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Vintage baseball comes to Harbor Yard
RICH ELLIOTT relliott@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 07/02/2007 12:59:20 PM EDT
BRIDGEPORT — A year ago Joe Vigorito would have never envisioned that he would be playing
vintage baseball as a member of the Bridgeport Orators. He wanted to get back into baseball, but he
had designs on competing in an area baseball or softball league. Not on resurrecting the proud program
that brought the sport to the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by James O'Rourke.
Yet, once Vigorito saw an ad for a vintage baseball tournament that was in Stamford, it triggered the
history buff inside of him. He surfed the Internet, discovering a deluge of information on the sport and at
Christmas time last year the idea of starting a team in Bridgeport became his crusade.
Vigorito called friends and family members in an effort to gauge their interest in being a part of history.
What he learned was that they also shared the same excitement. Soon after the Orators were reborn.
Sunday, they came full circle when they hosted the Newtown Sandy Hooks at Harbor Yard before
approximately 100 hearty fans.
"It means the world to us," Vigorito said following a 10-6 loss. "Not only for the opportunity to play here,
but also to introduce the city of Bridgeport to vintage baseball and show the people that Bridgeport was
a special baseball place and still is and also to honor the original Orators and the life and memory of
O'Rourke — Bridgeport's Hall of Famer. So it's a real honor for us. I feel like we've arrived."
The match, which featured rules from 1867,
was played with under-handed pitching from 45-feet away from home plate and without gloves. Three
balls accounted for a walk. Over-running first base was prohibited. Foul balls caught on one hop were
recorded as outs.
The match was emceed on the field. The players had catchy nicknames like "Howitzer," "Ginger," "El
Heffe," "Gozer," "Pudgey" and "Doughboy." The Coastal Chordsmen entertained the crowd by serving
as a modern-day barbershop quartet. Also, the match was played in an attempt to heighten awareness
and raise money for First Hit, a non-profit organization dedicated to the relocation and restoration of
O'Rourke's family residence on Bridgeport's East Side.
"It's very fulfilling," said second baseman Pete Shanazu, who is a math teacher and golf coach at
Bassick High. "It's a lot of fun because you are educating people about the history of the game. These
people showed up because they love baseball. They're getting the roots of baseball and realizing how it
started and why people loved it for so many years."
The Orators consist of a 25-man roster, including O'Rourke's great grandson Paul Conan, who lives in
upstate New York. Vigorito said they will play a total of 40 matches this season. Their home matches are
held Sunday mornings at Diamond 1 at Seaside Park and they will host a four-team tournament
Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.
Aside from the Orators and the Sandy Hooks, who play their home games at Dickinson Park, there are
in-state teams in New London, Simsbury, Waterbury and two in Hartford. The Orators have already
competed in a two-day tournament in Pittsfield, Mass., and will compete in a 12-team tournament in Old
Bethpage Village, N.Y., Aug. 4-5.
Vigorito insists that wins and losses still matter each time the Orators take the field. But there is no
mistaking the educational value provided at each match. The individuals are part athlete and part
teacher, which only enhances their experience.
"Some of these guys will tell you this is the most fun they've ever had playing baseball," Vigorito said. "I
used to be a Civil War re-enactor so I kind of know the whole part about being involved in history. But to
add sport to that is what's so great. You're getting into character and you're putting on a show for the
fans. But to know that we're the Orators. We brought vintage baseball here and I think it's going to fun
for this city."
RICH ELLIOTT relliott@ctpost.com
Article Last Updated: 07/02/2007 12:59:20 PM EDT
BRIDGEPORT — A year ago Joe Vigorito would have never envisioned that he would be playing
vintage baseball as a member of the Bridgeport Orators. He wanted to get back into baseball, but he
had designs on competing in an area baseball or softball league. Not on resurrecting the proud program
that brought the sport to the city in the late 19th and early 20th centuries by James O'Rourke.
Yet, once Vigorito saw an ad for a vintage baseball tournament that was in Stamford, it triggered the
history buff inside of him. He surfed the Internet, discovering a deluge of information on the sport and at
Christmas time last year the idea of starting a team in Bridgeport became his crusade.
Vigorito called friends and family members in an effort to gauge their interest in being a part of history.
What he learned was that they also shared the same excitement. Soon after the Orators were reborn.
Sunday, they came full circle when they hosted the Newtown Sandy Hooks at Harbor Yard before
approximately 100 hearty fans.
"It means the world to us," Vigorito said following a 10-6 loss. "Not only for the opportunity to play here,
but also to introduce the city of Bridgeport to vintage baseball and show the people that Bridgeport was
a special baseball place and still is and also to honor the original Orators and the life and memory of
O'Rourke — Bridgeport's Hall of Famer. So it's a real honor for us. I feel like we've arrived."
The match, which featured rules from 1867,
was played with under-handed pitching from 45-feet away from home plate and without gloves. Three
balls accounted for a walk. Over-running first base was prohibited. Foul balls caught on one hop were
recorded as outs.
The match was emceed on the field. The players had catchy nicknames like "Howitzer," "Ginger," "El
Heffe," "Gozer," "Pudgey" and "Doughboy." The Coastal Chordsmen entertained the crowd by serving
as a modern-day barbershop quartet. Also, the match was played in an attempt to heighten awareness
and raise money for First Hit, a non-profit organization dedicated to the relocation and restoration of
O'Rourke's family residence on Bridgeport's East Side.
"It's very fulfilling," said second baseman Pete Shanazu, who is a math teacher and golf coach at
Bassick High. "It's a lot of fun because you are educating people about the history of the game. These
people showed up because they love baseball. They're getting the roots of baseball and realizing how it
started and why people loved it for so many years."
The Orators consist of a 25-man roster, including O'Rourke's great grandson Paul Conan, who lives in
upstate New York. Vigorito said they will play a total of 40 matches this season. Their home matches are
held Sunday mornings at Diamond 1 at Seaside Park and they will host a four-team tournament
Wednesday beginning at 10 a.m.
Aside from the Orators and the Sandy Hooks, who play their home games at Dickinson Park, there are
in-state teams in New London, Simsbury, Waterbury and two in Hartford. The Orators have already
competed in a two-day tournament in Pittsfield, Mass., and will compete in a 12-team tournament in Old
Bethpage Village, N.Y., Aug. 4-5.
Vigorito insists that wins and losses still matter each time the Orators take the field. But there is no
mistaking the educational value provided at each match. The individuals are part athlete and part
teacher, which only enhances their experience.
"Some of these guys will tell you this is the most fun they've ever had playing baseball," Vigorito said. "I
used to be a Civil War re-enactor so I kind of know the whole part about being involved in history. But to
add sport to that is what's so great. You're getting into character and you're putting on a show for the
fans. But to know that we're the Orators. We brought vintage baseball here and I think it's going to fun
for this city."
