On the evening of March 29, 2012, myself and four other teammates made the voyage from our hometown of Huntington, IN, to Long Island, NY. This was my 5th Convention and I always try to make it a point to go to these. Convention time for me, is not only learning new information about 19th century base ball, but it is getting together with those friends that I haven't seen for a while.
I spoke with one of my good friends from Ohio about this very blog. I told him that I wanted to have an outlet where I can discuss the Journey of the Vintage Ballist, as a person, not just a player. We sat there, having a beer, and discussing my thoughts as well as any thoughts he had on the subject and it really was a great example of why I started this blog. We could have talked for hours about base ball and friendships and what we look forward to in the season.
The convention was at a wonderful hotel in Plainview, NY. The facilities were magnificent and it was easy access to everything that we were scheduled to do. The first night we had a reception and had the opportunity to meet some ballists from the east coast. My initial thoughts had me concerned about arrogance and dislike for the Midwest, however, their conversations with me were real and exciting. One prime example was, a club by the name of the Liberty. We got talking with a few of their ballists, and in the end, we decided to make plans to schedule a match between the two teams in 2013, on Doubleday Field, in Cooperstown, NY. This was a very spirited and exciting conversation, which coincidentally, ended up being many of my conversations with these gentlemen from the East Coast.
The Journey took us on Saturday, to Old Bethpathe Village Restoration. We had an all club match that was fun and exciting. Through the cold and the rain, we managed to get in four innings. It was definitely a memorable experience. It is always neat to see how people from different parts of the country come together to interact as one or two clubs, for the game of base ball.
On Sunday, we conducted our business meeting and then said our final convention good-byes. The friendships and the memories will last until next year's convention and beyond. During our 11 hour drive home, my comrades and I discussed our interactions with both our new and old friends, and discussed ways to continue our voyage as vintage ballists.
This journey is starting to take shape for this season, and the Convention was only beginning. Check back in, sometime after April 14th, 2012. We will be playing our friends the Door Village Prairie Dogs. I will be sharing not only results of our match(es) but some insights into the interaction aspect of the game.
Until next time, enjoy the Journey, it's going to be an exciting ride.
The Vintage Ballist
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