U.S. History Thomas Henthorn Ph.D. hopes to see students, faculty, staff, and community members support the team any way they can. Preparations are already underway to recruit players, enlist sponsors, and educate fans about the game so the club is ready for its first game in May 2013.
“This will be a wonderful opportunity for people in this community to come together as we explore our local history in a way that is engaging and fun for everyone involved,” said Henthorn.
Clark and Henthorn said they came up with the idea for a vintage base ball team as they searched for ways to expand the programming of the Whaley Historic House Museum offsite, and create an outreach project for the History Department that would appeal to a broad cross-section of the region.
“When fans watch the games, they will see more than a match between two amateur clubs. Attendees will also be able to engage with costumed re-enactors on the sidelines, and see the team perform interpretive skits that educate people about life and culture in nineteenth-century America,” noted Henthorn.
Flint’s Wolverine Citizen newspaper mentioned the formation of a base ball club in 1866
The biggest difference people will notice in the game is the equipment and the playing field. Players usually played without gloves well into the 1870s. In fact, there were still a few gloveless players as late as 1890. Secondly, the field is different. Well-groomed fields with a defined infield and stadium seating were uncommon until the late 1880s. Even then, most clubs would not have had ball parks or stadiums like we have today. Most games in the early days were played in open, grassy fields with a few flags marking the foul lines.
Lumber City Base Ball club expects to play about 10 games next summer. Home games will take place near the William S. White Building and at Kearsley Park.
Lumber City Base Ball Club recruitment poster
Anyone with an interest in vintage base ball is invited to join. There is a $25 fee for students, $75 for anyone else. The uniform is provided by the team, but a uniform deposit is required.
Besides joining as a player, people can also participate as sideline costumed interpreters. There is no fee but they have to provide their own costume.
The new team will meet for the first time on November 14th at 6:30pm at the Whaley Historic House Museum (624 E. Kearsley St.).
Direct questions to Thomas Henthorn at or the Whaley House at .
September
The History Department held its 4th Wyatt Exploration Program Kick-off event. It was a great event with fun, food, and laughter. Dr. John Ellis was named the 2012-2013 Wyatt Fellow and announced he will be taking students to Wales.
August
UM-Flint History Students Heading to Wales
August 29th, 2012 By: Mel Serow
The University of Michigan-Flint Department of History’s 2012 Wyatt Exploration Program gives students the unique opportunity to explore Wales firsthand.
A major bequest from one of the UM-Flint founding faculty, Dorothea Wyatt Ph.D., has made the program possible, and taken students to various parts of the globe.
“We will have two guest speakers from Wales this year, as well as sponsoring a dramatic reading of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood by the theater department, and showings of two Welsh films,” said history department Chair John Ellis, Ph.D., who will also lead the group of selected students in May.
The first Wyatt Exploration Program took students to Poland in 2010, it was the “Old South” in 2011, and last year, students traveled to Japan.
To qualify for selection to the program, a student must take certain related courses and attend Wyatt Exploration Program events. More information on the program can be found on the history department website. Most student travel expenses will be fully funded by the Department of History.
The Wyatt Exploration Program will present an overview of Wales on September 21 entitled: “Wales: Land of the Red Dragon”—Michigan Rooms B&D, from 4-6 p.m.
The University of Michigan-Flint Department of History’s 2012 Wyatt Exploration Program gives students the unique opportunity to explore Wales firsthand.
A major bequest from one of the UM-Flint founding faculty, Dorothea Wyatt Ph.D., has made the program possible, and taken students to various parts of the globe.
“We will have two guest speakers from Wales this year, as well as sponsoring a dramatic reading of Dylan Thomas’s Under Milk Wood by the theater department, and showings of two Welsh films,” said history department Chair John Ellis, Ph.D., who will also lead the group of selected students in May.
The first Wyatt Exploration Program took students to Poland in 2010, it was the “Old South” in 2011, and last year, students traveled to Japan.
To qualify for selection to the program, a student must take certain related courses and attend Wyatt Exploration Program events. More information on the program can be found on the history department website. Most student travel expenses will be fully funded by the Department of History.
The Wyatt Exploration Program will present an overview of Wales on September 21 entitled: “Wales: Land of the Red Dragon”—Michigan Rooms B&D, from 4-6 p.m.
May
The 2011-2012 Wyatt student travelers leave on their trip to Japan. The trip will be from May 8-26, 2012.
Research Spotlight-highlighting the research of our faculty.
April
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
11:30-12:30 p.m.
Dr. Thomas Henthorn, Assistant Professor of History
Practicing Public Scholarship: The Historic Resource Survey of Grand Blanc, Michigan.
March
9th Annual History Quiz Night
With an attendance of over 185 people, the 9th Annual History Quiz Night was a great evening of competition and camaraderie held on March 30, 2012 at the Firkin and Fox Bar and Grill in Burton, Michigan.
A special thanks to those who contributed door prizes for this year's event:
School of Management
Alumni Relations and Development
The Lunch Studio
Brown Sugar Cafe
The University of Michigan-Flint Bookstore
Jilly's Pizza
The Sloan Museum
Flint City T-Shirts
Flint Crepe Company
For more information, please see the History Quiz Night website at the following link: http://www.umflint.edu/history/quiznight.htm