A group shot of The Belles and The Porters from a few seasons back, posing on their home field. Photo courtesy of Nancy Rhoades
BY JENNIFER CROWLEY
“There’s no crying in baseball.”
It’s a quote that Tom Hanks’ character made famous in the 1992 movie A League of Their Own. The movie revolved around the formation of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during World War II. It is probably popular culture’s sole reference to women partaking in the sport otherwise known as America’s national pastime.
With Major League Baseball winding down for the season, many fans are glued to their televisions each night (many more local fans were glued until Boston eliminated The Yankees from the playoffs, but I digress). Imagine listening to a broadcast and hearing this description during a play — ‘And the hurler gets the apple right over the dish.’ Back in 1867, that was common base ball (yes, it was two words back then) lingo merely describing a pitcher throwing the ball over home plate.
“Instead of yelling to a runner to ‘run!’ back in the 1860s there would be chants of ‘leg it!’ being shouted. And back then, catching a ball after a bounce was allowed and would make an out,” explained Wheatland resident, Pam Allen. The 65 year-old year old hardly grew up a baseball enthusiast and rarely played herself, that is until 2002 when she joined The Brooke’s Grove Belles. Otherwise known as The Belles, this team plays alongside Priscilla Porter’s Astonishing Ladies Base Ball Club (otherwise known as The Porters) in our area’s only 19th century ladies base ball league whose home is in Mumford at the Genesee Country Village & Museum.
Allen and her husband moved to Scottsville 40 years ago. She has been fairly involved volunteering at the Museum given its rich educational offerings. She says it’s truly her interest in history that prompted her to join up with The Belles, a team of “village ladies” who are interested in physical activity and socialization but know little about sport. The Porters on the other hand portray a college “barnstorming” team that have a bit more savviness to them.
Allen is a captain of The Belles along with Mumford resident Nancy Rhoades, a former physical education teacher in the Honeoye Falls-Lima School District. Unlike Allen, Rhoades did play and coach softball earlier in her life. Like Allen, it was the opportunity to dig into history that prompted Rhoades to get involved, also back in 2002. “This is more drama than sport and is really our own interpretation of what it may have been like since there is not much written history about it beyond letters women would send to one another talking about their hobbies when not working the farm,” Rhoades explained.
She went on to add that, “The Victorian times really were somewhat of a golden age of baseball – for men. Women were frowned upon for playing, but that didn’t stop them. The Seven Sisters colleges and their presidents at the time were forward thinking and they understood women needed exercise beyond gardening. It was largely because of those schools that the sport started to gain a following even right here in the Genesee Valley despite the fact that many believed sport not to be ladylike.”
The Museum’s modern day “lady ballists” play by 1867 rules and the players dress the part (meaning they play in dresses and aprons which are handy and legal to catch the ball with). The ball used in the sport is the same size as a baseball though soft thanks to a cork center. There are a number of games the team plays using a bat and a ball. Most popular is a game called “stool ball” which actually dates back to the 15th century. In this variation of baseball, a stool is placed at home base and it is the job of the hitter to protect the stool from the ball. On extremely hot days at the Museum this is the game the ladies opt to play since there is less running and no outfield involved.
“We tend to play by the gazebo at the Museum entrance. It really is a natural stadium. As people enter the grounds, it’s our job to engage them, to chat visitors up and also invite them to play. Depending on the crowd, we may increase the entertainment value by mixing in some comedy – women literally stealing the bases or running the wrong way,” Allen added.
Currently the two ladies’ teams have a roster of about 20 players total but numbers have been down due to injuries. Players can be as young as 16 though currently the teammates range in age from 20 to 75. This dedicated bunch comes from all over Rochester (and outside) to play about ten exhibition games each summer in Mumford.
The Museum also hosts a men’s league that too plays by the 19th century rules in era-appropriate uniforms. Unlike the lady ballists, the men’s teams keep score and play other teams from around the northeast. In fact each summer the Museum hosts a World Series-like event at its diamond called The Silver Ball Tournament.
The last game of the season for the ladies’ league was to be held on October 7th but the players opted for a suffragist style march instead to help encourage museum visitors to register to vote. Equality for women is something that the players are fairly impassioned about. Dressed in their base ball garb the women take advantage of area parades and events to help raise consciousness about overall equality, to show how far (or not) women have come in the last 150 years.
Come May 2019 the teams will start to recruit new players for the summer season. So what are The Belles and The Porters looking for in newbies? Believe it or not, athletic prowess is near the bottom of the list. “This is about fellowship as much as anything. The entertainment factor is also something we emphasize. When playing there are no earrings, cellphones, sunglasses, or water bottles. We speak to each other properly, using lingo of the day and proper elocution,” said Rhoades
Sound interesting? Good because both ladies’ teams need new volunteers and players. To learn more, visit the Museum’s web site at www.gcv.org or call Brian at 585-294-8279.
